Split systems hvac

WARNING...DO NOT USE THIS MAN! I agreed to an estimate with Joshua Audette (Quality Air Control) on 4/9/2014 to replace a gas furnace, install central air and install a new gas tankless hot water heater to a home that I purchased on 3/20/14. Multiple other HVAC Contractor's gave me various input as to whether my new home could have a three zone central A/C system installed, some said yes others said no. Josh assured me he could do it and offered me what seemed to be a fair price compared to other estimates so I agreed to let him do the work. *We had no signed contract, he did not pull a permit until the day he told myself and my Electrician he was done*. He lied on the permit when it was pulled using a license number which did not belong to him, wrote that the cost of the work was $3,000 - $3,500 and lied on the scope of work writing he had; "Modified existing furnace" when in fact he had installed a brand new furnace, a/c coil, condenser and water heater. He didn't even have my name right on the permit. After drilling a sizable hole in the side of my house for the hot water heater vent, less than an inch from my gas meter, he told me he knew it wouldn't meet code but that it 'wouldn't be a problem'. I later learned that if gas had gotten into the water heater vent, which is a combustible unit when it calls for hot water, my home could have blown up and the hot water was working for a short time before my gas was shut off. I need to mention that he is not licensed to do any gas pipe fitting work and installed the heater with shark bite fittings which are only to be used as a temporary fix. The gas lines need to be soldered! He lied to the Building Department Commissioner saying that a 'Billy Wright from Attleboro' did the gas piping. NOBODY but Josh worked at my home and there were nine MA code violations with his work just on the water heater including; no temperature relief valve, shark bite fittings, no vacuum breaker, too close to the electrical line, flue too close to gas meter, bottom of the unit not secured, no cap in the old flue (just metal tape), no gas sign above the flue outside, no Co2 detector and he drilled the flue hole through a floor joist. Needless to say I never got any receipts or the $800 rebate that was supposed to come with the water heater. Now on to his HVAC work. During the first week of May I had brought two friends of mine to the house to show it off. One is a GC and the other has been doing HVAC work longer than Josh has been alive. I was horrified when both of them were shaking their heads when they looked at Josh's HVAC work in my crawlspace. They explained that the way the system was it would 'short cycle' and the coil would freeze. WHAT?? On the evening of 5/2 I arrived at the property with my friend and was greeted by a very strong gas odor in the house. I immediately opened all the windows and doors and called Josh. He told me not to worry and said that the gas smell was b/c he had just purged the gas line to install the water heater. I put him on the phone with my friend who nicely questioned some of his work and Josh admitted that he needed to add a baffle at the end of the trunk and another damper in the bypass. On the morning of 5/3 I received a call from Josh, who had shown up at my property earlier than he ever had before, saying he was done, that he had pulled his permit and an inspection was scheduled for the following Wednesday. When I arrived at the property I was talking with my Electrician (who has worked for me at my other property for 13 years) when I received a text from Josh asking for my Electrician's number. I texted the number back to Josh and Mike's (Electrician) phone rang immediately. Josh asked Mike to shut off the gas in three places and stated that he had called Columbia Gas Company and they were on there way. We were not inclined to comply with Josh's request to shut off the gas and had no time to before the Gas Company arrived anyway. When the Gas Co. arrived I was told they received a 'strong gas odor' call from Josh (which was false) and they immediately looked at the hot water exhaust and shut off my gas service. Mike told me he had seen Josh that morning and Josh also told Mike he was done and that he had pulled a permit. I took the permit to the building department and was at the Building Department desk when the Commissioner (who is also the HVAC Inspector) called Josh to question him. This is when he lied that someone else did the gas piping work and I later discovered that the license number on the permit didn't belong to Josh. I gave the Commissioner a copy of the estimate for $12,000 which clearly didn't equal the $3,000 - $3,500 Josh wrote on the permit. Josh never responded to a deadline by the Inspector to supply an Insurance Certificate and I was told there was no inspection scheduled either. There were twelve code violations with his HVAC work including; flex line kinked to supply the master bedroom, anti-vibration pads were on the floor, bypass too close to the unit, no baffle at the end of the trunk, insulation was not completed, no damper in the bypass, no cap on the return bay, two supplies too close to the air handler, no condensate pump was installed - old drain in the floor did not work, thermostats were controlling the wrong zones, vent doesn't meet code etc. Multiple Contractors and myself worked in my home throughout the month of May with no heat or hot water. Having no hot water also delayed another project to have my downstairs bathroom handicapped shower stall and floor re-glazed. This May was unusually cold too. Needless to say I never got receipts or obviously the $800 rebate for the water heater either. You get the picture.... I had paid Josh $6,000 to date and at this point asked him not to return to my property until I had time to sort all the information I was getting out. Two weeks later I received a text saying that I would be getting a letter from his Attorney for the balance of $6,000 and that; "You haven't allowed US to return to finish up the last few particulars". Again, he said he was done and no baffle or damper had been added while he was here briefly the morning of 5/3. I did receive a demand letter from an Attorney representing Josh to which I responded by phone and by letter with many attachments (ie; copies of his permit, estimate, lists of code violations, etc.). As of the date of this writing, 7/28, I have not heard a word from the Attorney or Josh. I made it pretty clear that his client had no leg to stand on. I had a licensed plumber relocate my water heater to my laundry room which already had a gas line and obviously water too which cost me $900. My gas service was not turned back on for four weeks as it takes time to find licensed Contractors to do repair work. When the weather got hot the a/c system failed and the coil froze up as I was told it would do. I had to hire a new HVAC contractor and signed a contract with him for $2,375 to attempt to repair Josh's work which was not successful, the coil still froze up. This Contractor had to return and rip out most of Josh's work and I have no zones in my home. My 84 year old Mother, who has COPD, is freezing downstairs and I'm hot upstairs in the Master bedroom. Ugh!! I have yet to find someone to repair the hole Josh drilled in the side of my home, through vinyl siding, which is still stuffed with a rag. The permit to complete the repair to my HVAC/heating system is still outstanding b/c with the installation of a new furnace the vent for the old one now doesn't meet code either. This work will be done in the Fall before I need to use my heat. I only pray that the heat works when the time comes. I am looking at potentially relocating my HVAC/heating system(s) to the attic from the crawlspace in the Fall also at a cost of approximately $4,000. Josh is a very personable charming man who I enjoyed having work in my home. Never in my worst nightmare did I ever think things would go so a wry. I often brought coffee for the workers in my home and even took Josh to lunch on me on more than one occasion. I think that he mistook kindness for weakness and being a woman and a single Mom thought that I had more money than brains. Guess again! My plan is to go to go to small claims court in the near future to file a complaint and make Josh accountable for his horrible workmanship, nearly catastrophic incident and for the pain and suffering he caused my family and me. Because of his work I had to reschedule my move date three times. I will be forever grateful to my friends who caught this disaster BEFORE I had paid Josh in full. I'm grateful that Angie's List has this resource to warn others about this man. Be afraid, be very afraid! I've written nothing here that can't be supported with pictures and documents. I regret having to write this but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't and God forbid in the future learned that someone else was severely wronged by this man or worse, killed as a result of his arrogance to perform work that he is not licensed to do in MA and apparently not very skilled to do work that he is licensed to do. This has been a journey that I will never forget or forgive Josh for.