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Resident Finds an Economical Solution to his A/C Problem in the Woodlands

by Guest July 22, 2012

by Guest July 22, 2012 27 views

By: Mark Rohmann

I have found a fantastic way to literally save hundreds of dollars on your central A/C repairs.

Don’t use Central Air conditioning (CAC), promoted and advertised in our Woodlands Homeowners Directory.

A little over two weeks ago, our A/C went out at night. The following day we called the company listed in our handbook, and a service rep came out for a charge of $135. I asked if that fee is taken off if repairs are done, to which the office said no. I later found out that the larger, more reputable A/C companies have coupons that refund the service charge. However, this fee pales in comparison to what came next.

The serviceman was fantastic, diagnosed the problem, and found it was the condenser fan motor. Being an older five-ton unit, he said the motor wasn’t available and had to be ordered. I panicked, seeing it was already 86 degrees in the house.

The serviceman called his office from our phone and had the woman on the other end order the part, and he stressed that we were in great need of it. He then left, saying he would be back to install it as soon as it arrived.

Looking back years ago, I remembered that this particular motor was hard to find, so I began searching the internet for a replacement. By the next afternoon, I had located one and called CAC to find out the status of the motor that had been ordered. I figured if they found one right away, I would take it, even if they added a little to the cost for their trouble. The woman at CAC said it wasn’t ordered because we needed to put a deposit down first.

“Were you ever planning on letting me know?” I asked.

She had no answer.

“How much is the motor that I need a deposit for?”

“450 dollars.” She said.

He heard that I nearly fell off my chair. “OK, hold off on ordering,” I said, “I found one, brand new, in the box for $45.00. I’ll give you a call when it’s in so the serviceman can come out and install it.”

She said, “Sorry, we only install our equipment.”

I told her, “Forget it, I’ll fix it myself,” and hung the phone up on her while thinking to myself, Jeez, at least take me down the block to Subway for lunch before you %&*# me.

Luckily, four days later, the motor arrived, and I gathered up all the pieces the serviceman had left lying loose around my A/C unit. I was able to put the motor, fan, wiring, and guards back together myself.

This was all completed 12 hours before I was scheduled to have surgery.

Thanks, CAC, You’re never going to hear from me again. Our manual needs to be updated, and our Homeowner Association President needs to look closely at who we support and use. This includes the landscaping company that cut my lawn about a month ago. This natural “class act” climbed off the riding mower, walked over to my hedges, pulled his (word deleted) out in broad daylight, and began pissing on them. I have small girls living on each side of our home. Imagine the problems the association would have had if they’d been out at the time.