what would you do

Mark E Smith

Member
Messages
190
Location
Arkansas
OK is it just me...I recently got a mini split heat pump installed with two zones, Mitsubishi unit, cost me 5,500 bucks back in Sept, from a local company BR McGinty. Now in the proposal & Agreement sheet they specified a 21 SEER unit for this price installed, great right. Now I get this thing in the mail from them saying I can claim this unit on my taxes, and it list it as an 18 SEER unit...WHAT...so I check the model # and sure enough..it is an 18 SEER unit. Now I crunched the numbers and using a SEER calculator for me, is a 14% difference in operating cost for the year, for me about 149 bucks a year difference. So naturally I contact the folks at BR McGinty and say whats up, you gave me a quote for a 21 SEER and I got an 18 SEER...their response... well you went through several modification on your estimates and we inadvertently left the SEER rating unchanged in the proposal...yes their initial proposal was for $7800, which I said was outrageous then they came back with the more reasonable $5500 , but that doesn't change the fact that I agreed to 21 SEER not 18 SEER, their mistake is not my problem. So my question is, is this really something I need to dig in my heels on, I mean a contract is a contract, I did my part, I paid them. Is this the way contracts work now, if you don't provide what you say you'll provide you just get says sorry we got confused, you get what we give you and you just need to be happy about it. So what you do...I am really torn on if I need to pursue this or not, it is sure to be a long crazy fight and I am sure I'll end up on the losing end of this, because taking on a business for a consumer always end badly for the consumer, but I really am getting tired of getting screwed....or am I just making a mountain out of a mole hill...need to hear some advice...
 
That's a tough call, Mark. I'm not a lawyer, but I'd think you could take the contractor to Small Claims Court. Still, I have no idea if it'd be worth it for the $2200 price difference. Might be worth a quick call to the Better Business Bureau (if there's one in your area) to see if anyone else has complained about similar contract "adjustments".
 
I'd have your lawyer send them a threatening letter giving them a chance to make it right before you go to court and before you make a complaint with your States Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau. Probably won't cost you more than a couple hundred bucks for the letter and you may get them to make you an settlement offer. Other than that you are probably out the $.
 
I guess sometimes we have to make the decision of whether we want to be right or let it slide. I'm no lawyer either. But, the letter from an attorney might get it done for you. Might not. If not, then you have to make the hard decisions. Being right is not always enough nowadays. Used to be. Used to be that if you were right, the courts and the law would go to bat for you and make things right. No more. Out of the 26 years I spent as a Marine, the last 20 was as an investigator for the Dept. of Defense. I saw all kinds of right things go wronged and nothing could be done about it. What companies now depend on is your letting it go and doing nothing but stew about it, because it is not politically correct to make waves. Good luck.
 
The way I see it, you were given a price for a specific product, you said it was to much money. They came back with a new proposal and stuff happens, someone missed changing the numbers but the price was right so you bought it. It was installed, has worked, you were happy with it until you were notified and checked into it. Did you happen to ask them how it was they could change from 78 to 55? That is a significant drop in price and something had to change. I say they did what you wanted, got it in the price range and evidently knew what they were talking about as you have heat and have been comfortable until now. Stuff happens. Life is to short. My 2 cents worth and you get what you pay for.
 
When your talking about contracts "inadvertent" doesn't cut it. Their promise of 21 a seer unit mislead you. The same situation happened to my mother. Unknown to me she had a new central heat and air installed and was aware that a higher seer rating was better. She was sold and ordered a 21 seer unit, but the contacter installed a lower rated unit and removed the label with the seer and model numbers on it.

This happened years ago. I felt the same as you, let it slide or go to court. I let it slide and have been sorry ever since. Business doesn't always win in small claims court. You sometimes hear you can't collect, but I've heard you can file lien on their property to collect what's owed and it's not hard.

Bill
 
The first thing I would have done right up front is to ask how they were able to reduce the cost from $7800 to $5500 - show me what I'm getting. I'm a believer in "you don't get something for nothing".

I have no experience or knowledge of small claims court. You should first try to reason with the merchant. If you want to pursue other action, OK. The merchant will probably apologize for a "clerical error" and that's about it.

Looking at it another way: If you had paid the additional amount for the 21 SEER unit and saved $149 per year in operating cost, it would about be the equivalent of the $2300 saving you got with the 18 SEER unit. ($2300 / $149 = 15.4 years or about the time you'd be replacing a unit again)
 
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@Bill: removing the label indicates intent to defraud, clearly a legal issue. Inadvertent oversight not so much. To go to court as a plaintiff you must be prepared to prove intent. I see no way to win this in court. Save the legal costs. Or another perspective. Only lawyers win in the court room.

Learned as a legal secretary for a criminal defense attorney many years ago. There is no justice in the court room, only the law.
 
as i see it (and i could be wrong), you wanted the 21, and the original price was $7800, you said too much, and as i see it, that agreement was out the window. they recalculated with the 18, and came back with a price you liked, and that is the basis of a new agreement. did you check the details of how they could drop the price by $2300? did you watch the installation, and check the heat pump before it was installed, to make certain it was the right one? gotta check all the i's and t's before you put your name on that bottom line.
 
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