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RIVERTON — A Riverton woman received an offer for a low-price furnace and air conditioning tune-up, when her units were already working well.
Afton Zundel, 84, has a 12-year-old furnace and air conditioner. She knows how to operate the thermostat and how to change the furnace filter. And, like most people, that is about all she knows about furnaces and air conditioners. So, she depends on experts.
She got a call from a furnace and air conditioning company offering to tune them up for a very cheap price. Suddenly, the sales person had Zundel sign a contract for a new furnace and air conditioner for $11,138, she said.
When asked if she needed a new one, she said, "Well, the one (person) that came to inspect it says I do."
"He says it's wearing out, and it'll break," she added. "I spoke to my son that night, that I have another 'fun' expense coming up right now, and he said, 'Do you trust the people who you're dealing with?' And I said, 'I haven't any reason to trust or distrust them. I don't know them,'" she said.
That's how Mechanical Air Company arrived on her doorstep for a second opinion. Jason Glad did a routine inspection of the furnace, checking and adjusting things most people know nothing about.
He said he found nothing wrong with the furnace.
"It is running in perfect operating condition, just like when it was installed — mechanically, electrically and chemically," he said, noting that there was no reason to replace it.
Next, he took apart, inspected and adjusted Zundel's air conditioning unit.
"Pressures are running perfectly, or almost perfectly," he said. "Not a thing wrong with this. Amperages are all perfect."
Glad found a little pressure problem, but that's a simple $100 or $200 repair, he said. He saw no reason to replace the unit.
The $11,000 recommendation for a new furnace and air conditioning unit may seem over the top, but it's legal.
From their perspective, HVAC companies can't stay in business if they don't get between $70-$100 per hour for service calls. So, if you take advantage of a $30 or $40 "tune-up," expect an upsell.
