What should i do if an AC technician pumped freon in my AC system when i told him there is a leak?

Question

for the past 2 years my AC system would stop working and i would call a technician to come an fix it. the guy would come, pump some gas in the system and leave. my AC would work for a couple of weeks and then break down. i told one of my friends about this and he told me that there might be a leak and freon gas, which is toxic, could be leaking out. so i called a technician and told him that i think my AC system is not working due to a crack or something. the guy comes over and pumps more gas and leaves. then my system breaks after 2 days. i call again and this time, another guy, checks for leaks and there was one. then i get a call from company telling me that i have to pay 300 dollars to empty the freon gas, that they should not have pumped in the first place. this is not fair since they didn't do their jobs or what i told them to do. i want to complain but there is no way i can afford a lawyer. what else can i do?

Answer 1

All refrigerant leaks can be found.Some are just a little harder to locate than others.A leak that you actually feel inside your home as a no cool,within two weeks,is not what I would consider a small leak.That's a blowing leak and should have been located,pumped down,repaired,re leak checked,evauated,and then loaded up.

Adding refrigerant to a system is simple and imediate results are felt,if that's what the problem is.That's why many techs just load it up and roll to the next call.

What you have to remember is,the time it takes to locate those harder to find leaks,repair,evacuate.and load up with virgin gas is all billable time.You are going to pay either way so what I would do is ask to speak to the service manager and tell him how unhappy you are about the incompetent service and ask ,what are you going to do to make it right.Abour getting someone out there to locate and repair the leak and then recharge it AND A PRICE REDUCTION OF THE LABOR INVOLVED.You won't be billed for the past refrigerant and I can almost guarranty you that you will be billed very little for them finally doing the job right.Good luck.

Answer 2

My parents owned a heating and AC company for years and years, so I'm pretty familiar with the workings of that type of company.

Is this the same company that has been coming out to check on your unit every time you have had an issue?  If so, you should meet with the owner and tell him that you do not believe you received adequate service on your unit each of the previous service calls because it is the company's responsibility to determine the root of the problem (unless, of course, you call them and specifically ask them for freon only).  Tell him that since the problem has finally been diagnosed, you do not believe you should have to charge to have the freon removed.  If he argues with you, simply threaten to take your business elsewhere.  If this doesn't do anything, then go to another company and explain the situation.  Sometimes other companies will try their best to undercut their competition by as much possible in order to gain your business.  Hope this helped!

Answer 3

I have pulled many coils and put them in a water tank to find that they leak form many places not just one. If the system is over ten years old it could be leaking freon from anywhere.I have had customers tell me to just add freon since they do not have the money to repair the system. Freon is not toxic and since you do not know where the leak is it could be in the condenser, outside. So how many times have you had the system filled in two years, and now you just realize that you have a leak? Three side to the truth A & B and the truth.I think we are only getting half of the story. Call another company and let them tell you where the leak is and what it will cost to repair.

Answer 4

if you have a leak you probably don't have no freon to remove,this guy trying to ripe you off for 300.00 bucks,call someone else and tell them to find the leak and fix it before adding any freon,good luck.

Answer 5

berae had some great points. How much freon do they, and you, think is currently in the system? Since it kept leaking out, you do NOT have the total of all that was put in. What you said in your question seems to imply that you do have it all.

Why do they need to "empty the freon gas?" If they need to open the system to do repairs, then they need to empty it, by law. If it is simply a connection to tighten, they do not empty the system. Specifically, what is leaking?

IF it is all the same company's work, I would ask for a full refund or credit for all the freon that has been put in so far. I wouldn't necessarily threaten them, but it is illegal to just keep putting in freon. There was obviously a leak and they had a legal and moral obligation to check for that BEFORE just adding more.

Actually, the legal part of it is ONLY if you have an older system that uses R-22 type of freon. There are newer ones that are not regulated. But, that isn't really the point.

I agree that you need to talk to the owner. The company's reps screwed up and also screwed you. I don't think the owner wants the details of your transactions made public. That would really hurt their reputation. Hopefully, he/she will agree and want to negociate.

While googie has a point, I believe that much of the time the goal isn't to just take the quickest way. Instead, I think there are so many incompetent people, in every field, that they just don't know the right way to do it.

Answer 6

Why you need to empty freon gas from leaky system? Would it not all leak out on it's own?

Answer 7

When you are not familiar with the workings, maintenance men do what appears to be the solution using the easiest way out. In this case injecting freon was the method. You had an obligation to tell the second guy that freon had already been charged into the system and the unit was not working.  Negotiate with the company for some relief since they made a wrong diagnosis or find another service.