Help needed asap please! May have shady heat pump installer (Asheville: sale, house)

[dirt_track_chaser]

CAN ANYONE TELL ME OR KNOW HOW I CAN FIND OUT IF THE HEAT PUMP (THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE NEW) IS ACTUALLY A REFURBISHED ONE??? I LOOKED AT THE HEAT PUMP UNIT OUTSIDE ITS A THERMAL ZONE THE THING THAT WORRIES ME IS THAT BESIDE THE WORD MODEL NUMBER IS, MODEL TZPA-342-2A757 BUT JUST ABOVE THAT IS MFD./FAB 5/2011. I ONLY ASK BECAUSE THE MAN DOING MY WORK, I FOUND OUT IS NOT LICENSED IN ANYTHING IN REGARDS TO INSTALLING ANYTHING INCLUDING HEAT PUMP'S. I AM GOING INTO DAY 20 , YES I TYPED THIS CORRECT THIS MAN HAS BEEN TRYING TO GET MY SUPPOSEDLY NEW HEAT PUMP TO WORK HE HAS DONE RAISED THE PRICE WAAAAYYY ABOVE THE ESTIMATE BECAUSE I AM ALMOST POSITIVE HE BURNED UP MY CIRCUIT BOARD ON MY ELECTRIC FURNACE AND HE ENDED UP HAVING TO BUY A NEW ONE AN HE INSTALLED IT AFTER FOR SOME MYSTERIOUS REASON HE HAD TO REPLACE MY AC COIL (SAID IT WAS STOPPED UP) SO GOING INTO DAY 20 WITH THIS MAN IVE DONE CHECKED ON HIM WITH OUR BUILDING INSPECTOR HERE IN OUR COUNTY. THEY SAID THEY HAD BEEN INVESTIGATING HIM FOR 8 MONTHS BECAUSE OF HIM DOING THESE HEAT PUMPS AN THE LIKE WITHOUT LICENSE OR PERMIT TO DO IT. I THINK HE HAS GAVE ME A REFURBISHED ONE INSTEAD OF A NEW ONE LIKE HE CLAIMS IT IS. CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME? THANKS SO MUCH FOR INFORMATION.

[motordavid]

Go on Thermal Zone's website, hit the Contact Us tab and send them an email with the serial #.
And, maybe reference your 'installer's' company name.
I bet they respond before noon.
ThermalZone - Heat Pumps

20 days installing a heat pump? Why would one pick this 'installer' in the first place?
GL, mD

[dirt_track_chaser]

I NEVER KNEW HE WAS NOT LICENSED NOR DID I KNOW HE WAS NOT LEGALLY ALLOWED TO INSTALL THESE UNIT'S. THIS MAN HAD SERVICED AN REPAIRED MY FUEL OIL FURNACE AT MY OTHER HOME, SO THE BIG DUMMY I AM THOUGHT I COULD TRUST HIM. HE EVEN HAS AN AD IN THE YELLOW PAGES HERE IN OUR COUNTY. BUT LIKE THE INSPECTOR SAID "ANYONE CAN PUT AN ADD IN THE YELLOW PAGES SAYING THEY HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR SUCH & SUCH YEARS, HAS THIS MANY YRS EXPERIENCE AND CAN DO THIS OR THAT, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN THEY DO IT LEGALLY"! IT'S MY FAULT THAT I HIRED HIM TO THIS JOB (I've had to hear it from my husband every single day that this man has been working on installing that thing). SINCE THE GUY FOUND OUT (i don't know how) THAT THEY (the building inspector has been investigating him for a while now) HE HAS NOT BEEN BACK HE CALLS ME WITH ONE EXCUSE OR ANOTHER. I'M AT MY WITS END AN DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO OR WHERE TO TURN. I'M JUST GLAD I TOLD HIM I WAS NOT PAYING HIM ONE DIME UNTIL THE JOB WAS DONE! SO I TURNED TO THIS BOARD FOR ADVICE THAT BY LAW MY BUILDING INSPECTORS OFFICE CANT GIVE ME, THEY HAVE TO REMAIN NEUTRAL UNTIL THEY TALK TO HIM AN PUT HIM OUT OF BUSINESS. YES TODAY IS DAY 20 AN HE JUST CALLED SAYING AGAIN ITS A MANUFACTURER DEFECT AN HE IS STILL WORKING ON GETTING ME A NEW UNIT. BUT I AM REALLY UNSURE THAT HE EVEN PUT A NEW ONE IN TO BEGIN WITH I THINK HE PUT A REFURBISHED ONE IN AN IS TRYING TO CHARGE ME FOR A NEW ONE. TH ATS WHAT I'M TRYING NOW WITH THERMAL ZONE TO FIND OUT. THANKS FOR ANY HELP I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

[motordavid]

I bet ThermalZone will be able to determine if that unit is new, and I would suspect they can offer a list of 'certified installers' in your area. The good part is you have the/a unit and haven't paid the handyman/'installer', yet.
GL, mD

[Asheville Native]

Friendly suggestion

All upper case is hard to read and many including myself simply don't/won't make the effort to wade through it. I understand you are mad, but you will get more help or advise if you detail your issue in text formatted to be readable, vs. shouting.

[Dav55]

Looks like you have a shady HVAC installer. So they've been investigating him for 8 months, meanwhile he is traipsing around ripping people off. Obviously they know what he is has been up to. They need to stop investigating, haul him into court, and stop his rip-off operation. It's ashamed you might have to do their work for them, but have you considered suing him?

[dirt_track_chaser]

@ Asheville Native,
I am so sorry for the all cap's. I couldn't help it my cap's lock key had been getting stuck and would sometimes come on an off on it's on, so I took it in an got it fixed as you can see. I'm so sorry if anyone was offended by thinking I was yelling. The problem with my cap's key is fixed now..lol..

OK now back on topic. The heat and air guy I was working with was called into the head building inspectors office, He was slapped with a huge fine, got the job he was doing for me an other's taken from him an the Head Building Inspector turned all his other job's over to a REAL LICENSED PROFESSIONAL (who is actually out of Asheville, they did a Wonderful Job, had a new unit set in place, even with set back's from having to fixing the previous guys mess, having to have his electrician reinstall, rewire everything including the new thermostat that was even wired up wrong also)! The new guys had my new unit installed in just over 5 hour's. The previous guy was not allowed to touch anything on this or any other of his job's that got turned over to other company also, all they allowed him to do was pick up his outside unit's that the other company had uninstalled on all his job's. He has to get his license in everything that is needing to the kind of work he has been doing illegally for a very long time. Why they had not had a complaint against him before now is beyond me. But after 30 some odd day's all I care about is, I now have a working an safe heating an cooling system that passed the building inspector's inspection the 1st time around. He was told he would be monitored an checked up on without his knowledge from time to time, so he has no choice if he wants to continue his business doing installs he has to get license in everything needed to do HVAC work. It's a good thing the other company's electrician check everything out because when he removed my breaker box panel there was 4 wires that had melted together. My house could have very easily burned down because of this, I am so glad this was found and all the wiring replaced correctly. I finally have a working, safe heating and air unit ! Could not be happier with the new company's work, knowledge an professionalism with the job they did.
Trust me I learned my lesson the hard way, Check everyone out, no matter how many small jobs they may have done for you in the past it pays to check them out especially on big jobs like this one. This was my biggest mistake an my fault for not checking him out, trust me I learned my lesson the hard way (draining my savings) and it will wont happen again!

[Got screwed on lemon]

You have to watch these people here in WNC. They love to cheat you. I have been done that way. You maybe protected by the law. I got a house will a unit too small for the house. What you need to do is find out if the place you got the unit from had a license #. If so, then get find that out. Try calling your inspection office. They can help you get the info you need and they can direct you to the places you need to go to complain. If an installer has a license then they have to stand good for the unit they sale you. For as long as they have the license#. I found all this out from a kind man trying to help us correct our problems with the unit that came with our lemon home. If you need any more info, please contact me back. I am sick of these good people of WNC cheating people.

[SmokiesR4me]

Glad you got it all straightened out, it's too bad you had to go through that. Lesson learned research, research and check references.
Happy heating and cooling.

[CSD610]

Wow, that would be so much easier to read if it was not in all caps. Anyway, good luck getting this situation worked out (what I could stand to read of it).