Heating and Air Conditioning Scams

What are some of the best lines that unscrupulous techs and companies use to get you to buy a new furnace or air conditioning system from them. I will give you a heads up on some of the best lines that I have come across.

“Your heat exchanger is cracked.” This line will scare many people and unfortunately I have seen it used on the elderly often. These are some of the most vulnerable of society and how would they know if a supposedly knowledgeable individual told them that they could die because of their heating unit.

“You’re A/C or Heat pump unit needs to be topped off with Freon because it is low.”
Heat pump or A/C units do not “use” refrigerant! If they are low then there IS a leak, make them find it so they cannot come back and charge you every year for more.

“Your Freon is bad and must be changed.” Hogwash!! Freon never goes bad if it is in a system that is sealed and tight. Moisture and contamination from a burnt compressor are the enemies of Freon.

“Your Compressor is failing and not pumping right.” Most compressors will last for many years. Ten to 20 years or more is not uncommon, unless you live in a well to do neighborhood…. It is funny how the lower income guys get the low Freon line and the higher income people get the compressor line.

“Replace your air filter every thirty days” If you are a normal person with normal air filters and one or two pets, then you will be just fine changing your air filter twice a year with heating only and 4 times a year with heating and A/C. The exception may be if you are using a very expensive ultra high efficiency air filter. If you want that kind of filtration then make sure you install one of the 4 or 5 inch deep filters that can handle a ton of dirt before they plug up.

“Your Thermostat is bad and that caused the problems you are having with your unit.” Yeah right….just another way to con you into spending more money!!! Make sure that you try the unit with the new parts and see how it operates before also changing the thermostat.

And the last one…”The company that installed your system has to be the one to work on your system.” If you are having trouble with your system, then why do you want the ones that screwed it up in the first place to continue the saga?? There is no person with a corner on all the knowledge in the HVAC industry. It is very easy for someone else to work on a system that they did not install. Well, if it was installed even remotely as it should have been…. I have seen some systems that have had me scratching my head wondering what on earth the guy was doing!!! No wonder it did not work!

Bottom line… do not be to quick to believe everything that comes from a service technician. Many companies pay a commission to service techs for sales made from their referrals. What is wrong with that picture? I rest my case.