Lea Heating and Air Conditioning

They did pretty good. They came in really professional and got it done a day and a half. They were real nice and friendly.

My parents furnace would not work so I recommended Lea Heating. My father called for an appointment on a Monday morning. On Tuesday morning, they had not shown and my father said he didn't think they were coming. Since my parents needed heat, I went over at lunch time and found that a small motor and blower needed replacement. I went to the store and got the motor but had to order the blower wheel because they did not have the right size. I had the motor removed and installed on the bracket and went back to work since the wheel would not be delivered until the next day. All that was needed was for the blower wheel to be installed (a 5-minute job). At about 3:30 that afternoon, Lea Heating showed up. My father called me and put the technician on the phone. He said he had the blower wheel on his truck. I asked him how much it would be and told him it would be up to my parents since I had already ordered the wheel. My mother also asked him how much it would be and decided that since they would already have to pay the $95 charge to show up, they may as well have Lea Heating install the blower motor. We expected a charge of about $300.

Later that evening, my father called and said they were charged $445. This included 1-1/2 hours of labor onsite, the $95 service charge to show up and $140 for a part which I ordered for less than $30. While I fully understand that Lea Heating (and all contractors) charge a markup, we feel my parents were over-charged for both the part and labor...especially since the technician told my parents and me that it would cost about $300 to fix. They didn't even get the $100 senior discount advertised! My mother thinks the technician was mad because I had started the repair. Believe me, if we knew he was coming, I wouldn't have worked on the furnace but like I said, they needed heat.

I called Lea Heating the next day and spoke with the office. I was eventually put on the phone with Pat who I am told is one of the managers. He told me he would need to investigate (which I fully understand) and would call me the next day. No phone call. I gave it two days and called again. Pat wasn't in so I left a message. No response.

In fairness, my father was not clear when Lea would be coming out. According to the office, my father was told it would be Tuesday afternoon. For whatever reason, my father thought they were coming on Monday. Regardless, we believe my parents were overcharged by at least $100. I spoke with Pat who promised a return call and I didn't get it. This whole experience has been very unfortunate.

1. I rated the price at and quot;Cand quot; because this is a lesson learned.
   1. 1. I would have avoided the double-time Sunday premium if I called on Saturday night. I could not wait until Monday. The technician would have made a Saturday evening service call. On a side note, I did use the website contact page on Saturday night to email a service appointment, but no response on Sat. night nor Sunday morning, so I made the call.
   2. 2. The fix was pushing in a switch. The cause of the tripped switch is unknown and I appreciate the technician trying to find the root cause. Applying the fix, if known would have saved a service call and $450. Then if the switch were to trip again I would have made the service call. It should be noted if the switch trips again or needs replacement I will be out $$ for another service call.