“A really bad service when you need it most”
With the abnormal heat that is characterizing this first part of the summer, we are receiving numerous reports and letters of problems and poor service. Below we publish a signed letter of the misadventure that happened to one of our readers.
TORONTO – ‘This city has two seasons. Grey, for 10 months of the year and Excessive Heat. Since June 23rd of this year we have been in a heatwave. I’ve also been without air conditioning.
While the news reported the high rise building with residents who lost air conditioning those first two days of sweltering heat, I spent hours of wasted time and energy dealing with Enercare.
The company, an insurance of trades under one umbrella residential service, sells Total Home Protection Plans – including heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical services, repairs and yearly maintenance for approximately 100 dollars a month. Sounds great! Until you realize they contract out services, hire customer service agents all named Mary or Diego who answer only stick to the same script and cannot offer solutions other than to upsell more services. These are known as unfair or deceptive business practices under both the Ontario Consumer Protection Laws.
Multiple calls since June 23 have resulted in “escalation of my complaint” to another person named Mary or Diego. A technician came the morning of June 24th to diagnose my Carrier Air Conditioning Unit. He told me the motor for the fan is broken. According to him, “lucky you it’s an easy fix. I’ll order the part. It should arrive in a couple of days and then a technician will come to install it”. Yet, July 6th, my house still sits at 28.5 degrees at 8:30am.
Enercare has called me back three different times to update me on the status of my file. I am certain it is to protect themselves as part of the consumer complaint procedure with the Ontario Energy Board, Better Business Bureau, Competition Bureau or Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and the Consumer Affairs Office.
I tried calling Furnace & AC Experts as they too are Carrier suppliers; they had installed my heater and smart thermostat. My thermostat cannot connect to the WiFi and the “fan only” option is no longer an option. The response was “unplug it from the wall. It will reset. Then call back if it doesn’t work. I have another client on the line I need to help”. So much for asking them to come fix the A/C unit.
This past Wednesday I called Enercare at 1:30pm. I had to start the whole process of giving my service address and repeating my issue. I was told by Mary that she would look into the issue and call me back. At 3:00pm I called back. “Rinse & Repeat”. I finally spoke with someone with no last name who guaranteed the part was going to be delivered the next day. Friday morning 8:00am another 45 minute call to rinse and repeat and told “my part would arrive by 5:00pm”.
5:15 pm the same day, I called Enercare. Again; “Rinse & Repeat” for 1 hour. I am then transferred to someone else in another department. I’m told “the part was never going to arrive before July 7th”. They would credit my account $100 for the inconvenience. The credit though will appear in 2 – 3 billing cycles. How convenient! I asked during all calls this past week “if it were January with 20 degrees below zero you wouldn’t leave your customers without heat. How is this different?”
Yesterday I received another call from Enercare. Lip Service Call. They were just checking to see if the part arrived. According to Richard the caller, their tracking service was down. However; it was documented that “the part for the motor was to be delivered July 4th to July 7th. Then, once a technician is available they will schedule a service”. When I asked what they would do if this were winter; Richard said “well it’s a different situation. If we couldn’t fix the heater right away we would leave the customers with portable power generators”. Thanks.
I implore Carrier Home Solutions Corporation or any other separate HVAC service company not contracted out by Enercare to help me. Consumers should not be held hostage by inadequate suppliers Carrier Air Conditioning units or Insurance Companies greedily pocketing your money and trapping you in a loop of lies and lack of service. With this excessive heat, Enercare’s treatment is nothing less than inhumane”.
