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Air conditioner not working properly leaves Broken Arrow family feeling the heat

Posted at 7:19 AM, Jul 19, 2021
and last updated 2021-07-19 22:04:15-04

BROKEN ARROW, Okla. — A Broken Arrow family is feeling the heat, as their air conditioner unit sometimes works, sometimes doesn't.

The family has a home warranty which they thought would fix the problem. When it didn't, they called the 2 News Oklahoma Problem Solvers for help.

For the last couple of summers, the AC at Sonya Loyd's place has been on the fritz.

She said, "Anytime the temperature outside reaches 80 degrees, it will start having a hard time working against that to keep the temperature in the house comfortable."

And 80 degrees is what it feels like inside, much of the time, Loyd told us. She hoped her home warranty company, American Home Shield, would replace the 25-year-old unit.

"It's been very disappointing, upsetting, and frustrating, the whole time," Sonja tells the 2News Oklahoma Problem Solvers.

But all the warranty company will do, Sonya said, what she calls "band-aid" fixes that don't last.

"Every day I deal with this, having to go outside to sometimes pull the breaker and that will reset it and it'll start recovery from there, but it's a daily problem."

Loyd had the warranty for 5 years, paying $50 every month. Plus, she pays a $125 service fee every time the company sends out a technician for a new service request. And that's been several times the past two years, Sonya says, to try to get the AC working right.

"The money I've paid them could have been sitting in an account gaining interest and could have paid more than half of the new unit."

Loyd said she's been told American Home Shield won't replace the unit if technicians can get it to operate. But she doesn't think 80 degrees in her home is acceptable, "it seems like a matter of terminology. Technically they consider it working because it's moving air."

Even more frustrating, most recently, Loyd said she hasn't received any response in 12 days, from the agent. Until the 2 News Oklahoma Problem Solvers got involved, that's when the company offered to pay $250 for Loyd to hire the company of her choice to diagnose any issues with her air conditioner, and then inform American Home Shield of the findings.

Here's what Loyd's chosen heating and air company, which is not connected to American Home Shield, found out: while diagnosing the issues, the technician replaced the capacitor, removed and cleaned the blower assembly, and rinsed off the condenser coil, at a cost of $385.

His report stated, he found the "unit was overcharged and could have possibly harmed the compressor, high-pressure safety switch was bypassed, which could have caused the unit to fail catastrophically."

After his service, the technician reports the "unit is running at optimal performance for the age of the equipment."

Now, American Home Shield offered to pay that entire $385 dollar bill, plus refund one of her service fees. American Home Shield told us, "We value our relationship with Ms. Loyd and look forward to serving her needs in the future."

During the last five years, Loyd said American Home Shield did repair their water heater, and it replaced a refrigerator. But in each of those cases, Loyd said there were several delays.

When 2 News asked AHS about the issues with the air conditioner found by the independent contractor Sonya hired, AHS gave responded:

"We take great pride in providing quality service and valuable protection to our members. If we fail to meet these expectations, we work to do the right thing and ensure the situation is properly resolved. We continually monitor the performance of our contractors and seek feedback from members about their contractor experience and satisfaction. It’s disappointing to learn of Ms. Loyd’s frustration with her assigned contractor, as the company which responded to her service request consistently receives high marks from our members.

After reviewing Ms. Loyd’s case, we found that on two separate occasions, our licensed professional contractor inspected her unit and did not find a mechanical failure. We offered to send a second contractor to inspect Ms. Loyd’s system, and based on the actions they took, we have reimbursed her for $385 in services, as well as her trade service fee. We regret the frustration Ms. Loyd experienced. We deeply value our relationship and look forward to serving her needs in the future."

Contact the Problem Solvers:

  • 918-748-1502
  • problemsolvers@kjrh.com

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