I've been using Summit since ~2018 to handle my furnace maintenance. This summer I had them out to…read moredo a tuneup on my two A/C units. I mentioned to the tech that the upstairs didn't get quite as cold as I would like; while I suspected some of that could be system/ductwork limitations, he suggested that we could add a little more freon to the system in the event there was a possible slow leak. Ultimately, he ended up adding freon to both the upstairs and main floor unit, and unexpectedly much more to the main floor unit. The price after the fact surprised me, especially given that particular unit had appeared to have been working fine; the tech told me it was possible that unit had a leak. He informed me Summit would schedule a leak investigation if desired, but that it would cost a whopping $1,100, so I declined given the performance on that unit had been fine.
Fast forward a week or two, and the main floor is quite hot. The ducts seem to be blowing hot air. At which point it became clear to me the unit has actually stopped functioning. I call Summit, which is busy with appointments and express my dismay that the unit stopped working after the tuneup. They tell me it may be a leak etc., but they will send someone out. I wait for the scheduled appointment and the tech that arrives this time clearly didn't look over the prior notes or photos before arrival. I explain to him the situation, and he was confused about which unit was implicated, and claimed that the prior pressure readings from the earlier tech clearly indicated there was a leak (which was not at all what I was told). He later retracted this statement after realizing what time of day the earlier appointment was and said those pressure readings were normal. He poked around briefly, but without much investigation declared the system to have a leak, and indicated there was an 80% chance of it being non-repairable. He indicated they would have to do the $1,100 search to locate the leak, and if it was in the condenser/evaporative coils it would not be repairable. If it was somewhere else in the line, it could be, but then they would possibly have to tear into my walls, etc. to identify the issue. When I asked how much a new unit would be, he gave me a rough quote of $15,000, but told me that they would have to look at specs to price out more specifically. I asked him to do so, given I wanted to know what I was looking at, and he appeared inconvenienced by the request and said it would take him an hour. (It did not.) During that process, the tech told me my ductwork was not sufficient and I would need to downsize my unit, and that the smaller size wouldn't be enough to cool the floor. He suggested my unit may have broken because I keep the basement vents closed, but then he also claimed these A/C units only last about ten years. The whole visit felt performative, and ultimately was much more focused on theoretical salesmanship than anything diagnostic. I was left pretty frustrated.
I called out a different repair company recommended by a friend, and within 5 minutes he had identified the leak and the location in the coil. Contrary to what I was told by Summit, this company informed me the coil could be replaced and that I had many more years of life left in the unit. Within the week, I got the whole thing repaired and refilled for ~$1,200--not much more than the cost of a Summit "leak search." While I've had positive and knowledgeable techs with Summit, this whole experience was such a breach of trust that I will not be using them again. I had another company inspect my furnaces this fall for a fraction of the cost, and I will not be looking back.
