Bought a new house and the natural gas hot water heater went out after two months so I called up the warranty company to get a fix. They gave us Kelley H&A as their local contractor. Kelley recommended a replacement job, and the new unit was installed. During my initial conversation with the owner he quoted the total out-of-pocket cost to me at ~$500 (after the warranty coverage). Once the unit was installed the worker presented my wife with a bill of ~$900. I called back and he said I must have misunderstood the original conversation. Ok, fine. I looked around and confirmed that the unit we bought was ballparking around the new number, so I chalked it up to a mistake on my part.
Unfortunately, a more pressing problem surfaced immediately. Apparently the son installed the unit and left without giving my wife any introduction to its operation. Turns out the unit wasn't turned on correctly, so she had to Google the model and reset it. It immediately kicked on and she started to smell natural gas. After calling the gas company she was advised to evacuate the house with our cats. The utility company came and said the smell is normal the first time these things run, and the company should have told us that, and it was baffling that they had installed a unit but didn't turn it on. So, a pain in the ass and unprofessional and completely avoidable, but again, it happens.
Both of these things, however, (the second more than the first) made me call around to see what Kelley's reputation was around town was.
I heard almost immediately from another contractor that Kelly Heating and Air doesn't have the requisite Master Plumber's license to install hot water heaters in Mankato, MN. Flabbergasted, I corroborated this by calling the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry as well as our local city office of inspection, and both confirmed that Kelley had no business accepting a job that allowed them to install a brand new hot water heater--they could fix an existing one, but were not allowed to install a new one. In the end, the city sent their own inspector free of charge (thanks guys) to check Kelley's work (and claims to have admonished Kelly H&A). Thankfully, there were no major problems found except an exhaust line exiting the house under the deck. The city inspector called Kelley to tell them to send a plumbing contractor over here and extend the line away from the house. Two months later and Kelley Heating and Air has sent no inspector. I decided to do it myself.
Let me be clear: here's an HVAC company who, fully aware they were unlicensed to form high-pressure plumbing work, installed a $1400 natural gas hot water heater in my basement. The home warranty company completely disavowed Kelley H&A when I asked for an explanation for how this all happened. That they immediately threw Kelley under the bus speaks to the seriousness of the transgression. Will be keeping a close eye on this water heater. Use vendor at your own risk.
Not for nothing, but they also provided no receipt upon installation. I called asking for one. They said it was in the mail. A week later, I called again. Nothing. Two weeks after that, I called again. Nothing. Finally, I went into the office and asked for one. Guy said the secretary was out and they'd send tomorrow. A week later, no receipt. Pretty frustrated, I called and said if they didn't have one in my mailbox by the end of the week I was calling the MN dept of labor back and AG's office and filing a formal complaint (I couldn't believe I had to resort to such asinine threats to get a receipt). Wouldn't you know it, but a receipt arrived on Monday. read more