Ants?

[marge]

I have a Honda. They stand behind their vehicles.

[iraqveteran]

Will do. The first order of business is to get someone that I trust out here to diagnose the current problem. There is a commercial HVAC guy in my church that I was recommended to ask; he is at the beach for a few days, but, when he gets back, he will be my first call. (meanwhile it is 89 degrees in here)

Next, I will be reviewing my warranty papers. Once I get a proper diagnosis, I will contact Trane and maybe even my homeowners insurance (if the unit needs to be replaced) to see about getting some kind of discount/warranty rebate...something!!!

Also watch out for some kind of website warning to homeowners talking about this issue. My son is a graphic designer so I will see about getting something made up regarding this.

Our discussions will not be in vain, everyone! I am listening and, I hope that you are, too. In fact, I may even start a small business creating "Informational Brocheres" for contractors to buy at a nominal cost to give to their clients when they install/service an A/C unit. Like Kevin said, this prevents a LOT of misunderstanding.

At any rate, I will keep everyone posted. Thanks for a very informative day.

Good luck with the brocures idea. I don't see it taking off like you hope but ya never know.

Secondly, there are thousands of website that refer to ants in contactors......do a google search.

You have just been nieve during to duration of the past year and now want to point the finger.

In the contactor is bad, replace it. Homeowners insurance won't replace your system. In fact, they may see you as a potential liability and drop you. I've seen it before. And your warranty doesn't cover MAINTIANENCE issues. If you would like, email me. I have the number for Trane and a gentlemans name that you can speak with. He's the one I call with all my questions.

[t527ed]

I have a Honda. They stand behind their vehicles.

my wife has a honda van that is the biggest POS i have ever driven.

won't get better than 16-18 mpg
brakes shimmy and shake as soon as they warm up
has run flat tires that are shot a 30,000 miles and cost over 1,000 for the set and nothing else will fit the rims.


never had any problems with ants in it though...........

[the dangling wrangler]

It's not often that this many contractors/service techs agree on anything here. This time it's different ,I think we all agree that ants,bugs,vermin,ect,ect, wouldn't be covered under any type of warranty .Period.Or,that we should be responsible for them. I, for the life of me ,can't understand how the installing company can be either . I'm open to any thoughts . So, if anybody can dumb it down to me, have at it . I'm just not getting where Marge is coming from .Try to keep it professional guys. Something just isn't clicking for me .

[Swampfox]

You have an ant problem not an AC problem, Its not Trane's fault, its not the installing or servicing contractor's fault, this should not be covered under any warranty or insurance, stop blaming Trane and your contractor and take care of your ant problem, perhaps get a contract with a pest control company.

[filterchanger]

3 contactors lost due to ants in 1 year .

You dont by chance still have 1 of the bad contactors do you?

[t527ed]

she is just one of those people who need to have someone else to blame for her problems.


i understand this condition completely.................














i married one just like her................

[sparksandfan]

Marge

"1. Buying 'quality' does not mean anything anymore. I should have gone with the cheaper unit installed by the guy down the street like my son did. He has no problems and lives across the street from me. (and, is apparently, ant free)"
That's quite a conclusion from so few data points. And your sub-thesis is that ants discriminate between cheaper units.

"2. There is a whole industry that preys on the ignorance of homeowners; (by not giving instruction nor information regarding the possible dangers to the potential destruction of your very expensive piece of equipment that you have now purchased) and, quite frankly, profits by it. (and it is not just mortgage people as is portrayed by the media)"

Everything that you could want to defeat ignorance is available at your library or local community college. Your thesis is that if only you had had the instructions you would have avoided potential destruction. So you always unplug your coffee maker before leaving the house?- or do you take the chance that the house won't burn down? You always turn off the cold and hot water valves to the washing machine after use?- or do you take the chance that the hose won't burst and flood the house? You faithfully change antifreeze every two years?- or wait until the water pump freezes up? Marge, who has stopped you from becoming educated on your house, your automobile, your air conditioning, your retirement plan? There is no conspiracy; it's your choice. If you don't want to become educated, then don't feel abused if you have to pay someone to learn and to do that job for you.

"3. The guy that invents units that repels such pests or makes the unit uninhabitable to these pests is bound to make a fortune."

It's already invented and readily available. You haven't made the choice to get down to the hardware store, buy the product, and apply it.

"4. There needs to be some kind of insurance that a person can buy to prevent these things or else a waiver that a person must sign alerting them to these dangers."

Insurance doesn't prevent things. It exists to compensate against loss under specified conditions. The premiums paid will always be more than the expected value of loss. Why not put aside money in your own account for unpredictable losses?

Most of us understand that we are responsible for ourselves. A waiver implies that someone else is always responsible. You could sign a waiver, but then you would complain that you did not have an attorney present to explain the waiver.

You're unhappy that you've had a loss. Your reaction is to put that loss on the back of someone else. From what you've presented, your technician doesn't deserve the blame or the theft of his services.

[BigJon3475]

Marge there are good contractors in our area don't get rid of to many last I tried they were more than happy to turn down work.......I guess that means they have all they can handle. If your in the banking industry than you know Charlotte is one of the markets that hasn't quiet felt the recession like other areas.

[marge]

I'm going to ignore that comment, t527ed. That is just junk and not worth a response.

dangling wrangler, have you ever been ripped off? Have you ever been lied to? In my business, I am given information about people that apply for loans and it is my responsibility to verify that this information is correct and these people qualify for a loan. Probably 85% of the information that I receive is either incorrect, exaggerated or, just plain fraudulant. Additionally, I am required BY LAW to make sure that the customer is properly told of all aspects of this loan that they have applied for...even if they have applied fraudulantly.

Due to this, and also due to my city upbringing, I am, by nature, a very cynical person. I have been ripped off more times than I can count because some "nice person" convinces me that ...this product...is needed for whatever reason and has somehow gotten around that cynicisim. That was the real intent of my original post...to find out if, once again, I was flim-flammed. I now see that I probably was not.

I am not saying that the ants are anyone's fault in particular. I AM saying that not informing the consumer that this is a possibility IS the fault of the contractor. I cannot assume that everyone understands everything that there is about a mortgage or small business loan....and, contractors cannot assume that everyone knows about the mechanics of an HVAC system. People need to be informed. THAT IS MY ENTIRE ISSUE. I was never informed completely. Plus, I have a lot of friends & aquaintences. None of them have ever heard of this, either (men & women). You guys are saying that I should know this. HOW? I am supposed to take an HVAC course before buying one? Who would think of this? Only someone who is familiar with these things.

Conversely, I recently underwrote a loan where the client paid cash for the new home that he has built. By law, I need to be able to see where these funds have come from. Simply saying, "his savings account" is not sufficient. The loan officer was all upset saying that this was unreasonable. I needed to explain that it was a violation of money-laundering laws. People (and, not necessarily this client) get money illegally and then, to "hide" it build or buy houses with it. We, the bank, will be held liable for contributing to the crime if we don't do reasonable due diligence to determine the source of these funds.

Now, put yourself in that client's spot. If all the loan officer said to you was that you had to prove where you got the money to build your house (and did not explain it), you would be raving mad. You built the house using bonus money...or, you had saved that money for years...whatever the case. You would probably call up the bank and holler at the underwriter (if you could figure out who it was).

What was the real issue? You were not informed. Nobody explained WHY. They just said this was what it was...and, by the way, it is going to cost you $$$$$$. Nobody that you know has ever heard of this. This seems to be an isolated incident concerning YOU. what would YOUR response be?

That's as easy as I know to make it. Anyone?

[the dangling wrangler]

This is Mrs. Wrangler. What's wrong with the condenser now? Get a grip. It sounds to me like you have an ant problem. Your contractor did nothing wrong. Buy a can of raid every month. Good grief, Charlie Brown.

[BigJon3475]

You have to realize a loan and someone selling you a mechanical device are two different things.


Last I heard from congressional investigating committees was that some of those terms you keep referring to are on a level somewhere in 27 years of schooling.


if someone broke down a HVAC system for you something we all go to school several years for would you even understand the explanations given to you previously........one in particular I am thinking of is mark beisers.

That's not a shot at your intelligence. I can promise you I don't understand ever single item on the loans I have. I pay them......the reason it's required on loans is because the final outcome can be 1000% higher if you screw up and decide not to pay......If you didn't pay the contractor what can they do to you besides sue?......If they don't pay their loan what's default? 24.99% compounded daily?



No clause for who's fault it was. Check out my profile it has some reading material to help inform you of cost to your contractor.

[the dangling wrangler]

Thanks Jon.I couldn't remember who had that. Not that it will do any good in this case . But thanks again . Marge,click on Jons avatar and read a little bit.

[iraqveteran]

And so the quest continues.......

Marge, you claim you were not informed of the ant problem.....

So what you are saying is you didn't know you have ants in your yard. C'mon, you are continuing to find someone else to blame. And all your doing is making it harder on yourself.

As a contractor, YES, we do have the right to refuse service. And believe it or not, people talk. You keep at this pace and you'll be lucky to find anyone to come to your aid in time of need. Including your "friend". Once he sees firsthand what turmoil you are creating elsewhere, even he (providing hes halfway intellegent) will want nothing to do with you.

Did you purchase this equipment or move into a house with an existing HVAC system???

Reguardless of your answer, its not the contractor's responsibility to inform you of everything and anything about the system unless you ask. When you buy a car, does the salesman draw you a picture of the gas and brake pedals??? I highly doubt it.

Did you do any research before purchasing? Did you get multiple quotes? Did you speak with several people in the industry or just buy on the fly???


You are quick to point fingers to others but when it comes back to you, you try another avenue of approach. This isn't combat. You can't outflank us by attempting different wording. It just aint gonna happen.

[Swampfox]

In your first post you mentioned this happened for the first time last year, You can argue the point that you were not informed about every possible thing that could happen with your system, but you have known since then that ants are a potential problem, it is now a year later and apparently you still have not addressed your ant problem, whose fault is that?

[the dangling wrangler]

I'm going to ignore that comment, t527ed. That is just junk and not worth a response.

dangling wrangler, have you ever been ripped off? Have you ever been lied to? In my business, I am given information about people that apply for loans and it is my responsibility to verify that this information is correct and these people qualify for a loan. Probably 85% of the information that I receive is either incorrect, exaggerated or, just plain fraudulant. Additionally, I am required BY LAW to make sure that the customer is properly told of all aspects of this loan that they have applied for...even if they have applied fraudulantly.

Due to this, and also due to my city upbringing, I am, by nature, a very cynical person. I have been ripped off more times than I can count because some "nice person" convinces me that ...this product...is needed for whatever reason and has somehow gotten around that cynicisim. That was the real intent of my original post...to find out if, once again, I was flim-flammed. I now see that I probably was not.

I am not saying that the ants are anyone's fault in particular. I AM saying that not informing the consumer that this is a possibility IS the fault of the contractor. I cannot assume that everyone understands everything that there is about a mortgage or small business loan....and, contractors cannot assume that everyone knows about the mechanics of an HVAC system. People need to be informed. THAT IS MY ENTIRE ISSUE. I was never informed completely. Plus, I have a lot of friends & aquaintences. None of them have ever heard of this, either (men & women). You guys are saying that I should know this. HOW? I am supposed to take an HVAC course before buying one? Who would think of this? Only someone who is familiar with these things.

Conversely, I recently underwrote a loan where the client paid cash for the new home that he has built. By law, I need to be able to see where these funds have come from. Simply saying, "his savings account" is not sufficient. The loan officer was all upset saying that this was unreasonable. I needed to explain that it was a violation of money-laundering laws. People (and, not necessarily this client) get money illegally and then, to "hide" it build or buy houses with it. We, the bank, will be held liable for contributing to the crime if we don't do reasonable due diligence to determine the source of these funds.

Now, put yourself in that client's spot. If all the loan officer said to you was that you had to prove where you got the money to build your house (and did not explain it), you would be raving mad. You built the house using bonus money...or, you had saved that money for years...whatever the case. You would probably call up the bank and holler at the underwriter (if you could figure out who it was).

What was the real issue? You were not informed. Nobody explained WHY. They just said this was what it was...and, by the way, it is going to cost you $$$$$$. Nobody that you know has ever heard of this. This seems to be an isolated incident concerning YOU. what would YOUR response be?

That's as easy as I know to make it. Anyone?

Only once.By a realtor of all people . But as we all know here, realtors are a dime a dozen.They promissed me there wouldn't be any ants on my property . But,there is .We'll be taking this all the way to The Supreme Court, if that's what it takes. I'll stop now ,as this could turn ulgy really easily . I'm trying to keep some professionalism in the dialog.

[jjer]

We are all going to have to raise prices to cover the one hour we will need to spend on every maint. call explaining every possible thing that could happen to a unit. The brochure idea will cost too. Once you are told about a issue once it is up to you to address it. You made the choice not to worry about it bacause of the weather. I have had to replace contactors before multiple times at the same house because of ants. It just Happens. It happens to all brands cheap or expensive. Will this happen again next year and get you upset again if no company reminds you about ants?

[the dangling wrangler]

Hows about somebody posting a poll on this subject. I don't know how or I would ,I'm pretty sure I could tell you the results before hand .

[iraqveteran]

yeah a poll would be a pretty good waste of time.

I'm sure just about every pro out there has seen ants or other type of bug in the contactor. Most of us have probably seen ant hills that are higher than the compressor.

Blown breaker......ants chewed the crankcase heater. Compressor overheating.....maybe that big antpile has something to do with it.

I'd tell her to move the unit to the roof. But I have seen ants in those units as well....




This would be a good commercial.

Not buying can o Raid - $3.00 saved
Not getting pest control contract - $100.00 saved
Not using A/C for extended period of time - $10.00 saved

Not using common sense and listening to the HVAC technician........priceless

[Gunnery Sergeant Hartman]

The boys at Trane"s District Office will have a good laugh over this complaint!