Warranty advice please

[Britdude]

I bought a whole house AC unit March 2018. Vanderford Air in Houston gave me a 12 year written labor warranty. The Daikin A-Coil is leaking freon. Daikin told me their part is part warranty covered till March 2023.
Vanderford already charged me $320 to tell me unit is leaking. They want to charge me another $250 to "procure, process and deliver" the part
Is this normal?
I feel I am being scammed.
Please advice

 

[Breplum]

Whatever the written warranty stipulates is what prevails.
In my world, the charges are certainly fair, legal facts aside.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Reach4]

I bought a whole house AC unit March 2018. Vanderford Air in Houston gave me a 12 year written labor warranty. The Daikin A-Coil is leaking freon. Daikin told me their part is part warranty covered till March 2023.
Vanderford already charged me $320 to tell me unit is leaking. They want to charge me another $250 to "procure, process and deliver" the part
Is this normal?

A processing fee for the warranty part when they sold you a labor warranty. Seems unfair, but I am not a pro.
So after delivery, I presume there will not be an installation charge. But there will probably be a charge for recharging and Freon, right?

 

[WorthFlorida]

I'm expanding on Reach4 comments.

Warranty on parts is 1 year, 5 years or 10 year on the compressor. Labor is usually one year. In 2017 my three year old air handler ECM motor went bad under warranty. Motor was covered by Carrier but it still cost me a service call and install of $350.

You need to read the labor warranty, it probably doesn't include diagnostics and service calls. Many companies offer annual service contracts. The main problem with labor warranty is it's the installation and service company providing the warranty and if they are in business for another 12 years?

In your situation you are charged for a service call to determine there is a leak but the process & procure fee is all BS. You are being charged for them to go the supplier to get the part but they first need a Return Authorization from Diakin. It all takes time but to charge extra for that stuff is for a fall guy. Don't pay it.

They didn't mention that you'll probably be charged for refrigerant. Reputable and goods tech do use a scale to measure the amount replaced. It is extremely expensive. You probably have R410a that is being phase out by 2023 for new units so it pushes the price up. A three ton unit may take 12 pounds. Ask this company what they charge. Don't be surprised it's $70 a pound.

There is a process to evacuate any refrigerant to inside the compressor unit but really no way to know what has been recovered. Sometimes the tech has to completely evacuate all refrigerant left in the system, such as a compressor replacement but it cannot be reused due to contamination and chemical separation. Never reused refrigerant. R410a has different chemicals that separate and it cannot be added as a gas but as a liquid. R410a is a zeotropic mixture, or non-azeotropic mixture, is a mixture with liquid components that have different boiling points. You'll see techs with the refrigerant tank upside down on a scale as its being added to the system. Good techs want to know how much is being added along with the gauges so not to overfill.

 

[Fitter30]

A liquid line filter dryer should be added to the system. Wouldn't be surprised if there's a labor charge to replace the coil.

 

[Britdude]

They have given me a $250 quote. I am assuming this is to complete all repairs and get my AC working again.
I am worried if I ask about freon, dryer etc. That they will slap on more charges.
Yes very shoddy about large outfit fleecing customers like this. They don't seem to be worried about their reputation.
Should I file complaint with BBB, Texas attorney general or take them to small claims?
Good advice from everyone, thanks

 

[WorthFlorida]

Dryers on AC units has been the norm for about 20 years. Most manufactures requires it, however, you may not see them on mini splits. About taking this to court, you'll need to have the signed contract in hand and read the details. No matter what was said, a judge can only go by the contract, no matter how devious the contract might be. It's the "read before signing argument".

I looked up on the Houston BBB site and this company is rated A+. If the system gets fixed without the "processing fees", probably not much will happen. You can report and write about the 12 year labor warranty issue.

 

[WorthFlorida]

They have given me a $250 quote. I am assuming this is to complete all repairs and get my AC working again.
I am worried if I ask about freon, dryer etc. That they will slap on more charges.

Cannot assume anything. You want a detailed list of all charges before proceeding. The refrigerant might be price per pound since it is hard to know the exact amount.

One time at my last house I needed the refrigerant lines replaced. The high pressure side had a leak and a few pounds blew out in seconds and it cost me a service call and refrigerant. I was quoted $700 to replace the lines and I gave the OK. When the guys came out they asked if the quote included the refrigerant since the two tech stated that it is about a $1200-$1400 job? Well I got the refrigerant free, no contract and only a verbal agreement to do the work for $700. Sometimes you win but not with the Powerball Lottery.