Legal Question in Consumer Law in Pennsylvania

In July 2009 my husband and I bought a house. After 1 month of living there the central air broke.(The braker would trip everytime the AC kicked on) Since it was the end of summer, and we did not have the extra money, we waited until spring 2010 to get estimates. We had 3 electricians come and they all said the wiring was wrong.( Inside wiring was used outside, not up to code,etc) so we spent $250 to get it rewied. After the electrician was finished the braker stayed on but the AC still did not work. So we called the guy we bought the house off of since he put the AC in, and owns his own HVAC company. He came and looked at and said the compressor was bad. He told us it was still under warrenty, and that he wouldn't charge us for the labor, but he had to charge us for the coolant, which he said as $400. We thought that seemed like a lot, but we really don't know anything about it, and we trusted what he said. He let us pay in payment, and we gave him $100 up front, and never got around to paying him the additional $300. A month after he fixed it, it broke again (July 2010) So we called him back, and it took him a week to call us back. He then said he would come tomorrow aftenoon. That was over a week ago and we haven't heard from him. So we called an HVAC company we have used before, and when he looked at it he said we were out of coolant so we have a leak somewhere. He then informed me that the AC was done very sloppy, and a lot of things were wrong. He also informed me that 5 pounds of freon (which is what our unit holds) only costs about $100, and when he put the new compressor in he should have checked for leaks before putting the freon in. Like I said this guy owns his own HVAC company, so he was very aware of the shortcuts he was taken, and that he was doing it wrong. I now have to pay $350-$400 to get the leak fixed, the coils fixed, and the unit filled back up with freon. My question is, is he responsible for the $750 I had paid to get the AC fixed because he didn't do it right the first time?

Thank you!


Asked on 8/11/10, 6:44 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Rachel Hunter

Real estate contracts generally provide that any defects are waived by you buying the house. Did you have the house inspected before you closed? Were any problems disclosed on the residential real property disclosure form? Did the seller know about the problems?

I know the guy had his own HVAC company, but you do not know if he did the wiring himself or whether a prior owner did. How do you know that he installed the HVAC? Did he say so?

I will grant you that he was sloppy when you called him back in 2010. The problem is that if you tried to go after him, he may counterclaim for the $300 that you owed him. Different people charge different things for your service and you would have to prove that charges of $400 are way out of line and that things were done wrong or were not done which should have been done. He may also file a mechanic's lien on the property if he is not time barred.

This seems like a lot of aggravation and may not be worth it. What I would do is get your new HVAC guy to document everything. Will he be willing to testify for you? Ask. Take pictures showing what is wrong with the unit.

I would send the seller him a letter, preferably by certified mail. Point out all the things that were done wrong as indicated by your new HVAC man. Include receipts and your demand of reimbursement. Ask that he respond within 15-30 days. If he does not respond or tells you no, then you can decide whether you want to sue. You can sue in magistrate's court. Be prepared to have your new HVAC guy testify and bring the letter showing that you tried to work it out and the pictures showing the problems.

If the guy tries to bring countere-claims against you, be prepared to rebut them and show that the claims for the added money are improper because the job was done poorly. Then let the judge decide. II would not take it much further.

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Answered on 8/16/10, 9:04 pm


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