Royal Air review: All services

We got a unit installed from Royal Air Houston July 30th, 2022, financing $6,000.00 for a new unit with an alleged 10 year warranty. Installation was done and all seemed fine. Fast forward to the first hard freeze in October/November 2022 and our Heater was nonexistent. They sent out an install tech not a service tech and he allegedly fixed it. Heater worked no issues. I asked by phone and email to have a supervisor contact me and never received contact.

When the hotter temperatures came back in February 2023 the unit was not cooling at all. Blowing hot air and our electric bill was almost $700.00. They again sent the same install tech, not a service technician. His license was not even his license, it was the owner of the companies. Because we knew he was not licensed in the state we called the company and had them send out an actual licensed service technician. While we waited, we had Encore come out to check our meter to make sure that everything was reading properly and when he checked the numbers on the AC unit it was reading double what it is supposed to be rated at. I relayed this information to the service technician when they got here and they were ablet to determine that the issue was that the install technician that had come out who’s name was Randall (alleged license number #TACL B33625E) had the heat and the Cooling set to be on permanently so the system was running both heat and cool at the same time causing our unit to over work and triple the electric. Once this issue was fixed there were no further issues.

February 2024, we called to have the electrical wires replaced due to them just falling apart and coming undone. They wanted to charge us $200 to come out so we decided to find a local company that charged us just $100 to come out and fix it. While the technician was here from Deane Electric and Air Conditioning the technician’s name was Ronnie, he checked over our whole unit since after rewiring the unit it was still not cooling. He found that the unit had no coolant and that was only possible if there was a leak but was not usual with a new system. He found the leak was coming from the Schrader valve where the coolant is installed into the system. He described that it is a faulty part from install and not something that we could have avoided. They estimated to us with the repair of the Schrader valve and the coolant replacement it was $100 a pound for a almost 8 pound unit plus the requested coil cleaning we asked about would cost a total of $1200.00. $800 for the coolant and Schrader valve replacement and $400 for the cleaning (routine maintenance). With this price being said and that it was a faulty part from installation we contacted Royal air to have them come out.

I contacted them on March 14th, 2024, regarding an appointment to have the unit repaired. They did inform me it was a $200 service fee that I agreed to pay but mentioned that we were in default on our warranty because we hadn’t maintained our yearly services. After arguing regarding the appointment in 2023 where they did the repair and service maintenance while they were out here, they told me they would honor the warranty still as but had to get it serviced ASAP to keep it active. However, they are unable to service the unit if it isn’t working properly. We scheduled an appointment for March 22nd from 2-4pm. I received a call the evening before from Royal air requesting a payment of the $200 before the technician had even been to my home and found out that they changed my appointment time without letting me know from 2-4 to 8-1 that morning. I expressed my concern from past experiences and that I do not have any issues paying the service fees once the technician actually arrives and fixes the repair as I was not comfortable with the company’s history and reviews to make a payment before services can be performed. The CSR said it was no problem and the technician will take payment at the appointment. The next morning, I received a call that the technician had called out and they had to reschedule us with a install tech on Saturday March 23rd from 2-4pm. I tried to request a service technician not an install but they informed me that being short handed this was the only person they had. When 4pm Saturday came around I called the company to ask where the technician was and was told that he was still on his first call of the day and was running behind but would be there as soon as possible. They finally arrived at our home after 7pm and were here until 9pm. We did attempt to communicate what the issues were but there was a language barrier. They said they refilled the unit and fixed the leak so it was holding coolant, but they could not get the system to what we could gather with a language barrier the system to cycle on or something with a valve opening. But he said he would be back the next day or Monday to finish the repair. We waited both days, but no one ever came back.

I called Royal air Tuesday March 26th to find out why no one came back and was informed that we were never put on the schedule for that Mondays calls. The next time someone would be in our area was April 5th. Again, I was informed about a service fee. I however requested that a supervisor contact me regarding the service fee because the tech never came back, and our appointment was rescheduled already once. She assured me that they would be contacting me even after I expressed that I never heard from the supervisor when requested before, so I waited but had the appointment scheduled for 2-4 April 5th. On April 5th I reached out to make sure the appointment was still scheduled because they had not called the day before to verify the appointment like they usually do. The CSR told me we were on the list to be rescheduled since they let a technician go the night before. They rescheduled us for Sunday April 7th from 2-4pm. I did ask why the supervisor hadn’t called and she told me she was new and that since she started a week ago he was on vacation but that the notes were there for him to contact me and he would be back Sunday.

We had Ronnie come back out from Deane Electric and Heating on Sunday March 31st to do the coil cleaning while we waited for Royal. While he was here he checked the unit and found that the Schrader valve had not been replaced and the unit was not filled with any coolant. He performed the cleaning for us regardless.

Now to today April 7th. At 4pm when there were no calls and no show for the technician, we called Royal air to find out what was going on. Karry informed us that he and his associate had called the number on file 4 times that morning to reschedule and left messages because there was no answer. My phone and voice mail had zero missed calls, or calls recorded on our phone bill with Verizon online and no messages. He informed me that there was something wrong with my phone and they needed to reschedule because the technician called out and that they were trying to find an appointment but could give me the time for April 12th. When I argued persistently because of the history he hung up on me. He did call back and inform me that they could get me scheduled for the next day April 8th from 2-4pm but that I would have to make the $200 service payment for them to even put me on the schedule especially since they had already been out and did not take payment from us. When I expressed that due to history, I was not comfortable paying ahead of completed services and that I had requested a manager contact me regarding that because of the issues we were having but that I was not disputing paying after services are rendered as it is with any company. Kary told me that it was in their company policy that they take payment the day before services because it was the cost of the technician to come to us not for the service repairs that was a different fee. He even said that the technician would be required to take payment before he would even walk into our home and look at our unit but because they had already come out once with no fee paid, we would have to pay it right then and there to schedule.

Now I did attempt to make said payment and told Kary yes because we NEEDED someone to come out. He then mentioned that the coolant was not covered under our warranty and that would have to be paid on top of the service fee. Again, I argued because the reason the BRAND NEW unit was empty was because of the faulty Schrader valve not because of any error we had done or lack of services. He told me the GM John texted him and advised me to stop calling the office back when Kary hung up on me and that he would call me this evening. Kary told me that John would just tell me the same thing but that he would be calling me. Again, I said I wanted to make the appointment, had my card in hand and was ready to pay and he just said the GM would be calling me. That was at 5pm, it is now 7pm and we have heard nothing. Which means that we are not getting an appointment scheduled for tomorrow and our unit is not getting fixed.

We are going to have to go out and purchase window units as I have small children that are home and the temperatures are getting hotter and we are unsure when we can pay out of pocket over $800 for coolant and whatever else beyond the Schrader valve could be the issue for a unit that we were advertised to have a 10 year warranty and a brand new unit. To date the company has cost us between having to purchase space heaters, stand alone ac units and fans to attempt to cool the house and our electric bill, well over a few thousand dollars. Not to mention the stress and strain from the lies and run around. The company has blocked my social media account because I left an honest detailed review of this exact experience so that other customers are not able to see the reviews.