From: Hamish Martin
Sent: Friday, 11 October 2019 10:06 AM
To: cameron.mair@canterbury.ac.nz
Cc: Ian Wickins <ian@heatforce.co.nz>; Leanna Wickins <leanna@heatforce.co.nz>
Subject: RE: Invoice INV-2021219 from Heat Force Limited
Dear Cameron
As part of our general servicing work we check that the heat pump is working prior to undertaking any work, and this was done with all 3 machines at your property.
For safety reasons the machines are then made electrically dead by turning them off at the isolation switch while the servicing work is undertaken.
The servicing work is fairly routine and essentially involves a thorough clean and check of the heat pump filters, coils, drains, casings etc for both the internal and external units.
At no point during the servicing work do we need to access the circuit boards for either the indoor or outdoor unit and as the heat pump is not electrically live there is no chance of a short occurring if any electrical terminals are accidentally bridged.
After the servicing work had been completed the machines are then electrically livened back up and test run to confirm operation and performance are as expected.
Unfortunately on this occasion when the heat pump in question has had electrical current put back through the system the PCB has failed.
This has absolutely nothing to do with the work completed by our technician and is simply an unfortunate attribute of aging electronic components which can fail after a number of years of use. This is very similar to a light bulb suddenly failing with no warning. A light may been turned on an off several times previously during the same day but fail for no apparent reason when turned on again, and I am sure you have experienced this yourself.
If you have any formal report from a reputable independent 3rd party that indicates any shortcomings in our work then we would certainly be interested to see who has written this and what diagnostic tests have been completed to come to this conclusion. We cannot simply accept any potential throwaway comments that may have been made by another party to possibly disparage our business in an attempt to curry favour and get some work.
We can also assure you that the technician that completed this work is more than capable of doing the job and he is a trades qualified Refrigeration Mechanic with 14 years’ experience working on commercial and residential heat pump systems. He also holds an Electrical Service Technician license and is qualified and approved for diagnostic and repair work on electrical appliances such as heat pumps.
If you believe that the heat pump has failed before the end of its expected working life then this is a matter to take up directly with the manufacturer / local distributer, or the original supplier / installer of the heat pump.
Mitsubishi Electric heat pumps are distributed in New Zealand by Black Diamond Technologies Ltd and their Wellington head office number is 04 560 9147
Black Diamond Technologies Ltd may offer you some level of warranty / parts support here outside their standard 5 year warranty support, but we certainly do not accept any liability or responsibility for any associated repair or replacement costs here due to the age of the heat pump, the nature of the fault, and the preventative steps that we have carried our during the course of our work.
We are also authorised service agents for Mitsubishi heat pumps and can undertake these repairs if required if you are unable to get any recourse through Black Diamond Technologies Ltd. We have checked the price for the replacement PCB and our charge for this work is very similar to the price you have indicated from the other party.
I can certainly understand your frustration and desire to seek remedy here but PCB failure is simply an unfortunate thing that occurs with aging electronics and if it did not happen while we were at property it is almost certain that the failure would have occurred very shortly after.
As previously advised, we will not charge for the servicing work that was completed on the heat pump in question but our charge for the servicing work on the other 2 heat pumps still stands.
I trust this helps clarify the situation with what has occurred here, and our position on this matter.
Sincerely,
Hamish Martin
Managing Director
Heat Force Ltd
Ph 03 928 2628
Mb 027 432 8005
From: Leanna Wickins <leanna@heatforce.co.nz>
Sent: Thursday, 10 October 2019 10:31 AM
To: Hamish Martin <hamish@heatforce.co.nz>
Subject: FW: Invoice INV-2021219 from Heat Force Limited
From: Cameron Mair <cameron.mair@canterbury.ac.nz>
Sent: 10 October 2019 08:55
To: Leanna Wickins <leanna@heatforce.co.nz>
Subject: RE: Invoice INV-2021219 from Heat Force Limited
Morning,
Can I please have a full list of the checks and tests that were made during the service when my heat pump stopped working.
What checks were done before and what checks were done afterwards?
I have had the unit checked by another supplier and they have raised some concerns that are very similar to the concerns I raised at the time.
They have run several tests and have confirmed that the PCB unit is not working but as I have mentioned they have some doubts as to how the unit stopped working.
I have received a quote to fix this unit from them for $890, which in accordance with the consumer guarantees act I would like you to either cover this cost or replace the unit yourselves.
As you did service two other heat pumps I am willing to remove the cost of this from the total, leaving $663 due.
Alternatively, should you rather fix the unit yourselves I will then pay the $227 from the two services that were complete.
Please let me know within 5 working days if you intend to replace the unit or cover the cost of it being replaced by another party.
Regards,
Cameron Mair