Can I give negative amounts of stars??? These guys are crooks!
Merlins initially called me in April to offer a promotion for an hvac tune-up. At that time my ac unit worked perfectly fine but I figured a tuneup was probably a good idea before the summer. When the tech arrived, he went on the roof, came down 10 min later and announced that I needed several repairs and replacement of recalled parts. He offered me a deal of a 10yr membership for $3000 that would include all current repairs/parts replacement plus a air purifier, 2 free tune-ups per year, and 20% off parts and labor for 10yrs. I signed up even though I could not understand why my 8yr-old ac unit was needing so much work done when it wasnt broken before the tech even got there. Forward to July, my ac unit was not cooling as it should. I called Merlins and they sent a tech who stated my ac unit had a leak and I needed freon (not sure how THAT happened as the unit was literally 8yrs old and had never leaked or had ANY problems until Merlins touched it). $400-$600 later, my ac was running right again. Come November, Merlins calls me for my free 2nd tune-up for the year. I shouldve trusted my gut but I scheduled the appointment anyway since I had paid $3000 for a membership that included 2 free tune-ups per year. ***Note: My ac unit was working 100% fine before they came out for the 2nd tune-up.*** Upon the techs arrival, he goes on the roof, comes down 5 min later and anounces that my unit's amps are running high and that I'll need a new compressor which costs like $12,000 but not to worry because they can get me financing thru Wells Fargo. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? He then tells me that my dirty air filter (which I had changed less that 30 days prior) likely caused the damage. I told the tech that he is absolutely nuts and that this unit is only 8yrs old so I will call the original company who I bought the unit from. He told me good luck then left my house. After he left, I attempted to turn on my heater and now it didnt work at all!!!! I called Merlins back, they said they'd send a tech out again. I also asked for the manager to call me. 2 or 3 days later, the same tech who tried to sell me a new compressor, came back, got on the roof for 20min, comes back down and says its not the compressor as he initially thought but instead the motherboard is blown. He stated that this would ONLY cost me about $2000. I told the tech to leave. I wasnt giving them another dime as my unit wasnt even broken before they came out. I called the original company who I bought the unit from however they had been bought by a different company. They sent a tech out. I did NOT tell the new tech what the Merlins tech did or said. The new tech went up, spent about 20-30 minutes up there and came back stating it appeared my unit had been sabotaged as there was a thick green fluid oozing out of my unit. The damage caused to my unit was almost $6000 worth which would not make sense to fix when the unit itself had cost less than that 8yrs ago when I bought it. I ended up having to purchase a whole new unit to replace my 8yr old unit even though ac units should have a 15-20yr lifespan. I have reached out to the manager at Merlins 6 times now (all documented) with no response whatsoever. I have since filled a complaint with the BBB and am awaiting Merlins response to their inquiry. I'm sure I am not the only person they have done this to. I am disgusted and mortified how they can take advantage of their customers. I am a single mom on a tight budget. Buyers BEWARE! These guys are CROOKS!
