TEMPE, AZ — A Tempe woman was left without heat in the middle of winter after a contractor drilling near her home damaged her HVAC system. When the company initially denied responsibility, she turned to the Let ABC15 Know team for help.
Mary discovered the problem after hearing loud drilling near her home.
"You could hear it all over the neighborhood, just powerful drilling," Mary said.
After the drilling stopped, Mary noticed her heater wasn’t working properly.
"It was freezing cold and I couldn't get the thermostat to flip on," Mary said.
She says she had a repairman come out to assess the damage, and he determined that parts of her HVAC system had melted due to a power surge.
"The blower motor and capacitor had also been fried," Mary explained.
The repairman told Mary the power surge was likely caused by drilling that occurred within three inches of her HVAC ground line. Mary says the construction was being done on behalf of Cox Communications.
When she contacted Cox Communications about the damage, they connected her with the contractor responsible for the drilling. However, she says the contractor initially refused to take responsibility for the issues with her HVAC system.
"She just denied any responsibility," Mary said. "I could tell they were just blowing me off and thinking they could get away with it."
She says the situation left her feeling helpless.
"I didn't know what to do until I prayed and thought I should call ABC15," Mary recalled.
Let ABC15 Know's Better Business Bureau volunteer Andrew answered Mary's call for help. He worked directly with Cox Communications and the drilling contractor to resolve the issue.
"Andrew was terrific. He kept on getting back to me, and just… it made the difference when he got involved," Mary said.
After Andrew's intervention, the company agreed to reimburse Mary for her complete HVAC repair bill, which was over $550.
"It was a dream come true," Mary said. "Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart!"
As for Cox Communications, they sent us a statement saying, “Cox is pleased to have resolved this third‑party issue for the customer.”
Do you have an issue that you think our Let ABC15 Know Better Business Bureaus could help you with? Let ABC15 Know! Email consumer@abc15.com.
