October 3, 2017
Trane/Ingersoll Rand
Mr. Gary Michel
11819 N. Pennsylvania Street
Carmel, Indiana 46032
Mr. Michel
I am writing to you to see if you can help me with a
Trane HVAC warranty issue I am facing. On August 25th 2017 my wife and I
purchased a new home that has an existing Trane heating & cooling system
that was installed on December 10th 2013. The previous owner gave us all of the
paperwork for the roof, windows and HVAC.
I transferred the roof and window warranties with no issues. I called Trane and was told I could transfer
the warranty for $198, but I needed to provide closing documents to prove I
owned the home. I provided all of the necessary
documents and was told that since the previous owner did not transfer the
warranty themselves the limited warranty ended when the home sold to them back
in May of 2014. It turns out that the
owner before the family we purchased the home from installed it right before
they sold it. As a result I have a Trane
HVAC that is almost 4 years old, it was sold with a 10 year limited warranty,
but Trane will not honor it. I have gone
through the warranty documents and according to your policy that is how it
works.
I would like for you to step back and think about the
average home owner for a moment. Most people
don’t have a base salary of over $475k per year, so an $8k HVAC expense is a
major purchase that has a large financial impact that last for years. A $1000 repair bill is also a major strain
that can have lasting impact on families.
I really have 2 issues with Trane’s warranty polices. First off charging people $198 to transfer a warranty
is absurd. I see that as a minor fee
generator for Trane and for a way Trane to weed out some people who can’t
afford the transfer fee thus voiding their limited warranty. The second issue is with voiding warranties
if the owner changes and they do not properly transfer it. When you purchase something from a
manufacturer the warranty is on the item you purchase. By voiding the warranty because the owner
changes really says to the consumer that Trane does not want to honor the warranty
on their equipment. Both of these
practices are not consumer friendly and creates ways for Trane to void limited warranties.
While I do not have any legal recourse, your warranty
is written as such, I am asking you as the Senior Vice President and President
of Residential Solutions to change this practice and honor warranties in this
situation. I have spoken to Jaime Barnes
in Consumer Relations and told her I would pay the fee, but she is following
the company line and will not approve my warranty registration. I am not asking for anything for free, I am
just asking that Trane honor the 10 year limited warranty that came with the
HVAC system I own. Hopefully it will not
have any issues and I never have to use the warranty. In that case Trane will be $198 richer and I
will be a satisfied customer. Feel free
to call me to discuss this issue and hopefully we can have a positive
outcome. Thank you for your
consideration.
Sincerely,
Jason Mullins
