mrubin 0 #1 July 31, 2014 I'm having a small dispute with an HVAC company about replacing some duct work in my attic so that I can finally get some airflow into the master bedroom. They came out to the house and took a look, gave me an estimate, and then sent me a contract. The price was reasonable so I signed it and sent it back to them. After I returned the contract, they contacted me and said that they will not schedule the job until the fall. The contract states that it is good for 30 days. Does that 30 days apply only to me signing it or does it bind them to start the project in that time frame as well? I am in California, if that makes any difference. Here is the email that I got from them: QuoteWe did receive your signed proposal and we will be scheduling this type of work as soon as the heat lets up. I schedule all duct sweetening jobs in the Fall or when the heat lightens up usually September, October. This is because we are trying to get those with out cooling done by replacing there Equipment during the Summer. We make money selling New Equipment and use Duct repair work to fill our down time. Now if this is not going to work out then I will understand but you do have cooling at this time. If you wish to cancel, just send an email to this affect and we will have no regrets or sit tight and hold on and I will contact you as soon as we can get past this weather. You will be the 3rd in line for this work in the Fall. Thanks in advance for your advice."I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rick 67 #2 July 31, 2014 not a lawyer here but my understanding is the 30 days is for the contract price. In other words if the contract is not signed within 30 days the price may change. we have another line on our contracts that state the completion dateYou can't be drunk all day if you don't start early! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DiverMike 5 #3 July 31, 2014 +1 What he said. I am also not a lawyer, but did the contract you sign have a completion date? Also, the vendor seems to be fair in saying if the time frame is not agreeable you can get out of the contract. That to me implies the time frame was not already agreed to in writing. For the same reason I jump off a perfectly good diving board. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrubin 0 #4 July 31, 2014 Thanks. That's what I thought, even though I was hoping I was wrong. There is no completion date on the contract so I was hoping I could use that to convince them to get the job done sooner."I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazon 7 #5 July 31, 2014 mrubin Thanks. That's what I thought, even though I was hoping I was wrong. There is no completion date on the contract so I was hoping I could use that to convince them to get the job done sooner. I am quite sure a doubling of the price would hurry them along... they might be utilizing that as an "upsell" Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrubin 0 #6 July 31, 2014 Amazon ***Thanks. That's what I thought, even though I was hoping I was wrong. There is no completion date on the contract so I was hoping I could use that to convince them to get the job done sooner. I am quite sure a doubling of the price would hurry them along... they might be utilizing that as an "upsell" The contract did have an option to replace my 5 year old working AC unit with a new one for an additional $8,000. I bet if I had agreed to that they would be begging me to let them start."I fly because it releases my mind from the tyranny of petty things." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Krip 2 #7 July 31, 2014 You dont need a lawyer, you already know the deal.Have you explored the joints in your duct work in the attic for leaks? Try early in the morning or late at night. It's hot in the attic during the heat of the day. One Jump Wonder Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,509 #8 July 31, 2014 Yeah it's hot up there, but that's when you feel that blast of cold air from the hole in the duct best. Sweat helps Wendy P. There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GD64 1 #9 August 1, 2014 What Rick said. We use the same contracts. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GD64 1 #10 August 1, 2014 GD64What Rick said. We use the same contracts. mrubin....the main reason for a " date to accept by" is the price fluctuations on material and sometimes labor (pending strike). These costs rarely go down. In our case, sometimes quotes are only good for a few hours (in which case 30 days is crossed off and the limiting time period is plugged in). Wire costs (copper/aluminum) are based on poundage and it's current world commodities price (I believe posted by the Chicago Commodity Exchange). Your HVAC contractor has these same material issues. As we all know, depending on the world situation and decisions made by self-interested politico's......commodities can skyrocket in an instant. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turtlespeed 226 #11 August 3, 2014 Get some other bids. Does the proposal mention any other time frames, or stipulations in time?I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
