Reliance Home Comfort review: Incompetent or unqualified technician

My AC stopped working & I called Reliance. The next day a repairman arrived to check the system. He determined that only 1 of 2 110 V line was alive. ! went to Home Depot& bought 8 fuses and replaced all the fuses in the box because the Repairman did not know how to tell if a fuse was good or not. When he checked the 2 lines again, the other line was conducting electricity but the first was now dead. I concluded from that that the problem was not in the wiring. He did not know how to check the fuses, so he called an electrician who tried to explain the procedure. He still could not check the fuse.

He concluded that it was an electrical problem and arranged for an electrician to come the next day. He said not to worry about the electrician’s charges because if it was something simple the cost would be borne in his $99 charge. If the problem was with the wiring and needed work to correct, then the electrician’s charges would be assessed.

The electrician showed up and checked the 2 110 V lines. He immediately determined from his multi meter that one of the fuses was blown. We went to the panel and he identified the blown fuse with his meter. I changed the fuse and we went out to the AC unit. He pressed the switch and the AC came alive and has been working for several days.

When we were at the panel he told me that if he had to open his tool box the charge would be $259 plus tax. I told him what the first repairman had said, that there would be no additional charge if wiring was not the problem and that a simple solution fixed the problem. I did sign the work order before he left verifying that he did change the fuse and that the AC was working.

A week later I received a collection notice from Reliance for $404 plus change saying that the payment was past due. My wife called Reliance to tell them we had not received a invoice. The collections person checked and apologized because the bill had not yet been sent but would be in two day’s time. Not to worry.

I called the complaints department to clarify the billing. I was told that I had signed two work orders and that the first “technician” diagnosed it as an electrical problem. The electrician was at the panel and therefore his charge was legitimate. She said I owed $404. She did offer to give us three hot water rental payments for free. I told her that was not satisfactory. I reiterated that the first technician was not qualified for the task at hand. If he did not know how to check a fuse, he was not qualified. It does not take an electrician to do what the first could not do because of incompetence.

How can this problem be satisfactorily resolved? Reliance can remove the electrician’s charge of $259 plus tax.