It had to do with a war over a warranty, but one lady found a document worth nearly a thousand dollars in a drawer in her kitchen.
"It's been aggravating," said Lore Sweet, a homeowner.
Lore Sweet says her contractor has left her cold after fixing her furnace nearly a year ago, then not honoring a warranty.
"You must have been so disappointed," said Nina Pineda, 7 On Your Side.
"I was," Sweet said.
Last February, Lore's grandkids were shivering inside her Brooklyn brownstone when her 9-year-old Carrier furnace went on the fritz. "Every night going to sleep with coats and sweaters. It was no joke, it was cold in this house," Sweet said.
The contractor that installed it came out, put in a new motor, and charged her $892. But a few days later, Lore dove in her drawer and made a great discovery.
"Oh, here's my receipt that I had from 2004, that says 10 years on it," Sweet said.
That's right; a 10 year warranty covering parts and labor was in black and white on the contractor's original furnace invoice.
But when she showed it to him, they would not honor it.
"They end up saying we can't honor it, because Carrier only has warranties for five years, not 10 year warranties, so we can't honor your receipt," Sweet said.
Lore complained and even had a lawyer send over two letters, but the contractor wouldn't budge.
"That's not good. If the receipt says 10 years, they need to honor it. Simple as that," Sweet said.
7 On Your Side agreed. So 7 On Your Side called her contractor who, after speaking to us, changed his mind.
"Got some good news," Pineda said.
"Yes got a refund from the company," Sweet said.
Less than two hours after 7 On Your Side's call, Lore was high fiving.
Her contractor said he was tired of fighting with the furnace manufacturer and refunded the full amount of the fix to Lore's credit card.
"I mean it took almost a year to get the refund but I finally got it back. I should've called Channel 7 last year," Sweet said, "I love them, I love Channel 7."
Now the big takeaway here is to hold onto all warranties and invoices and put them somewhere safe, especially for appliances.
Put it on your resolution list to organize your key documents.
If an appliance breaks down and a promise was made in writing, Lore found out having that 9-year-old document was worth nearly $900.
