Summit County’s investigation of Keith Heating & Cooling is not complete, but some of the results have been turned over to the county prosecutor, who already has subpoenaed documents.
As we reported at the end of December, the longtime Tallmadge company is under scrutiny for charging an illegal “transaction fee” to people who canceled a contract within the three-day “buyer’s right to cancel” period and for allegedly leading customers to believe they needed new furnaces when they really didn’t.
The Summit County Office of Consumer Affairs has received 46 written complaints about Keith Heating and is still getting “a couple more every couple of days,” investigator Bill Miller said.
In addition, the Summit County Division of Building Standards has turned over information to the prosecutor alleging that Keith Heating consistently failed to obtain permits, which is a requirement whenever a furnace or central air-conditioning unit is installed or replaced.
County records show that in mid-December, a week after receiving a letter from the county threatening prosecution, company owner Keith Goodwin paid for 54 permits during a two-day period. Prior to that, he had purchased only 22 during all of 2011.
The county charges $85.85 for a furnace or air-conditioning permit and $121.20 for both.
Linda Murphy, associate general counsel for the county, said the two investigations (Building Standards and Consumer Affairs) have been lumped together and will be sorted out by the prosecutor.
Miller, the Consumer Affairs investigator, said the amount of time needed to reach a conclusion on a typical customer complaint to his office ranges from two to six months. But because of the volume of complaints against Keith Heating, he said, he can’t provide an educated guess on the timetable.
Miller is urging anyone with a complaint about Keith Heating to contact him at 330-643-2879 or mwiller@summitoh.net.
On Wednesday, attorney Adam VanHo, responding to an email sent to Goodwin asking for comment on the latest developments, said via email that the company “will continue to cooperate fully” with the investigation and that “many [of the complaints] have actually already been resolved by Keith Heating & Cooling to the customers’ satisfaction.”
Among those who have objected to the company’s practices is the Akron-Canton chapter of the Air Conditioning Contractors Association, which accused Keith of operating like this:
A Keith Heating technician checks a furnace, declares it to be extremely dangerous because the heat exchanger is cracked and is leaking carbon monoxide, and then signs the homeowner to a contract for a new furnace or a new furnace and air conditioner.
Several potential customers reported calling in a second contractor — or, in one case, three additional contractors — who said Keith was grossly exaggerating the extent of the problem and that immediate repairs were not necessary.
Goodwin has claimed his company’s video cameras are more sophisticated than other companies’ and that he has “a moral and ethical responsibility to protect our customers” from carbon monoxide.
Lynne Black, executive director of the contractors’ group, says minor wear on a heat exchanger is no cause for panic.
“Everybody’s heat exchanger is going to go bad, but it’s not life-threatening,” she said. “The chambers are a little thin, maybe it’s showing some hairline cracks, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to die....
“A heat exchanger can have stress cracks from the metal expanding and contracting from being heated and cooled over time and show zero [parts per million] with a CO analyzer.”
Goodwin has admitted to charging a 6 percent “transaction fee,” and later referring to it as a “restocking fee,” after customers canceled contracts within the three-day window permitted by Ohio law. The law says a contractor must refund 100 percent of the downpayment.
Goodwin said in December he is no longer charging those fees and has refunded all of them.
Bob Dyer can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com.