Dawson Heating & Cooling

A very disapointing experience from a company that was recommended and has been around for many years – Please note that this is NOT a revenge review. Almost two years ago Dawsons replaced our ducted gas heating with ducted electric. I would like to think that all our problems started when they sent us someone who usually does servicing not installations but it didn’t. It started right at the beginning with the quote. We were advised to get a… Read more

particular condenser unit then several days later, were told that unit was not even available in Australia. We were then advised to look at an Aussie made one which we were told was the only other option in terms of size and that it would fit under our deck which is where our contract said the unit would be placed. This was an additional $1500 or so. The man that quoted looked at the roof which was unsuitable; looked at the rest of the house but the only place that was a suitable location for the condenser was on the other side of our bed, and advised against this due to noise. When the team turned up on the day of installation they ripped out all the gas heating, then the head person arrived and within 5 minutes told us that the outdoor condenser unit cannot go under the deck as stated in the contract, and that there was no other option but to put it on the other side of the wall of our bedroom. If they had told us that before they ripped out all our ducting we would have told them not to proceed. We had proceeded to have a number of issues which required a number of return visits – They installed the wrong controller, advised that the zoning that we had decided upon would have to change and also told us they were unable to replace the ducting to two of the bedrooms due to difficulty with access, or the bathrooms due to some cementing. This was not identified as a problem when quoted and we were not refunded any money for these ducts not being replaced. I also had to provide our own concrete slav for the unit to go on. We were not happy with the heating system at all. It was pathetic. We were advised that the room where the thermostat is should heat up 2 – 3 degrees an hour but it never did – we kept records, notified them it was only going up 0.7 degrees an hour if that and they did send someone around who checked for problems again. We were then advised there was nothing they could do and it was just our house, our expectations were too high and we were just used to gas. We had several visits from them to fix up problems and rectify other minor issues and Dawsons stated in an email to our concerns “I understand that you have encountered challenges with your Actron AC system, and I want to assure you that Dawson Heating and Cooling has undertaken carried out three separate visits to inspect the system and completed all necessary testing to rule out any issues” but we were never happy. They advised us they had checked for leaks but now we know that is not the case. I could not understand why we were the only people we knew who were unhappy with their electric heating. A month or so ago we had a pest inspector visit who thought we might be interested to see a photo of our heating system. It was then that the cause of our inefficient heating system was identified – one of the major ducts had never even been connected so all last winter we were heating under our house as well as having pathetic heating inside the house. We contacted them immediately and they sent a wonderful young man who not only connected the duct but rehung some of the other ducts which were kinks. After he connected the heating duct, we turned the heating on and noticed a marked improvement in the rate of heating (2 – 3 degrees an hour) and the force with which the hot air blew out of the heating vents was volcanic which confirms that the offending heating duct had never even been connected, and despite three visits, this was not even noticed. This company was recommended to us but we would not advise anyone to use them. Their attention to detail, their dismissal of the issues, their lack of decency (no apologies) and their refusal to consider anything to improve the noise situation as we cannot use the heating at night as the noise of the condenser coming off and on the other side of the wall to our bed wakes us up was so disappointing. We also have a unit where the fans are on the top not the side in a location where it is also not protected from the weather and I am sure it will rust over time with the residual rain which does not completely drain out of several small holes for that purpose. Under the deck is completely protected from the weather. Look elsewhere Paul and Virginia Dixon