Tech drilled into coil during service - company recommending replacement after
My parents recently had a well-known HVAC company come out to service their furnace. During the visit, the technician accidentally drilled into the coil. To his credit, he was immediately upfront about it and appeared genuinely embarrassed by the mistake, explaining that it happened while using a new drill bit. He also immediately called his supervisor, who sent another technician out to recover the refrigerant from the system.
Since then, the company has spent about two weeks attempting to locate a replacement coil for the system, which is approximately 25 years old.
For context, the unit was serviced about two years ago by a different company, and at that time they commented that it was in very good condition for its age. The system has also been operating without issues for the past 6 years under my parents’ ownership. It has routine maintenance records and appears to have been well cared for. It’s a propane furnace with A/C, located in the PNW.
The current company has now stated they’ve found a replacement coil, but they’ve also begun recommending a full system replacement, citing typical system lifespan (around 15 years). I have some familiarity with HVAC as well, and even I thought the condenser sounded strong for its age.
There have also been some noticeable gaps in communication, with longer pauses between updates from management. We’re not sure if that’s due to internal discussions or possibly something like an insurance process on their end.
Their current position is essentially that they will “fix it,” but the details of how that will be handled still feel somewhat open-ended.
Curious how others in the trade would view this situation in terms of responsibility and how it’s typically handled. At what point should expectations be more clearly defined if resolution starts to drag out?