30 August 1997

Mr. George David
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
United Technologies Corporation
One Financial Plaza
Hartford, Connecticut 06101


Mr. David:

I am FURIOUS. Your Carrier company sold me a defective furnace that has given me four winters from Hell. For three years I have tried to work with Carrier’s regional technical representative and customer relations department and they have been vile. When I wrote to Mr. Fauconneau, president of Carrier, he did not deign to reply.

I am out over $6,200 in purchase price, installation, and lost work hours alone. I expect you to refund my money IMMEDIATELY.

I have already posted a summary of the ordeal Carrier has put me through on the internet newsgroups misc.consumers.house, misc.consumers, alt.consumers.experiences, alt.home.repair, alt.construction, alt.hvac, sci.engr.heat-vent-ac, and alt.building.construction. Thousands of people read these newsgroups every day. My post has generated considerable discussion and several people have e-mailed descriptions of their similar experiences to me. Others have requested that I let them know if United Technologies bothers to rectify this situation and correct the problems at Carrier.

I am now building a web page describing every event in this ordeal. It contains a scan of the letter in which Carrier admits that they have "pintpointed the condensation problem to extra silicone present in the secondary heat exchanger cell of your gas furnace" and "we do agree that the extra silicone was most likely applied at the factory." It also contains points out that Carrier has refused to replace the parts corroded by the excess condensation (noted in Washington Gas’ "Notice of Potentially Hazardous Condition"), much less replace this lemon. From the web page it will also be clear that Carrier is trying to hide behind the installer. Supposedly my furnace was not vented according to Carrier specifications, yet after the venting was modified by Carrier’s regional technician the furnace continued to fail and, even after admitting the manufacturing defect, Carrier has continued to blame the installer.

Carrier has not acted in good faith throughout this very expensive and very painful ordeal. My lawyer is now looking into filing a class action lawsuit on behalf of everyone who was sold the faulty equipment and not notified when Carrier learned of the manufacturing defect.

I have contacted Senator John Warner and Representative Frank Wolf about how your company has treated this Virginian. I am also going to talk with my fellow engineers who are ISO 9000 registrars. After that I will contact the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Product Safety Commission to investigate whether a recall has been initiated.

I do not need my Ph.D. A.B.D. in engineering to know that this ordeal results from shoddy manufacturing, poor quality control, and a contemptible, unethical organization. Your code of ethics states, "We are committed to providing high quality and value, fair prices and honest transactions. We will deal both lawfully and ethically with all our customers." I DON’T THINK SO.

Where is your "network of Business Practices/Compliance Officers?" If they were more than marketing hype they would be aware of the problems at Carrier. I am often on hold more than 10 minutes before I get through to the customer relations department. When I do get through the representatives are hostile and rude. The person I spoke with the second time I called angrily ended our conversation with, "This is the last time I will speak with you. After this you will have to talk with our lawyer." This is the same person who responded within three days to one of my letters with a letter claiming to have "researched" the situation yet was full of easily refutable untruths. Do not even think of telling me that no one is aware of the problems at Carrier.

As a United Technologies shareholder I am disgusted. At the next shareholders’ meeting I will loudly and publicly voice my concerns. I will also contact each and every member of the board concerning these problems and their effect on Carrier’s contribution to UTX.

I have attached a copy of the paper trail documenting the grief your company has put me through. You should be sickened when you read it.

A VERY ANGRY and now VERY VOCAL customer and shareholder,


[Customer's name]

cc: The Honorable John Warner, Armed Services Committee, United States Senate
The Honorable Frank Wolf, Appropriations Committee, United States House
Fairfax County Department of Consumer Affairs