Goldsboro man faces rebate runaround

GOLDSBORO (WTVD) -- Hundreds of dollars in rebates through Duke Energy enticed Thomas Gardella to get a new HVAC system after having problems with his current unit.

The company who installed the unit filled out all of the paperwork for the rebate; Thomas said he was told he would get it within a few weeks.

"I waited the six to eight weeks and nothing ... so I decided to make a phone call to the 800 number," Gardella said. "I was told they had closed out the rebate."

Thomas said he was confused because he hadn't heard anything from the HVAC company or Duke Energy about problems with the rebates.

"They had apparently sent out two notifications to me that they needed additional information," he said.

Thomas said the representative told him the claim was closed and there wasn't anything else she could do.

Since Thomas said he never got any notifications about a problem, he got in touch with me, and I reached out to Duke Energy.

Thomas said he got several calls from Duke Energy.

"I said, 'Sir, I'm not asking you for a million dollars. I'm just asking you for what you promised me.'"

Duke Energy looked into the issue and apologized to Thomas for the delay in getting his rebate.

The representative said what caused the delay was the HVAC company who submitted the rebate application.

"It did have Mr. Gardella's name and the address of the house where the new unit was installed," the representative said. "However, the address was linked to another customer and we were not able to verify the account. We sent notifications the HVAC company but never received the clarifying information. Now that we have that, we have been able to move forward."

Thomas got his $690.00 in rebates and is very happy his case is resolved.