I’ve had problems with the air conditioner in my apartment for as long as I can remember. It’s never been great, but it’s better than nothing in the stifling summer heat. We’re a long way from the peak temperatures but I wanted to test the air conditioner now so if it needs repair work done, I won’t panic.
After a quick test, I found that it was blowing air but not cold air. This has happened before and a simple top up of liquid solved the problem, so I called the landlord and asked him to attend to it as soon as possible before it gets hot.
He popped along with his battle axe wife and a repair guy at the weekend. Lots of liquid was topped up and I had to go for lunch so I left them to it. I returned about 3 hours later, tried the air con and it was still blowing warm air only. A second later there was a knock at the door and the landlord and his wife (did I mention she’s a battle axe?) came in and explained that some repair work was needed as the unit was “burnt out”. Okay so far.
The battle axe started on a long monologue about how poor they were and how we were using the air conditioner too much which was the reason it burnt out (we use it for about 2-3 months in the summer and not at all in winter). Long story short, she requested that we contribute towards the cost of repairing the unit.
I was furious and shocked by this new level of tight-fistedness. They’ve always been this way but this was really the straw that broke the proverbial back. I ordered both of them out of the apartment and told them I will be contacting a lawyer to sort this out.
The next day, I texted saying that maintenance was 100% their responsibility and I expected them to fix the unit this week or if they preferred, I would fix it myself and deduct the cost from the rent.
The next day at work, the landlord texted saying it was fixed, but pleading with me not to use it excessively and to avoid setting the temperature too low which he felt would burn out the unit quicker.
I dread having to contact these penny pinchers every time something needs attention and often I’ve just fixed stuff myself and left it at that. But I sense the relationship is now beyond repair, much like the creaking old air conditioner and I probably need to start looking for somewhere else to live.
