Nearly 10 years of rental payments — trying to leave has been appalling
I have had a Reliance tankless water heater since approximately October 2016. Nearly a decade later, I am still paying rental charges.
I recently decided to terminate the relationship. I am NOT refusing to pay my account: Reliance advised me that approximately $426 remains outstanding, and I have repeatedly stated that I am prepared to pay that legitimate balance.
What I dispute is the proposed resolution for an almost 10-year-old heater and the way my cancellation request was handled.
I dealt with a Customer Solutions representative named Marilyn Wallace. I found the interaction extraordinarily unpleasant. In my experience, her manner was rude, condescending and dismissive, and the conversation felt more like an interrogation and retention exercise than an attempt to understand why a long-standing customer wanted to leave.
After various retention offers, I was offered a 25% reduction that still resulted in a proposed buyout of approximately $1,574 plus tax for the almost 10-year-old heater.
My issue was never whether I could afford to pay. I wanted a fair resolution.
Our call lasted approximately 32 minutes before disconnecting while I was waiting for termination/buyout information. I documented the disconnection in an email to Reliance immediately afterward.
The following day, another Reliance representative — who, in complete contrast, was extremely pleasant and helpful — reviewed the account with me. I discovered that my request had been recorded inaccurately.
Reliance subsequently emailed me stating that I wanted to RETURN the rental water heater.
That was not my request.
I corrected Reliance in writing, explicitly stating: “I have no intention of giving back the heater.”
I wanted to terminate the rental agreement, pay my legitimate outstanding balance, and negotiate a reasonable resolution regarding equipment I have already been renting for almost a decade.
This experience also brought back an earlier problem. When the condensate pump failed several years ago, I contacted Reliance and was told it was not covered. I ultimately had to arrange and pay for a third-party plumber myself.
So after nearly 10 years, I am left asking a very simple question: what exactly have all these rental payments purchased?
Reliance has documentation of the current dispute under references #74471967 and #74507777, and I have retained the correspondence.
I want Reliance to:
1. Accept payment of my legitimate outstanding balance.
2. Terminate the rental agreement.
3. Reach a reasonable resolution regarding the existing almost 10-year-old heater.
4. Correct any inaccurate account notes concerning my request.
5. Confirm the resolution in writing.
Potential customers should carefully calculate the lifetime cost of renting and understand exactly how termination and buyout work before entering one of these agreements.