HVAC company remotely locked my thermostat after I cancelled their maintenance plan. The furnace is paid off.
California, Sierra foothills.
Two years ago I paid a local HVAC company $8,600 to replace my furnace and install a smart thermostat. Paid outright, no financing or equipment rental. I also bought their annual maintenance plan, which covered two visits and priority scheduling. Cancelled before the October renewal and received confirmation.
Yesterday was the first cold morning we tried using the heat. The thermostat kept returning to Off, and changing its settings now requires an installer PIN. My access through the app has also been restricted. I called the company thinking something had broken. They told me they'd restricted the system remotely because my maintenance membership expired. Renewing for $299 would get it working again.
The installer originally set up the app and added me as another user. I didn't realise that meant they retained this much control. I asked them to remove their access and they emailed back that reactivation requires an active membership.
Another licensed contractor can come look at the controller tomorrow. The original company says having someone else change its programming will void the manufacturer's warranty.
I understand losing the maintenance visits I stopped paying for. But can they disable equipment I've already bought to make me renew? Which California agency handles this, and can another contractor restore normal operation without automatically voiding the equipment warranty?