Returns & refunds

• 30 days to return unopened equipment for a full refund.
• Opened but uninstalled equipment is refunded less a 15% restocking fee.
• Special-order items are not returnable unless they arrive defective or damaged.
• Damaged in transit? We replace it free, but you must note the damage before signing the freight receipt.
• Installed equipment cannot be returned. It moves to warranty.

This is the one step that costs customers the most money, so it is worth being blunt about it. When an LTL freight carrier delivers a condenser, air handler, or packaged unit, you are asked to sign a delivery receipt. That signature is a legal statement that the equipment arrived in good condition.

Inspect the crate and the unit before you sign. If you see crushed corners, punctured cardboard, oil residue, bent line stubs, or a tilted pallet, write the specific damage on the delivery receipt and photograph it while the driver is still there.

• Visible damage: note it on the receipt, photograph it, and call us the same day. We replace the unit at no cost.
• Concealed damage: report within 5 business days of delivery with photos and the serial number. Carriers routinely deny concealed-damage claims filed later than this, and that denial passes through to you.
• Signed clean: if the receipt was signed without notation, the carrier treats the shipment as delivered intact and our ability to recover the cost is limited. We will still help you file, but we cannot guarantee a free replacement.

• Unopened, resalable equipment: in original packaging with all literature and accessories. Full refund within 30 days of delivery or pickup.
• Opened but uninstalled equipment: refund less a 15% restocking fee, provided the unit is complete, undamaged, and never charged, wired, or mounted.
• Parts and accessories: 30 days, unopened, in resalable condition.

• Installed equipment. Once a unit has been mounted, wired, brazed, or charged with refrigerant it is no longer resalable. Defects at that point are handled under the manufacturer warranty, not a return.
• Special-order and non-stock items that we bring in specifically for your job, unless they arrive defective or damaged.
• Refrigerant: cylinders that have been opened or partially used cannot be accepted back for safety and regulatory reasons.
• Electrical components: boards, motors, and controls that have been installed and energized. A failed board is a warranty claim.
• Items returned after 30 days without prior authorization.

A refund returns the price of the goods and the sales tax charged on them. What happens to the delivery charge depends on whose mistake it was, and it is worth stating plainly rather than discovering at the end.

• Our error (wrong item, damaged, dead on arrival, or not as listed): full refund including the original delivery or freight charge, no restocking fee, and we cover the return freight.
• Change of mind or an ordering mistake: the goods and tax are refunded. The original delivery or freight charge is not, because that service was already performed. Will-call pickups have no such charge.
• Trade accounts on net terms are settled by credit memo against the account rather than a card refund, since there is no card to refund to.

Cancelling is always cheaper than returning, for both of us. Call as soon as you know.

• Before it leaves the warehouse: cancelled in full, refunded in full, no fee.
• After it is loaded or in transit: it becomes a return under the terms above, including the return freight, because the shipment is already moving.
• Special orders: once we place the order with the manufacturer it usually cannot be cancelled. We will tell you at the point of no return, before it passes, rather than after.
• Refused or undeliverable freight: a shipment refused at the door without a damage notation, or returned because no one could receive it, is treated as a change-of-mind return: outbound and return freight are yours, plus the restocking fee if the unit came back opened.

If the return is our error (wrong item shipped, unit arrived damaged or dead on arrival, or the product did not match its listing) we pay the freight both ways and there is no restocking fee.

If the return is a change of mind, an ordering mistake on your end, or a job that fell through, the return freight is yours. For a mini split head this is modest. For a condenser or packaged unit moving by LTL freight it is not, and it is often a meaningful fraction of the unit price. Dropping the unit at our Newark will-call counter avoids that cost entirely and is almost always the cheaper path for Bay Area customers.

Every return needs an RMA number before it ships. Unauthorized returns arriving at our dock cannot be matched to an order and may be refused.

• Call (415) 988-4445 or email info@summithvacsupply.com with your order number, the SKU, and the reason.
• For damage or defect claims, include the unit serial number and photographs. A photo and the serial number is usually all we need.
• We issue an RMA number and tell you whether to ship it back or bring it to will-call at 5437 Central Ave., Suite 10, Newark, CA 94560. Write the RMA number on the outside of the packaging, not on the equipment carton itself.
• An RMA is valid for 15 days. The unit needs to be back with us, or dropped at will-call, inside that window. Ask for an extension if the job schedule makes that tight; we would rather re-date it than refuse it at the dock.
• Returns are inspected on arrival. A unit that comes back incomplete, used, or damaged in return transit is refunded at what it is actually worth to us, or refused and returned to you at your cost. Pack it the way it arrived — the original crate and pallet exist for a reason.
• Refunds are issued to the original payment method within 5–10 business days of the unit arriving and passing inspection.

A return sends a product back for a refund. A warranty claim repairs or replaces a product that failed in service. Once equipment is installed, warranty is the applicable path. See the Resources page for manufacturer warranty terms and registration, or contact us and we will route the claim.