You are not the first to post these type of problems. I am sorry this has happened to you. It is ridiculous to add 5 pounds of R22 to a system and then state the repair cannot be guaranteed. They should have informed you of the problem and given you a choice. In my opinion you owe them the $65 for the service call. The debate is who is going to pay for the 5 pounds of R22 that escaped as soon as it was installed. You could fight this in small claims court and try for a win, or you can cut your losses and settle now. Write them a letter explaining your position as to why you should not pay the full amount of the bill. Make your offer in the letter. The 5 pounds of R22 at $45 per pound would have been $225. You could compromise and offer half the amount on the refrigerant. You need to decided how much your time you want to waste dealing with a company you will never use in the future. Good luck with your new HVAC system. I hope the installation contractor is honest and competent.

Based on what you told us,it apears opinions lean toward the damage being the result of "somthing" the tech did. That is about all that you can expect from us,opinions. If you plan to persue the company in repairing the unit, it's up to you to find one or more local experts to examine the unit and talk with the tenant. If the expert(s) feel there is evidence the unit was damaged by the tech,that in it self will not help other than if you take legal action. In Texas,a Justice of Peace usualy hears cases for less than $5k and both sides normaly give thier side of the issue without an attorney repersenting either side. Cost of filing is about $75. If you have a similar option,you have a pretty strong case "if" you prove the unit worked well up to the minute the tech looked at it and failed emediatly during or following what ever he did. "And" he took the capacitor when he left. (BTW,was there a replacement capacitor on unit or was the capacitor missing when the ruptured compressor was discovered?) Either is admission of fault if you can prove it. Ask your local expert if he agrees that a compressor can be severly overloaded with liquid refrigerant as the result of cooling the condenser to the point refrigerant is not expanding into gas as it makes it's way through the system.

I love that I can count on some good discussion points and varying viewpoints here on Houzz. I am sticking with thinking of a house as a depreciating asset, but you guys made me think about it and try to understand your logic and why you feel it is different than a car. Drive the car off the lot and you lose money. Live in a house for a year and see if it appraises at the same amount that an identical home that is new construction appraises for. Don't sink money into maintaining the house and it will go to pot and the building will be a tear down in 30 years. If I have two homes that have similar floorplans, square footage and finishes on similar lots in the same neighborhood and one is brand new and one is 30 years old the price tag of the brand new home is going to be higher than the price tag of the used home. It may be more than what it originally cost, but if I deduct all the expenses used to maintain the home, the taxes and the cost to insure the home and adjusted for inflation would have I realized a gain? Would I be better off if I had just purchased the land and let it sit for 30 years? What if I put a tiny house on the land and spent far less on maintenance, taxes, insurance? If I minimize the size of the house and maximize the investment into the land (best location I can afford) or get a larger house in a less desirable location? Based on my thinking if the house is appreciating as well as the land I would come out even regardless of location, but I think the smaller house in the more desirable neighborhood will yield a much higher profit. If I don't continue to invest in the house (maintenance) it will yield a loss, not a profit, but the land will still appreciate in value. I just don't see where the building is appreciating faster than inflation less expense. That means it is a depreciating asset. I don't have the data to validate my conclusion, but I do believe that the three most important consideration for a real estate investment are location, location, location.

If you're using a copy of the Standard that is 20 years old, you're not following best practices. I'm not surprised. I sense you're struggling with it. I sense you're struggling with what I laid out here... to show you that standards change, the homes that were built 20+ years ago do not. Did I not tell you Charles that all you do is build new... yet even with that warning you plod straight ahead without "thinking" about it. Then because you're struggling with it you go on to say that if I am using a standard that is 20 years old that I merely used as a reference point to rope a dope. So you can go back and re-read this to fully understand what I put here... I know how to use Google Search. You've proven in the past you don't know how to use it. I have a unique set of skills. Anyone can beat a nail to death... they even make nail guns now so even a hac like me could do it. So if I were to not be a HAC as in heating and AC, I would then be prescibed to rip the house down the foundation and become someone like you? Thanks I know which lane I'm in, nail beater. I am not in a thread for nail beaters am I? Heating and Air Conditioning is the name of this location on the internet. I know you're not an avid fan of reading and understanding what you read..... I don't think you will convince many to rip a house down to it's foundation. Usually it starts with a gut job down to the studs, then you say... hey look what we found? Yeah we've already come this far might as well just take it right down to the foundation. I own two homes built in late 70's... a bit on the drafty side in that era. You won't convince me to rip these homes down to the foundation Charles. Nice try. ha, ha, ha, ha as in LOL.