It sounds to me like the repair co dont want the hassle of removing the stator or are not confident about doing it in case the casing gets damaged. Semi-Hermatics are always very tight in the casing because being pressurised and gas tight, grubscrews or bolts cannot be used and therefore they rely just on interference to hold the stator in. The secret is a LOT of heat applied very quickly, we use an oxy-propane setup for quick heating, its much more effective than oxy-act`. You may be able to use a 3 legged puller with the toes turned outwards and dig them into the winding at the bottom of the case but I doubt very much the stator will draw out without heat and without distorting the lamination pack at the same time. I always make a point of informing customers of the difficulties this type of job presents and make them aware that parts could be damaged. The usual answer back is Have a go, its scrap either way. In short there is no easy method or answer but its by no means impossible. You could try another repair co, generaly the bigger they are, the more well equiped and experienced they are. Suggest to them the trick I mentioned earlier about using an overhead crane to pull the stator out. I have found it never fails if you can set it up correctly and safely.
Another consideration relating to semi-hermatic rewinds is the fact that the properties of the refridgerent gas used in the system can be affected by the chemicals given off from the insulation materials used in the winding if it overheats and burns out.