I hired Hughes to replace an AC unit at one of my rental properties in Baltimore. I had previously…read moreused them for other smaller jobs and was overall pleased with their service.
One of their technicians came out to inspect and service my three apartments, and he recommended replacing one of the units that was an older model and not functioning as well. He connected me with Jason (one of the owners), who gave me a quote, and I agreed to move forward with it.
The technician who came out to replace the unit didn't seem as experienced, but he was very polite and professional. He kept the job site clean and communicated with me often.
A few hours after the job had been completed, at 11:30 at night, I got a call from my tenant mentioning that the house reeked of gas.
I called the technician and texted another, but no one answered. So I went on their website, which says "Emergency Services Available," and tried to call the mainline, but no one answered. Eventually, I was transferred to a call center that said "all of our technicians are busy helping other clients" and that they would call me back in 2 minutes. No one did!
So we called the fire department, which came out and identified the source of the problem. Hughes used an old existing gas hose to connect the gas line to the new system. That hose was not compatible to the new AC, so it leaked gas. As a result, the fire department shut off the units and the gas supply to the house. Hughes came back the following morning to replace the hose and fix the problem.
When we turned the gas back on to the house, my hot water heater which is fairly new and had been working perfectly fine, wouldn't operate. The pilot light was not coming on, and Hughes sent two of their technicians to look at it. They mentioned that the gas valve to the hot water heater was no longer working and that they had to replace the part. The plumbing supply company was about to close, so the technicians said they would be back in the morning with the new part to replace it for me.
The next morning I get a call from the owner, Jason, saying that the part wouldn't be available for at least two days and he wanted to charge me $600 for the job. He actually tried talking me into replacing the entire hot water heater ($2,400 and offered to give 10% off).
It turned out that my hot water heater was still under warranty, so I called the manufacturer, who shipped out the part at no cost and hired another plumber to install it for a fraction of what Hughes was quoting me.
Their website says, "Educate, Not Sell." It sure didn't feel like that.
Hughes fixed a problem and created another. The least they could have done was offer to fix my hot water heater after all they put me through.
I'm sorry to say the experience overall was frustrating, time-consuming, and generally disappointing, as I no longer feel I can rely on/trust them with this important work. I wish the outcome had been different.
