If you're looking for an HVAC company to scam you, this is the place! We called them due to a loss…read moreof function in our HVAC system. The person who answered the phone informed me that there would be an emergency service charge of $160 just to come out and take a look. I agreed, and they sent a technician within an hour.
The technician who arrived was very polite, but once he got into the attic to inspect the unit, it was clear that he was one of the newer, less experienced members of the team. He seemed unfamiliar with different HVAC systems and his companies pricing. He called his manager multiple times to ask what to look for. At one point, the manager instructed him to perform a control panel bypass to diagnose the issue. The problem did turn out to be the control panel. The technician informed me they would need to order a new one and return the next day to install it. He said the bypass he performed would serve as a temporary solution until the part arrived.
Afterward, he checked the air handler and said it was operating at about 90% efficiency, but that adding a pound of freon would bring it up to 100%. I asked how much that would cost, and--after another call to his manager--he told me it would be $110 per pound. I agreed, and he took roughly five minutes to fill it. Before leaving, he told me the total would be $590 for everything. Although I thought this was high for just a diagnosis, one pound of freon, and a control panel, I paid, received a receipt, and he left.
The next day, the company called to schedule the installation and informed me that I could pay the remainder over the phone or when the technician arrived. I was surprised--I'd already paid $590 the day before. That's when they told me it would be an additional $320 for the labor and the control panel. I had questions about how all these costs were being added up, especially since I had never been given a breakdown or quote beforehand. The technician made it seem like $590 was the total cost.
The woman who called said her manager would call me back to explain. About 10-15 minutes later, I received a call from the same manager the technician had been speaking with the day before. He told me the $160 was the base emergency fee, and they charged an additional $160 for the diagnostic service (which he called a "temporary fix"). The freon, he said, was $110 per pound, plus another $160 in labor. The additional $320 was broken down as $160 for the part and $160 for installation labor.
I explained to him that the $160 diagnostic fee was never mentioned at any point aside from the initial conversation with the receptionist, and he insisted the technician should have told me beforehand--even though he himself had been on the phone with the technician during the diagnosis. I also pointed out that the freon was quoted at $110 per pound, with no mention of added labor fees--especially not at emergency pricing, which wasn't even necessary at that point. Lastly, there had been no mention of any additional charge for installing the control panel until the scheduling call the next day.
Throughout the conversation, the manager repeatedly blamed the technician, saying it was his responsibility to explain the pricing and that it wasn't the manager's fault. He leaned heavily on his "25 years of HVAC experience" as justification for his stance.
Although they did return and install the control panel, getting my HVAC system running again, the management and pricing practices of this company are extremely predatory. I would only recommend contacting them if you're okay with throwing money away.
