Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/30/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This business is scamming customers and preying on elderly clients by providing misleading and inaccurate information. On June 23, my elderly dad requested service for his AC unit. His central air unit was not providing the coolest air and he suspected the unit needed freon. This company told him that it would be a $79 fee to have a technician come out. He agreed and scheduled the technician to come out. When the technician, ***** *******, came, he said that the unit was fine and didn't need anything but freon could be added but not necessary. My dad paid the $79 check he gave the technician and the tech left. Days later, my dad was sent a bill for an additional $194 citing diagnosis. This additional fee was not communicated at the time of booking the appointment or when the technician left and was paid the initially agreed upon $79. Further, no service was done to the system as it was not necessary. This company refuses to remove this additional, uncommunicated charge. This practice is detrimental to customers like my dad, who on a fixed income, is now being pressured and intimidated into paying extra cost that wasn't communicated and with no additional service. When we requested to speak to a company manager or someone of authority, that request was refused with attitude.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/04/2025

  Good afternoon *******.

   

  Please see our response regarding the ***** case as directed.

   

  We have been in business for 56 years and in that time we have serviced and taken care of generations of families for decades.  We most certainly do not take advantage of the elderly in any way.  In fact, a great deal of our customers are 2^nd and 3^rd generation clients who love us.

   

  Regarding this in particular case, Mr. ***** ***** contacted our office in regards to no air conditioning in his home.  Our dispatcher took the information from Mr. ***** and setup one of our service technicians to come out to the home to diagnose the difficulty.  It was explained to Mr. ***** that in order to dispatch the technician, there would be a $79.00 dispatch fee plus flat rate pricing to diagnose and offer a solution to solve the difficulty.  The $79.00 is technically a trip charge just to get us to the door.  Any cost thereafter is added to the $79.00 as a flat rate cost.  This was clearly explained to Mr. ************ We had no interaction with his daughter ***** at the time of the initial call with Mr. ***** or thereafter.

   

  Upon arrival, our technician proceeded in his investigation to determine the cause of the difficulty.  He determined that the system may be low on refrigerant charge and that a system leak check may be needed to find a possible leak in the system.  The customer elected not to proceed with the leak search and to ride it out and see what happens.  We also offered a planned maintenance agreement to maintain the system for which he declined. When it came time to present the work order and billing to the customer, the customer declined to pay the bill.  The total bill with tax that should have been paid was the $79.00 dispatch and the flat rate labor charge of $160.00 for a total of $273.74 including tax.  I instructed the technician to just collect the $79.00 dispatch fee and move on to his next call.

   

  Mr. ***** refused our recommendations and refused to pay our billing in full. Had Mr. ***** elected to move forward with the maintenance agreement or the leak search, the $79.00 dispatch fee would have been waived.  I feel we did all we could to assist the customer with his HVAC difficulty and I stand behind the work that was performed by our technician.

   

  If there is anything else you need, please do not hesitate to let me know.

   

  Thank you for all you do to protect consumers and businesses!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/18/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  In February we paid Custom Aire to install a heat pump. After installation, they turned the heat pump on and left our house. They heat pump didn't heat the house. We called the next day to tell them that it wasn't working. They refused to send someone out to check the system until we had signed the payment documents. We ended up having to get the company owner involved to get the system *********** in May, we've switched the system to AC. But it's not cooling. We call Custom Aire, because them claimed to have a 10 year service warranty. But they told us we are blacklisted because I gave them a 3/5 star review. Now we are having to pay another **** company to make the system cool. Custom Aire won't answer or return our calls.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/06/2025

  On Feb 14^th 2025, a signed agreement was initialized between Custom Aire Inc. and *** ******* **** to provide **** services for the installation of a New 3 ton Heat Pump with a variable speed air handler and an electric heater kit for her home located at ******************* Pleasant Avenue in *************  During the entire sales process, including consumer financing qualification, our team dealt with *** **** who was pleasant, respectful and very nice to work with.  At no time during the initial contact did our team deal with *** ******.

   

  We dispatched our #1 Install team and started the project beginning 2/17/25 and completed the installation on 2/18/25.  Please note that the overall condition of this home was poor and was under construction for renovations I assume.  No windows were present. No walls just down to the studs. It was an old dilapidated home.  The home also needed a new electrical service with a new breaker box and breakers.  We made our electrician that we use available to *** **** to work out the details and pricing of the electrical upgrade needed for the home. *** **** approved the work and cost for the electrical upgrade.  The electrician was dispatched and performed the work as agreed. 

   

  It was after the Heat pump was installed and the electrical work was completed was when we first heard from *** ************* Our signed agreement was with *** **** and not *** ************* First, *** ****** was not happy with the price for the electrical work and asked for a breakdown of the pricing that was already agreed upon.  It was relayed to *** ****** to contact the electrician since it was out of our hands.  He felt we owed him some kind of credit due to the fact that he thought he could get the work done cheaper.  He had every opportunity to bring in an electrician of his choice but elected not to do so.  So he asked *** **** to hold off from signing the completion documentation for the financing of the project, which is how we get paid, because of his disagreement with the price for the electrical.  Understand, we had nothing to do with that phase of the project.  It was between *** **** and the electrician to agree on the price and have the work done.  We were just a conduit.  I informed *** **** that the work was performed and completed with the highest quality workmanship by our crew and that she needed to sign the completion paperwork so that we could submit it to the funding company to get paid.  No warranty services would be provided until the paperwork was signed.  She was agreeable but then *** ****** got involved, called into my office and was very belligerent and unprofessional to my staff, yelling and cursing.  He informed us that he would not allow *** **** to sign and send the completion paperwork unless something was done with the electricians billing.  He also brought it to our attention that he didnt think that the new heat pump system was working.  My staff brought the conversations with *** ****** to my attention.  I contacted him and informed *** ****** that, as a favor to them (which we normally do not do we markup our subcontractors and provide pricing with the markup to the homeowner) we just had our electrician deal with *** **** directly and we had nothing to do with the electricians price or their negotiations.  I also informed *** ****** that we would be happy to send a senior service supervisor out to the house if *** **** upheld her obligation by signing off on the completion form.  *** ****** became more condescending and disrespectful and began raising his voice to me and berating me and my company and hung up on me.  I felt an obligation to *** **** to contact her and try to work things out with her as she was the one who signed the agreement with us to begin with.  *** **** and I came to terms and she fulfilled her obligation to us by signing the completion form and uploading it to the financing portal.  With that completed, I was happy to send one of our senior service supervisors out to her home to evaluate the concerns.

   

  On 2/20/25, our #1 senior service supervisor with 20 years of experience was dispatched to the home to evaluate the system.  *** ******* assertion that the heat pump was not working properly was false. Our tech performed a full diagnostic and new system installation startup and test.  It was determined that the new heat pump was working to its peak capacity and manufacturers specifications.  The heat pump simply could not keep up with the cold air demand of the house at that time.  The temperature was in the 30s.  The house had no windows or walls.  It was basically a shell.  Too much air was escaping the home.  This was explained to *** ****** and once again, he became belligerent and disrespectful to our supervisor that was on site. We received another no heat call on 2/24/25 and dispatched the same senior service supervisor out to check the system.  Same results only our tech was informed by *** ****** that he switched the programming of the thermostat which our tech had to correct.

   

  This project was performed perfectly by a crew with 25 years of experience behind them.  While *** **** was a pleasure to deal with, *** ****** was unprofessional, belligerent and negative towards members of my team and myself and I refuse to put my team or myself in a position that is threatening and abusive.  His negative 1-star ****** review was full of lies and was deceitful in its purpose.  We are rated a 4.7 with ****** and we have been in business for over 56 years for a reason.  I have made the decision to refuse service due to *** ******* blatant disregard and disrespect of me and our employees.  In addition, he admitted that he had another company perform service on the equipment we installed which automatically voids the labor warranty that came with the installation.  The part warranty is still intact.  Once again, I reiterate that *** **** was a pleasure to work with.  I spoke with her after the fact and she understood my decision.

   

  If there is anything else you need, please do not hesitate to contact me.

   

  Thank you for all you do to protect consumers and businesses!

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/06/2025

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: 23347306
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  
  The response is full of lies. The assertion that our house has no windows or walls is a blatant and absurd lie. In what world would we be complaining about the heater not working if we didn't have windows? During the installation, I had to remove a two foot section of lathe and plaster to run new plumbing to the second floor. All other walls are present. The owner of the company lied to my wife Dr. ******* **** every time he spoke to her. I never once threatened anyone. I was nice to every service person who came to my house as I too am a tradesperson and I know the person on site isn't to blame for awful leadership in the company. The only person I "cussed at" was the service manager whom refused to send someone to turn on the heat until the financial paperwork was signed. All I said was "Why would we sign the paperwork when the f****** heat doesn't even work."  This is not a threat nor is it belligerent. When I spoke to the owner, I never raised my voice, I made a point of not using a single curse word, and I didn't hang up on him. I told him that I wouldn't take down the review and that nothing further could come from us conversing and wished him a good day.  I have reached out to the owner multiple times since and he doesn't take my calls.  He will call my wife instead of calling me back.

  In his response, they said "which we normally do not do we markup our subcontractors and provide pricing with the markup to the homeowner".  This is the opposite of what they told us. They swore that they never mark up the subcontractors. All I wanted was an itemized breakdown of why the electrical work was costing what it cost. Custom Aire told us they couldn't hook up the system into our current breaker box. They knew we were under time and temperature constraints. We didn't have the opportunity to find our own electrician. 

  He even admits in his response that the heat pump wasn't working at first. And he tried to blame me for messing with the programing. The only reason I messed with the programing is because their initial set-up person didn't program it correctly. The person they sent out ADMITTED this to me and programed it correctly.

  Furthermore, we didn't have another company work on the system until AFTER we found out the unit wouldn't cool and Custom Aire REFUSED to send someone out to get the system to work. They promised us a 10-year warranty. To date we've had to shell out an additional $1000 to have the unit repaired. A cost that should have been covered by their 10 year warranty. 

  I reiterate, their response, much like their sales tactics are full of lies.

  
  Regards,
  
  **** ******