ComplaintsforCustom Comfort, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  09/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was enrolled in Custom Comfort gold club from approximately 1/2018 until now. The company’s program was supposed to perform bi-annual maintenance/service on both (total two) of my HVAC air conditioner outdoor units. I paid a recurring monthly charge of $20.70 for this program. The last date of service for both of my units was 8/2021. The company was supposed to service my units in February and August of 2022 and they failed to do so. Whenever I would contact customer service I was always told that they would contact me back to schedule and they never would. I requested to speak with a Supervisor on multiple occasions and I was always told that she would contact me back and she failed to do so. On 9/8/2022 I contacted Custom Comfort to schedule service and I was told by a representative that the Gold program was discontinued and they no longer offered it. I asked the representative if the program was discontinued why was I not notified and why did they continue to deduct monthly payments from my account and refuse to complete my service? Custom Comfort continued to deduct $20.70 monthly from my checking account and now they refuse to service or refund my money. This constitutes fraud, theft, and deceptive practices. I want my monthly payment of $20.70 that I paid from 9/2021-8/2022 totaling $248.40 to be refunded to me because no service was ever delivered and they continued to charge me for a program that no longer existed.

  Business response

  09/09/2022

  
  There have been many discussions and emails with the customer about her account.  June 1, 2021 through November 1, 2021 the payments for the monthly maintenance were not received totaling $124.20 in missed payments.  The past due account balance of $124.20 is due before further services can be rendered.  Once the missed payments from 6/1/2021-11/1/21 are paid we would be happy to continue to provide the bi-annual maintenance for her hvac systems.  Please provide proof of the noted missed payments as they were never received in our system.  Perhaps there was a mistake by the banks and this is all just a misunderstanding.

  Customer response

  09/26/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my.

   

  Custom Comfort did not and has not sent me any emails, nor returned my calls to discuss this matter.

  If I owed a balance why would you wait one year later to notify me if this is true. 
  

  If a balance was owed I should have been notified IMMEDIATELY via email, phone, or text. This did not happen.

  They have continued to debit monthly payments from my checking account. Last debit was 8/2022.

  When I called to request service I was told that the bi annual Diamond package that I had was no longer offered so why did you continue to charge and deduct money from my account if the service was discontinued?

   

  This is fraud and deceptive business practices.

  You never notified me that service was no longer offered and you never returned my calls to discuss a false balance from a year ago that you claim I owe.

   This is unfair to me as the consumer. In 2018 I paid over $14,000 to have two HVAC units installed and this is how I am treated.

  If I paid over $14,000 for new units I guarantee you that I would not have issue paying $124.00 if I TRULY owed it.

   Furthermore you have continued to deduct money from my account and not render service therefore you owe me.

  
  Regards,

   

  Choice ****** 
  
  
   

  
  

  Business response

  09/28/2022

  Ms. ****** emailed me today at 11:56 stating she reversed the credit card disputes and dropped all claims against us as she realized that she paid for 10 out of 12 tune ups (before disputing the credit card charges) and she in fact received the 10 tune ups. I would be happy to forward all the emails we have had back and forth proving this issue has been resolved.

  Customer response

  10/04/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  
  
  [Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
  
  Regards,
  
  
   Case: ********
  
  I reversed my credit card dispute of $186.30 not because I agree with Custom Comfort or believe they are right. 
  
  I reversed the dispute because they bullied and threatened to put a lien on my home if I did not drop the dispute.
  
  The fact still remains that they took money out of my account and refused to service my units.
  
  The last service on my units was 8/2021, 13 months ago.
  
  This company is deceitful. They responded to the BBB saying that I realized that I received 10/12 services and that is a flat out lie. 
  
  No where in the email did I ever say that.
  
  Again, for the record, I only reversed the charges and gave in to the dispute is because I was threatened that they would put a lien on my home.
  
  This company is deceptive, unethical, and flat out despicable.
  
  If they bullied and threatened me I would hate to think of what they may have done to other customers.
  
  I have attached all emails between myself and Custom Comfort for you to review.
  
  I’m saddened by the outcome, and do not desire to do anymore business with this company.
  
  For my own emotional well being I have settled and closed this dispute with Custom Comfort even though I do not agree with them.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Choice ****** 
  
  

  Business response

  10/04/2022

  This complaint is riddled with lies about the facts and about how we do business.  We only ask to be paid for the services rendered at the price agreed to. Ms. ****** agreed to 12 tune ups on our maintenance program paid at $20.70 per month.  She had issues with a declining credit card on many occasions. The bottom line is she received the 10 tune ups she paid for and when asked to pay the balance owed in order to schedule the final 2 tune ups, she refused to pay for them. From there she began disputing what she had paid us for.  We explained that the services were rendered and the relief available to us is to file a mechanical lien if payment was withdrawn. We have thousands of customers on our monthly maintenance program and never have had anything like this. I will not allow our reputation to be smeared by lies.  If mediation is the next step to clearing this up, I’ll be happy to proceed with it.

• Initial Complaint

  06/23/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased two new air conditioning units from Custom Comfort, Inc. on July 11, 2017, and bought a 10 year warranty at a cost of over $20,000. Since June 11, 2020, the upstairs unit has failed five times. It is currently inoperable, and Custom Comfort, Inc., will not return our calls or send a technician to service the unit. A detailed letter with history of events, serial numbers, names, dates, and issues is attached. We have also filed a complaint with the ******** ******* ** *****. In addition to the replacement of the unit, we request that Custom Comfort, Inc. no longer advertise a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee on the webpage or printed material. We have an inoperable unit that is less than four years old, and we are clearly not satisfied.

  Business response

  06/24/2021

  On June 2, 2021 Mr. ***** requested, in a certified letter, that his warranty and service information be assigned to a new dealer. We sent him the information and explained it was up to him to pick a new dealer.
  We are relieved that he has chosen to use another ****** dealer for many reasons. My office staff has been the subject of Mr. ***** screaming and cussing temper tantrums often putting them in tears.  I will not allow my staff to be verbally abused by anyone while working for me. 
  In the letter Mr. ***** sent, he made several non-factual statements and many derogatory comments about our business that are ridiculous. He lied and said the person we sent on July 11, 2020 was a contractor.  We don’t hire contractors and this person had been with the company for 2 years as an employee. This is very easy to prove. The 2 systems have only had 2 small issues with a bad sensor and board.  Every other time we went out, the system worked. The last time we were called out after being told neither of the systems were working, the technician checked both systems. Both systems filters were checked and found to be in good working order. The units drain lines were verified and showed to have good flow. Took an amp draw on the units blower motor, compressor and condenser fan motors. All showed to be pulling proper amps. Took a delta on both system. Both systems showed to have proper splits. (19 down 21 up) the condenser units pressures were checked and found to be a good working levels. Both systems at this time were found to be in working order. The upstairs unit started at 79 degrees and had dropped the temperature to 75. The down stairs unit started at 71 and dropped to 69 degrees. Both systems were found to be in good working order. Customer advised the system was not cooling. I attempted to show the customer the temperature drop at the system with a probe. The customer refused to follow me into the attic to show them the system was functioning. Customer was advised that the unit would not drop the temperature as fast as they were expecting. This unit is located on the second floor. They keep all the doors closed to the upstairs rooms. They were advised to open doors to allow air flow back to the return. After attempting to show the customer the temperature split at the system they still refused to pay until the units thermostat dropped another degree. The Custom was advised that if I continued to wait they would be charged an additional fee. Customer refused to pay and to this day he still has a $138 past due bill.
  We have tried to be as helpful as possible, even waiving 3 service charges that were not covered under his warranty.  We purchased a factory backed extended warranty for the customer which allows him to use any ********* ****** ****** to do his service warranty work. He asked for a new dealer and he got one.

  Business response

  07/12/2021

  The letter sent certified by Mr. ***** to ****** and Custom Comfort stated
  “We would sincerely appreciate if you would direct Custom Comfort to forward our warranty and service information to a new dealer.”  
  This request has been satisfied.
  While we are not electricians, we have seen many systems stop working and need to be reset due to a small power surge or electrical issue with the home. 
  The ****** consumer affairs information was correct about no “part” warranty deductible.  The extended labor warranty through ******* *** ******** does explain there is a $99 labor deductible. The misunderstanding of all the facts and the accusation about us being liars is proven false by many of the documents submitted in black and white. There is a much more comprehensive documented list of requirements by ****** to be a ********* ******. Perhaps they were not all provided or that was another misunderstanding.
  The claim that no one is providing any help is also false. Mr. ***** has been advised many times that he needs to call another ****** Certified dealer and all his warranty work will be covered.  This is also exactly what he requested. Nothing is being denied. 

  Customer response

  07/12/2021

  Better Business Bureau:

  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  
  
  

  I will restate my grievances with this service provider again as the focus of the complaint keeps getting confused by Custom Comfort.

   

  1)  In their printed material and predominately displayed on the Custom Comfort webpage is a "100% Satisfaction Guarantee." Simply put, we are not satisfied with a unit that has failed seven times in 13 months, always in the summer when it is hottest.  The 2.5 ton upstairs unit averages two failures a month during the hottest summer months.  Custom Comfort in their last correspondence seems to believe that this is "normal".  It is not normal, and why is it isolated to one unit instead of both if we are seeing a power surge or some other electrical problem?  Is it also normal for a consumer to invest $24,732 for two new units, invest in the gold service package, and then have to continually pay for a service call to reset the unit?  That is ridiculous.  Custom Comfort does not intend to stand behind their satisfaction guarantee and no consumer after us should use this statement in their consideration for selecting this dealer.  It is deceptive.

  2)  In six trips to our house to diagnose the problem with the upstairs 2.5 ton unit, Custom Comfort has failed to find the root cause of the cooling problems.  The control board replaced last year was the beginning of a systematic replacement of parts until the problem quit returning.  As evidence that the unit is still not fixed, it stopped working again on June 21, 2021, raising the total failure count to seven.  Custom Comfort has failed on every piece of return correspondence to address this issue.  The unit has failed many times and continues to fail because they have not correctly diagnosed the problem.  

  Those are the issues.  The rest of it is bad blood and hurt feelings.  Custom Comfort keeps reiterating our request for another dealer.  We did get another dealer because we were tired of the failed service, lack of integrity, and reluctance by Custom Comfort to stand behind these expensive air conditioning units. No consumer should have to go through this.  They took our money and ran.

  Regards,

  **** *****
  
   

  
  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩