Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/16/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  On May 26th, 2023, I called Shaw’s AC & Heating (since they regularly maintain my AC & heating unit maintenance twice a year) because my AC Unit started making a terrible noise and blowing hot air. I am 82 years old and my husband is a 77 year old disabled man who can’t speak or walk due to a massive stroke. I was informed on this date I needed a new motor and capacitor (contractor) which would be $1,000 and $400 for labor. Due to our age and health conditions, I had them fix it regardless of price on the spot. Since that date; however, I have had my AC Unit go out FIVE more times. I was promised they would show up one night at 4:30pm and they never showed, and my husband became very sick with what I thought was possible heat stroke, vomiting and excessive diarrhea, until they showed up the next day. As of this report, my unit is still not working and I just had Shaw’s here last night. Now they tell me I have to wait in my extremely hot house until 8pm this evening on a 3-day weekend? There is no way my husband is going to make it in these conditions this company continues to put us through. I am very frustrated that they aren’t taking my calls seriously and they know we are elderly and disabled. I am at my wits end. I need some help to get this company to fix this issue before something really bad happens to my husband while I am waiting for them to try and fix a problem and keep telling me “Oh it’s that time of year.” They need to stand behind their work and not make elderly and disabled people sit in the heat for over a month before fixing the problem here.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/29/2023

  Good morning! We have contacted the homeowner and have resolved the issue.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/29/2023

   Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/01/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore 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.

  Complaint # 1. CHARGED $9077 to replace a small wine cellar equipment( $3700) no breakdown
  I ordered a replacement for wine cooler in wine room on August 24 my wife was given verbal estimate of 9000 dollars she was told that prices have gone up and was never given a breakdown of the cost breakdown also was told they will install expedite. They ordered the equipment from winecellar HQ and they received the equipment by August 30 and was told they are busy could not install asap and installed September 7 2022
  they sent me an invoice for $9077.00 with no explanation of breakdown of labor and price of equipment and he refused to give me the breakdown which is required by law I never was given written quote with any details.
  I contacted the vendor HQ wine cellar and found the price of equipment was 3298 with shipping taxes $3700.
  i was charged $9077 , $3700 for equipment and $5300 dollars for labor to remove and replace this piece. actual hours 2 men 5.5 hours each for total 11 hours that comes to nearly $500/hour . Owner Jeff shaw refused to give me breakdown I offered to pay him $5800 to be reasonable. That comes to $2100 for 11 hours of labor at close to $200/hour. When asked to explain, Mr Shaw said my wife said yes to the price on phone, I said I deserve written quote by California business code not verbal estimate with no details and was told expedite charges but again no quote, it was installed on september 7 when I asked for it August 24.
  Complaint#2
  Replace a basic thermostat costing $50 and sent me invoice by email for $465 for 30 min time.
  My wife asked to replace a thermostat in my house that cost about $50.00 , I was sent an invoive for $465 for 30 min labor . I was never given an estimate or a quote and he refused to give me a breakdown. I am willing to pay him $200 for total.
  Please the evidence I gathered, I am going to take him to small claims court if he does not resolve amicably
  
  Total I am willing to pay $6000 for both items $5800 plus $200

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/25/2022

  Here is my response regarding complaint #1...

  Mrs. ***** called our office on 8/22/2022 at 8:13am saying that her wine chiller was not wor****. We sent our technician out to their home 17722 Road 224, Porterville the next day. My technician arrived at their home on 8/23/2022 at 7:43am. My technician looked at the existing wine chiller and diagnosed a bad thermostat. He told Mrs. ***** that he will need to look to see how much the part will be and how long it will take to get it. Mrs. ***** explained to my technician that she didn’t want to wait because she was afraid her wine would get too warm and get ruined. She explained that she would want a new one instead of waiting. My technician then had our comfort advisor scheduled to give Mr. and Mrs. ***** a price on new equipment. My comfort advisor went out to their home on the same day 8/23/2022 and arrived at 11:33am. On 8/24/2022, my comfort advisor emailed Mr. and Mrs. ***** an estimate to [email protected] and the email was opened. On 8/29/2022 at 9:45am, Mrs. ***** called into our office on a recorded phone conversation (as per California law, we inform everyone who are calling in and out that they are recorded) approving the estimate for the amount of $9,077.00. She also asked if we could expedite the install. We tried to accommodate but our schedule was full with other installs of customers that didn't have AC that couldn't be rescheduled. On 9/7/2022, we installed the new wine chiller system. After the system was installed Mrs. ***** signed the completion invoice. Now that the wine chiller is installed, Mr. ***** is questioning the price and thinks it is unfair. As of right now, Mr. ***** is refusing to pay the approved estimate amount and is only wanting to pay $6,000. He is also saying that our cost of the equipment was $3,700. That is incorrect. Our invoice from our distributor where we purchased the equipment was $4,037.11. There is more to a price than just the price of the equipment and labor to install it. There is all of the overhead: fuel, cost of the vehicle to get to the job, general liability insurance, workers compensation insurance, auto insurance, uniforms, the list goes on.

   

  My response regarding complaint #2...

  Mrs. ***** asked us to change out the thermostat in a room in her home. We changed it out with her permission on 9/09/2022. We are also a flat rate company so we don’t break things down. For example if a part costs $500, that’s how much it will cost regardless of how long it takes us to install it.

   

  The cost of doing business in California and all of the overhead is expensive. As you know, everything has increased these last couple of years. The prices that we set are set so we are able to stay in business in California. We have had multiple equipment and parts increases just this last year with our distributors. We hire an outside professional profitability consultant named **** ****. She is very well known in the HVAC industry. She looks at all of our financials monthly to make sure we are pricing everything in our company correctly so that we can stay profitable.