Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Charles A. Klein and Sons, Incorporated's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Charles A. Klein and Sons, Incorporated

  5220 Klees Mill Rd Sykesville, MD 21784

• 

  Charles A. Klein and Sons, Incorporated

  309 W. Pennsylvania Ave. Baltimore, MD 21204

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:12/05/2024

  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.

  Purchased a new condo at ***************************************************** in late July 2023. in late June 2024, an 11 month punch list was prepared as required by the Builder. The ******* had hired Pro Home to be its manager for warranty repairs. They vetted the punch list and prepared an approved punch list after some work items were approved and some others were dropped. Several vendors under contract with the *************************** in ************) showed up and worked on the punch list. No one invoiced us for any item on the punch list. On July 31, 2024 Charles A. Klein also did the same for one punch list item assigned to it under the approved punch list vetted by Pro Home. 30 days later we received an Invoice for $200. We wrote to them explaining that this work item was covered under an approved 11 month punch list vetted by pro Home (warranty manager). There should be no charge for this work. *** did not respond. One month later we got another Invoice (reference FARTAR) for $200. This time I sent a registered letter to *** requesting that the Invoice should be withdrawn. Again no answer. The Invoice was sent again in November and December 2024 for the same amount. No explanation as to why we are billed for an item on the approved punch list. This has become an unnecessary harassment ******* Home contact: Ms. ******* ******** Manager of Administration ProHome ******************************************************************************************************* ************** Line: ************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/09/2024

  scanned copy of the recent Invoice.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/10/2024

  scanned copy of the recent Invoice.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/10/2024

  A copy of the letter to Charles A Klein attached.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/19/2024

  We were notified by the unit owner that the stopper needed adjustment. As such we were inclined to believe there was something wrong with the stopper. We arrived to find the stopper laying in the tub by what we would believe the attempt at adjusting the tub drain, the resident unscrewed the tub stopper thereby removing. If that was not the case, regardless we did not leave the tub drain laying there and did not install the shower trim incomplete for the job. We therefore installed the tub stopper as designed and left.
  
  We were first notified by Prohomes of this issue, we were also notified by Prohomes, the Builder we were contracted with and the owner that any service calls not covered under warranty is to be billed to the resident. We do not believe misuse or misunderstanding of the material and equipment falls under warranty as that information is expected to be passed along by the building owner and/or the builder. If that is not the case, then we did not leave the trim laying in the tub in that manner to finish the job. We do not believe this complaint should stand as it is believed the homeowner is responsible for understanding the equipment and accidental removal of the tub drain, while innocent enough, is not a warrantable issue and cause for us the installing contractor to be held responsible.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/21/2024

   
  Complaint: 22645068
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  The bathroom stopper was misaligned or damaged according to the Builder.  It was referred to CAK as a warranty correction after ProHome inspected the apartment and prepared an approved punch list after some other items were discarded.  This particular item was included in the ProHome approved punch list items.  My wife and I had not used that bathroom as it is attached to the guest room and we did not use it.  So we did not do anything to cause any new defect.  Note that other subcontractors came and performed their assigned punch list items without any fuss.  Even CAK technicians who showed up did not indicate any issues with this work item.  To our surprise, a few weeks later the *** billing office sent us an Invoice to correct that punch list item.  By the way, other unit owners have expressed similar bad experience with CAK. 

  CAK is trying to collect payments for an item correctly identified as a punch list item.  They should withdraw their Invoice and stop sending new Invoices for this work.

  Thanks & best regards,
  
  ***** *******

  Business Response

  Date: 01/04/2025

  We disagree. CAK is of the position that it nothing wrong however for the sake of resolution, we will split the bill.

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/07/2025

   
  Complaint: 22645068
  
  I am rejecting this response because: the fix was in response to an approved punch list reviewed and approved by the Builder. The CAK technician who came did not dispute this work.  I did not ask for any additional or new task.  The invoice that came later was a total surprise.  Other subcontractors attended to their punch list items without billing us.  Only CAK has done so.  Other unit owners are reporting similar experience with CAK. It appears that CAK is acting in bad faith and is trying to bully us for paying for punch list items.  The Invoice must be withdrawn and the case closed immediately.

  Thanks & best regards,

  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *******

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/08/2025

  My wife and I are in the mid 70s.  We are getting old, so we downsized to move to a new condo.  We expected a complete and functioning unit.  A punch list was created and approved by the Builder's punch list management group (ProHome).  All subs performed their assigned items.  So did CAK except they Invoiced us for the work.  Interestingly they claim that there was nothing wrong with the shower drain stopper yet they charged us $200.00 to fix it!  If there was nothing wrong with the stopper why are they charging us $200?  They are trying to coerce us to pay for a punch list item.  This should be reflected in their public record.  Thanks for all the assistance.  Best regards.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/08/2025

  Better Business Bureau:

  My wife and I are in the mid 70s.  We are getting old, so we downsized to move to a new condo.  We expected a complete and functioning unit.  A punch list was created and approved by the Builder's punch list management group (ProHome).  All subs performed their assigned items.  So did CAK except they Invoiced us for the work.  Interestingly they claim that there was nothing wrong with the shower drain stopper yet they charged us $200.00 to fix it!  If there was nothing wrong with the stopper why are they charging us $200?  They are trying to coerce us to pay for a punch list item.  This should be reflected in their public record.  Thanks for all the assistance.  Best regards.

   

  ***** *******

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/09/2025

  BBB Complaint ID: ********
  
  
  Hi: I had pursued this punch list matter with BBB.  We did not achieve closure.  I would like to fly a complaint with **************************.  How do I do that?  Will the documents filed with BBB transfer automatically or do I file from scratch.
  
  
  Please provide guidance.
  
  
  Thanks & best regards,
  
  
  ***** *******
  *******************************
  ********************
  **************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/28/2024

  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.

  I purchased a brand new home from **** Homes in Jan 2022 and the company listed (Charles Klein & Sons) were responsible for the installation of the HVAC system along with any repairs, etc. for the first year. My actual move in date was Feb 2022 and by June 2022 I had to reach out to the company due to my HVAC system not properly working. The company (Klein) came out and made the first repairs to a brand new HVAC system that was less than 1 year old and less than 60 days of use. After said repairs I began having issues again with my HVAC system not properly working in Aug 2022 and had to have the company come back out to repair my system that still at this time was under 1 year old and less than 90 days of service/use. During this time the system was still under warranty and there weren't any fees associated with these repairs. Most recently in April 2024 my HVAC is not working again causing a need for repairs for a system that is barely over 2 years old at this point and having to be repaired for a 3rd time. The company (Klein) was contacted when I was basically told that they do not offer any guarantee for the work they perform, and I am outside of my 1yr. warranty I would need to pay for them to come out and assess the issue as well as pay for any needed repair even though my system required 2 service calls during the 1yr coverage period. I had the opportunity to speak to whom I was told was the manager of the company (Chuck) and experienced the most rude and unprofessional individual I have come across conducting business. When I made it clear that I did not feel comfortable having his company to come back out to service my system for a 3rd time when the other times basically have been unsuccessful and they do not guarantee their work he lets me know that he does not care about the issues I am having with my unit and my concerns and when I pointed out to him how unprofessional that was to say and how unprofessional he was handling it he hung the phone up one me.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/07/2024

  In response to complaint number 21633354:
  
  Charles A. Klein & Sons, Inc. proudly stands by its work and provides a 1-year labor warranty covering installation issues on all HVAC units installed. Routine maintenance is not covered under the warranty, but CAK happily provides routine maintenance as a billable service. Upon expiration of the 1-year warranty, all HVAC system service is billable.
  
  In this specific instance, CAK completed installation of this homeowner’s HVAC system in early 2022 and serviced the system in August of 2022. Since the August 2022 service call, CAK can only assume that the unit had been operating properly as there were no other service requests. 
  
  On April 16, 2024, the homeowner called the CAK’s Service Department requesting warranty service for the HVAC system. CAK service staff informed the homeowner that the warranty period on the HVAC system had ended and CAK would of course service the system, but it would be a billable service. The homeowner requested that the work order information in order to provide the information to another HVAC service company. The CAK Service Department staffer said he would gather the work order information and send it in a timely fashion, but homeowner requested to stay on the line until the documents were received. The CAK Service Department staffer noticed that there were internal notes on the file regarding the splitting the bill with the builder on the 2022 service call. Upon seeing these notes, the CAK Service staffer tried to take the homeowner off speaker phone to further review this information with the homeowner and accidentally hit the wrong button and inadvertently disconnected the line.  
  
  Upon the homeowner calling back, the service staff tried to explain to the homeowner that he unintentionally disconnected the line. Unfortunately, CAK Service staffer was not able to get a word out because the homeowner began swearing at the service employee and called him a “fucking bitch.” The CAK service staffer at that point hung up the phone and would not speak directly with the homeowner again. 
  
  A few days later, the builder requested CAK to assess the homeowner’s HVAC equipment. The CAK Service staffer explained that after being sworn at and called names, CAK would not discuss service with the homeowner again and that the builder needed to be responsible for billing and payments. The builder requested the service tickets and the CAK staffer forwarded them. 
  
  Unfortunately, due to the homeowner’s verbal abuse of CAK Service taff for an accidental disconnection of the phone line, CAK understandably will not perform service with the homeowner directly again. 
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/14/2023

  Type:Order 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.

  I purchased a condo for medical necessity in September of 2022. Prior to moving in I had the condo painted. While painted the laundry room the painter accidentally hit a pipe and it burst. The painting company repaired the pipe dry vacuumed the area and cleaned all carpets in the home. The following day I went to the. O do only to find the furnace was not working. The property manager came to residence and we attempted a call to the company. The office was closed so the property manager followed up the next morning. The company sent a technician out and come to find during the painting the switch on the wall was turned off. This was the power source of the furnace and the problem was resolved within 1 minute. Two weeks later I received a bill from Charles ***** for $140.00. The property manager suggested I contact and explained what happened. We were hopeful because of the huge relationship with the community a deep discount or waive of the bill was possible. Upon reaching out and contacting business manager the company was not willing to work with me at all.
  This past weekend I was informed the prior owner of the condo had a service contract of the unit thru February 28, 2023. Considering the occurrence was in November of 2022 the appliance was still under the annual warranty. This is a case of company greed and actually “double dipping” as the contract was still in order and then charging and additional $140.00 for flipping a switch on. Please move forward with my complaint and see if any action will be taken by the business.
  
  Thank you,
  Robin ** ***** ###-###-####

  Business Response

  Date: 03/23/2023

  We have contacted the homeowner regarding the issue, we will offer a one-time maintenance on the equipment(a value of $120), previously discussed with the homeowner the splitting of the bill. In response to the actual complaint- homeowner believes that the outstanding maintenance owed to the previous homeowner should cover this call. I explained that the maintenance policy belongs to the person who paid for the policy, not the equipment itself. That being said, the power to the unit was off which was the issue and regardless of the outstanding policy, this would have been a billable call due to the maintenance policy not covering power loss or if the unit is turned off and called in for service. I further explained that this call was billed at a discounted rate due to the simplicity of the issue. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/26/2023

   
  
  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.
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  Robin *****