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:04/11/2025

  Type:Customer Service 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.

  3/10/25 tech installed a circulator pump on my boiler system as 2 of 6 radiant heat return lines were remaining cool, resulting in room temp 3 to 5 degrees lower that thermostat set at. He provided me with an invoice that indicated a $416 "miscellaneous" charge. I knew it was for the pump but I needed a more complete, appropriate invoice, especially if a warranty issue occurred. Emailed the company multiple times requesting the manufacturer's name, pump model number and date of manufacture (per manual, not installation) be documented on the invoice. Meanwhile, it was evident that the pump did not solve the problem.
  No response from the company until I emailed that as a Club Plan Member I would be following their Club policy of no charge to the customer unless repairs are fixed right the first time. I stated that I would follow that policy and not be responsible for the $452.90 invoice as the issue was not repaired correctly the first time. Zach responded the same day and told me he would get the information for me. Communicated via brief emails for a week during which he was not even aware what type of pump the tech installed as the company had no record of it. Told me where to find the date of manufacture on the pump thinking the tech installed a brand they usually install. Never got the invoice with the info I requested.
  Offered to send a tech out to fix the pump issue "properly". I conveyed that I no longer have confidence nor trust in the company and declined the offer. He stated that "in regard to payment, the policy includes us having the ability to come back and fix the problem. At that point, payment would be collected." Conveyed to him that the Club Plan policy does not indicate that in writing so it does not seem valid. Since I declined their second attempt to repair correctly, he plans to proceed with collecting a portion or full amount. The Club Plan policy seems like a version of false advertising. I have ended this 31 year relationship.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/14/2025

  In regards, to this complaint we realized that the customer had no intention of paying for the services after many attempts on our end to try and address her issues. We offered to send technicians out to her home to identify the pump and to see if the system was in fact not working properly due to the repair. Many times, a part failure is but a symptom of a larger issue. See kept declining. We as a company have moved forward and have put the balance to zero. We are not looking to collect for services provided.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/22/2025

  I've been a customer of the company for 31 years and have promptly paid my invoices. I certainly would have paid this invoice had the issue been correctly repaired the first time. It was not, so I followed your Charles Club Plan policy. To clarify: 1. To replace the invoice that merely indicated "miscellaneous" for the $416 pump, I requested an appropriate invoice with specific yet basic information regarding the pump. You could not provide this info because you had no documented record of what the tech installed.I did not realize you were not even aware of the type of pump he installed.  2. You wanted a tech to come to my house to determine if the new pump was working properly and to obtain the requested info from the pump itself (which is where I obtained it) for the requested invoice. Clearly, the new pump was not working properly.  Outdoor temperature 25 degrees, thermostat set at 69, interior temp registering only 65 degrees. Pex lines 4 and 6 were still cool while the other lines were warm.  3. The knowledge of the techs and quality of service has deteriorated in recent years. I declined your offer to send a tech to my house a second time because I had lost all remaining confidence and trust in your company with this issue.  4. If returning to a customer's home a second time to repair the issue properly is indeed part of the Club Plan policy, as you mentioned in one of your emails, I strongly encourage you to add that in writing to the policy so customers are properly informed upfront.   Ultimately, you realized that the  professional option was to adhere to your written Charles Club Plan policy  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/22/2024

  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 August 28, 2024, a scheduled AC maintenance (not repair) visit was completed by Technician #1, who said that the system had been cleaned and inspected. He made a point to say that the system was in excellent condition, and that we could expect many years of reliable service from it. On August 31, 2024, the system froze and ceased working. We called Charles to come back to see what was wrong with the system that Technician #1 had declared "excellent" two days before. Technician #2 came that day and, after making another inspection of the system, said there was a major problem that would require several thousand dollars to fix. Within the next couple days, we called Charles and eventually connected with Mike Charles, who said he would work with us to determine both the issue of the broken AC system AND the confusing and contradictory assessmets of Technician #1 and #2. On September 5, 2024, Technician #3 arrived and did a third inspection of the system. According to the invoice for this visit, Technician #3 found a dirty condenser that required cleaning and an unsatisfactory subcooling reading that required one to two pounds of refrigerant, despite the fact that Technician #1 said he had thoroughly cleaned the system one week before AND despite the fact that Technician #1 said the entire system, including the subcooling levels, were "excellent" one week before AND despite the fact that Technician #2 said the system was so broken that a several thousand dollar repair was needed. On top of all of this, the system stopped cooling the air again within another week's time. In summary, we received three entirely different and contradictory assessments from three separate technicians and our AC system, which had been working perfectly all summer, stopped working hard on the heels of Technician #1's maintenance visit. Several phone calls and emails to Mike Charles since that time have been mostly ignored and. yet, we are expected to pay him $282.91

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/12/2024

  Thank you for letting us know
  that two days after we issued the customer full credit of both invoices, (and
  communicated this to the customer), that they still were not satisfied.   Every member of our team works tirelessly to
  give all our customers 100% satisfaction. That being said, the customer’s
  complaint is justified. Technician #1 failed to provide our Company standard of
  a system check and clean. If that had been done properly to begin with, follow-up
  would not have been required, and our goal of 100% satisfaction would have been
  achieved. This incident has been used as a training experience to prevent this
  from happening going forward. Technician #1 is a good technician, who had a
  mishap. As for Technician #2, they are no longer in our employ. The third
  technician sent resolved the issues and followed up two days later just to
  confirm that things were working properly at no cost to the customer. Calls from
  the customer were not ignored. However, there were periods of “telephone tag”
  where messages were left by both parties, which could make one feel ignored. Truly,
  that was not the intent. When the A/C season is upon us next spring, if the
  customer still feels that there is an issue, we will willingly make a warranty
  visit to check matters out. Respectfully submitted, Michael
  Charles III 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/12/2024

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ******** and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  
  First, I appreciate Mike's response, and I thank him for it. Second, the only reason I chose the "do not accept response" is because I am confused.  Mike's response seems to indicate that the bills I received for service on 8/31/24 for $53.95 and for service on 9/05/24 for $228.96 have been "credited", but I have received two bills in the mail stating otherwise.  The latest bill shows that the amount due, $282.91, is still owed and listed as 61-90 days past due.  While I appreciate Mike's offer of service, I am not confident that his team is able to accomplish the task correctly.  Therefore, I do not wish to have his team work on our system again. However, I would like the bill of $282.91 to be cancelled and to receive some form of paper correspondence clearly stating that the money is no longer owed. Thank you. 
  Sincerely, 
  
  ******** *****

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/13/2024

  Customer has a zero balance on her account, attached is the proof that sent to the customer. We are sorry to lose her as a customer but respect her decision. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/17/2024

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ******** and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.  I thank Charles Heating and the Better Business Bureau for their help in resolving this issue.  
  
  Regards, 
  
  ******** *****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/28/2024

  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 had no hot water, so I called Charles. Their tech Dean showed up and was here for over 2 hours. When he had “completed” his work, he told us that he performed an Acid Flush of the system and also cleaned a sensor that was “gummed up”. I received a bill for $484.92 with no itemization, just “diagnostic fee and Acid Flush of residential hot water system”, which seemed insanely high.
  
  I called and the person that answered the phone said that “your parts were in, When do you want to schedule Dean to come back to do the work?“ I told her that Dean never mentioned anything about having to come back.
  
  I questioned the bill and she sent me to Zack Charles who confirmed that sensors (sensors plural) Had been ordered and that Dean needed to come back to install them. I told him that was never discussed, and I thought the bill was extremely high for the work performed. Zack said “Dean may have already figured in the cost of the sensors and the labor to return and complete the job in the price that we invoiced you.” Zach said he would check with Dean and then call me back. He never called me back. His team called me several times asking for payment and when I wanted to have Dean come back for the sensors, I told them I was still waiting for Zack to call me back. They Told me that Zach left a note on her desk of $200, with no other context.
  
  I left 4 Voicemails for Zach before he called me back. He then told me it would be an additional $300 for Dean to come back, I got very upset at that. Zac told me to hire another company to come out and complete the work, and I said I wasn’t going to pay him if they didn’t complete the work, which he very smugly said “that’s fine, I’ll just send you to a collections agency.” We agreed on $500 total.
  
  Dean came out and was here 2 hours. Installed a sensor and did ANOTHER acid flush. So they performed and billed me for 2 acid flushes!
  
  Bill padding at best, predatory billing at worst.
  
  (More details in supporting docs)

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/29/2024

  The first bill has been zeroed out. The second bill was the agreed upon $500. As the second bill reflects. We discounted the original bill down to $300 and the 2nd line item was the follow up service in regard to replacing the sensors. This was agreed upon during our phone call of the $200. Thus, both services equaling the $500 agreed upon amount. In New York State there is a sales tax that gets added on after any and all services we provide. I am not sure what the grievance is about?

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/29/2024

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  We did agree on $500, and that decision was made under duress due to the fact that Zack threatened to send me to a collection agency.   Dean came back out and performed and billed me for the same service he supposedly did the first time he was there, an acid flush.  He also spent time and billed me to clean sensors that he intended to come back and replace.  I was over billed for an unnecessary second acid flush and billed to clean a sensor that he was intending to replace.  I also asked for an itemized breakdown of the bill; that was never sent, I asked for the part number of the sensor, they wouldn’t provide it, I asked Zack for our agreement in writing TWICE, he never sent it. This is bill padding at best or predatory billing at worst.  They are exploiting homeowners by padding their bills and then threatening their customers if they question the charges.  Charles is suppose to be “The Nice Guys”.  They get very shady when you question them.    Why have they stonewalled me at every turn, when transparency could have helped here.  They are involved in questionable business practices.  I want the bill reduced by the amount of labor it took to do a second acid flush that I did not authorize and I want another reduction for the hour Dean spent cleaning sensors he was intending to replace.   
  
  Regards,
  
  ******* *** *****

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/29/2024

  The customer was present and watched Dean replace the sensors. We fulfilled our side of the agreement. The Bill is $500 + tax as verbal agreement between the customer and our company. Also, the amount was specified in writing per his complaint. We did not engage in any nefarious business practices. His first complaint the customer believed we were charging him both bills. This was not the case as his only amount due to our company is the $500 plus tax. His system is working properly and has received the proper maintenance flush for the system.  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/11/2023

  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.

  Purchased ***** boiler heating system from Charles Plumbing and heating approximately six years ago. About two months ago the system developed a leak that floods water into the bottom of the boiler and drips out of the pipes connected to the bottom of the boiler . We contacted Charles Plumbing, they sent a tech who diagnosed it as a faulty pipe packing. We were told we would be contacted within a couple days regarding the part delivery and repair . Not once did anyone ever contact us from Charles Plumbing..they never made any effort to contact us. We have called them twice and were told the part was on back order, they have made zero effort to assist us in repairing this boiler after spending thousands of dollars on it. Extremely poor customer service…practically non existent.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/13/2023

  The manufacturer had a back order on the gasket that was 5-6 weeks which the customer confirmed. We have since spoken to the manufacturer/vendor that the part (specific for this problem) is supposed to come in this week. Once it is in we will install the part for his boiler to resolve the problem.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/13/2023

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