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:10/30/2024

  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.

  This summer our air conditioner stopped blowing cool air. On July 18th a service person from Hill Air came to our house to repair. Within a very short time he informed me the problem was it needed a new capacitor and fortunately he had one on the truck. The cost was $460.00. I approved the repair and he installed it and was on his way. He stated the unit was working. After several hours I realized the house was not getting any cooler so I called Hill Air and they had the service person return. He checked the unit and and said the problem might be it needed refrigerant, it was 1 or 2 pounds low. This was going to be an additional cost even though I already paid $460.00 and it did not fix the problem. I did not approve the additional cost. I looked back through my file and discovered Hill Air had just installed a new capacitor on 8/29/2022.
  Hill Air had installed this complete air conditioner and heating unit a little over 10 years ago and installed the original unit 30 years ago when the house was built.
  We had a new company come out to repair the unit. They discovered a circuit board and relay on the air handler was at fault and replaced it, The unit was now working fine. That was at a cost of $778.00.
  We contacted Hill Air to let them know we felt they charged us for a repair that did not fix the problem. They said that the owner would review and contact us. We never heard from him or any one else from the company. My wife made several calls and left voice mails and to date we have not heard back from them.
  We feel that they installed a part we did not need. It did nothing to fix the problem. Their second suggestion to add refrigerant was not needed because the unit was fixed and is working fine.
  We feel we should receive a 100% refund because they charged us $460.00 and the issue was not fixed.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/04/2024

  Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding the recent
  service you received. We are pleased to hear the original Heat Pump system we
  installed operated well for 20 years before needing replaced. That is
  significantly longer than the average life expectancy of a Heat Pump system. We
  did install your current system on 6-17-2014. Our records show that we
  performed a few planned preventive maintenance visits after the installation
  with the last visit on 6-30-2015. We were then out on 9-7-2016 regarding a water
  leak due to a clogged condensate drain. We made the needed repair to correct
  the clogged drain. We then were not out at your residence until 8-29-2022 when
  we did replace a faulty capacitor. On this visit the faulty capacitor was still
  under the manufacturer’s warranty, which reduced the cost of the repair. As you
  noted we were out on 7-18-2024 and found that the capacitor was reading below
  the normal rating range. This was the only issue our service tech found during
  his visit. The capacitor was no longer covered under warranty. Our
  representative went over his findings and you choose to replace the failing
  capacitor. We replaced the capacitor, and the system appeared to be operating
  properly. On 7-19-2024 we responded to your request for service. We returned
  under our 30-day service warranty and found the unit slightly low on
  refrigerant. You declined the leak search and refrigerant repairs.
  We made the necessary repairs during the visits to your
  home. On each occasion the repairs made corrected the immediate issue you were
  experiencing. Our records indicate that there has not been consistent planned
  maintenance on your system. Your heat pump system is now over 10 years old, and
  it is not unusual to experience failures with the given age of your system. The
  capacitor that was replaced on 7-18-2024 was failing and after it was replaced
  the heat pump ran and our initial test of the unit showed it was back up and
  running. We did come back out the next day at no additional charge to
  re-diagnose why it was not cooling your home. On this visit we noticed the
  refrigerant charge appeared to be slightly low. Please note the indoor unit was
  functioning fine while we were there, and we had no reason to condemn the
  circuit board and relay. It is possible to have multiple issues and to have
  intermittent issues occurring at the same time. We will not condemn a part
  unless we can prove it has failed. We feel the repairs we made were needed and
  that they corrected the immediate issue with your system. We honored our
  service repair warranty when we returned at no charge the following day. We
  recommended additional repairs that were declined. We are sorry that you feel
  you received poor service. We hope you will consider us in the future. Thank
  you.       
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/04/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  
  

  Hill Air has never contacted us about this issue.  Never offered any resolution.

   

  We reject the company's response to our complaint. They state " the system appeared to be operating properly" after they replaced the capacitor. It was not. It did not blow cool air and the tech never even checked. 

  They returned and stated, the "unit was slightly low on refrigerant". Another company repaired the system without adding refrigerant.

  They state the indoor unit was functioning fine while they were there. This is not true as this was determined to be the issue. They never even went inside to check it. After the other company fixed the circuit board the system has worked properly. Hill Air wanted to do a leak test and add refrigerant at additional cost, and this was not the problem. 

  Hill Air claimed to replace a part, they did not leave the old part so I do not even know for sure that the replaced the part. In any event it did nothing to correct the problem.

  I feel I was charged for a repair that did not address fix problem. They did not fix our air conitioner.

  I would like a refund.

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

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/02/2024

  Our response to this complaint stands

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/28/2024

  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.

  My experiences with this company have been mostly horrible. My heat and AC were not working, so at the recommendation of someone else, I called Hill Air. Chuck came out 4/18 and diagnosed that my thermostat was bad. He told me to go buy one and call them back. I wrote him a check for $95 but he told me that would not be charged if this didn't end up being my problem. I bought the thermostat and called back to request that Chuck return to do the install. Was told that Chuck was unavailable but they would send someone else. Tyler arrived on 4/22 while I was on the phone with someone. Tyler immediately came across as condescending and aggressive. So much so that the person I was talking too said that they were concerned for my well being. Unfortunately, I allowed Tyler to stay to attempt to fix the issue. After replacing the thermostat, my system still wasn't working. Tyler called me downstairs to listen to a hiss in the coils and said the coils were bad. I asked why Chuck hadn't caught that and Tyler said, "Because he is old". Tyler then proceeded to talk down to me, lecture me on business practices, and made me feel more and more uncomfortable until I finally had to ask him to leave. I was handed an invoice for $343. He spent maybe 15 minutes installing the thermostat, turning the manual to the page I could read to program the thing, and then 5 minutes going downstairs to remove a panel and yell for me to listen for a hiss. There was also a quote of $3483 to replace the coil without him ever explaining the details. So, after spending $434 and having to deal with a completely unprofessional technician, my AC/ heat were still not working. I called and asked for Scott H***, the owner, to contact me so that we could problem solve together. That never happened. Over a week later he had a lady named Lisa call on his behalf and said she would send two pages of his response. She never did. I had to call someone else to fix my problem.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/29/2024

  Thank you for your review and personal feelings regarding
  your experience with Hill-Air. We are sorry to hear how you felt about your
  service experience. We appreciate hearing that you were referred to us by other
  satisfied people. Most of our new clients are from referrals. Please allow me
  to add some additional insight regarding the service work provided. You called
  Hill-Air requesting a service call to determine why your AC was not
  operational. Our office did explain the fees associated with that service call.
  You accepted those fees and our service tech arrived at your home. He
  determined that you had a faulty thermostat. He offered options for one of the
  thermostats we have available on our service truck. He stated that you did not
  like the price associated with this thermostat so he offered an alternative
  repair option wherein you could obtain your own thermostat and we would return
  to install your thermostat at a later date. He went over the fees associated
  with this option and you decided to provide your own thermostat. He collected
  the agreed upon service charge and left your home. After you purchased your
  thermostat you called our office to schedule the return service call to install
  it. Our service representative returned to install the thermostat you provided.
  Upon completion of installing your thermostat he proceeded with checking and
  assessing your system operation. He was able to detect the refrigerant leak
  from the indoor coil. I’m unable to comment on why our first service tech
  didn’t find this leak. He stated that the indoor blower was running during his
  initial assessment of the faulty thermostat so if it was leaking at that time
  he would not have heard it over the noise of the indoor blower. I would like to
  share that it is highly unlikely to hear a refrigerant leak. It is normally
  found with full assessment while the system is operational, or low on
  refrigerant or an electronic leak search is normally required to determine
  where the leak might be. So, the first service tech would not have tried to
  hear if refrigerant was leaking since the system was not running. He did not
  misdiagnose the problem. It is possible though to have more than one issue at
  the same time. Our second service tech was able to identify an additional issue
  during his assessment. He gave you the cost to make that repair and you
  declined. It is also notable to add that the second service tech is rated
  highly by many client reviews which are posted on the review sights. Please
  note that the Hill-Air Managers dedicated time to thoroughly discuss your
  situation and the response was given to you by our qualified and highly
  competent service coordinator. Due to your concern and feelings about your
  experience we offered a refund of a portion of the cost you incurred. You
  declined the refund. We feel we did all reasonable things to satisfy your mind
  and solve the issues you had with your system in a professional and reasonable
  manner. Thank you. 
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/07/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** *********
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/25/2024

  Our response to this complaint stands

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/01/2024

  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.

  I bought a new ******* HV&AC system from this company, installed, on 9/22/21. All parts are warranted by ******* for 10 years. Labor was warranted by Hill-Air for 2 years. The heat pump compressor failed (internal short) less than 4 months after the 2 year labor warranty expired. They also found acid in the refrigerant lines.
  I've researched the issues and found that improper installation is a likely cause for the acid in the lines which also could have caused the compressor failure.
  Hill-Air wants $4,200 to replace the compressor (which will be supplied by ******* under their 10-year parts warranty). This is about a 16 man-hour job, including evacuating & recharging the refrigerant lines three times.
  I tried to speak with management about this but their telephone operator would not let me. She states that they already discounted their price 50%. That means that they feel the price should be $8,400 had they not already "cut it in half"! The entire system new, 2 years ago: heat pump, air handling unit, start-up and charging with refrigerant, ductwork transitions, new programmable thermostat and removing and disposing of the old system, etc. was only a shade over $11,200.00. I also paid a $98 fee for the service call.
  
  I was cordial in all dealings with this company and their people even though it was quite frustrating not being able to speak to a manager after asking nicely twice.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/23/2024

  We are genuinely sorry to hear that you have experienced a significant compressor failure with
  your newer ******* Heat Pump. ******* will provide the compressor and other related parts
  under its warranty plan at no cost to you.
  

  For clarification, our industry uses two types or categories in which a compressor failure is
  identified. If it is identified as a mechanical failure, that means that something internal to the
  compressor broke. With this type of a compressor failure, it does not involve an electrical
  failure and would not be contaminated by a melt down nor burn out of failed electric windings
  internal to the compressor.
  

  The second failure category is an electrical failure. Unfortunately, this type of compressor
  failure involves electrical windings melting down internally in the compressor. There are
  different degrees of electrical or burn-out failures. The HVAC industry tests that we performed
  on your system tell us that you experienced a severe burn-out. A severe burn-out such as your
  situation requires significant additional attention to be thorough. To be certain, the
  contaminants (by-products of the burn-out) are completely removed. If these contaminants are
  not completely removed it could cause another compressor failure.
  

  As presented above, the main part components are covered by the ******* warranty the plan.
  However; that is the extent of the ******* warranty. The severe burn-out that happened to your
  system will requires 3 separate visits to complete the assessment and procedures. There were
  multiple driers that needed replaced at each visit. We will check and monitor the effectiveness
  of the clean- up at each visit. The refrigerant will be recovered at each visit and a new fresh
  (virgin) refrigerant charge will be added. There are many other incidental parts/supplies used
  that are not covered by the ******* manufactures warranty. The costs to perform this type of
  contamination clean up are quite significant.
  

  You commented about not being able to speak to management. Your unfortunate situation was
  completely reviewed by all applicable Hill-Air management, technical staff and appropriate
  ******* representatives. Our Client Services personnel are highly trained and were included in
  our discussions and final decisions. In addition to our own experienced staff, we contacted our
  ******* regional distributor for additional assistance. Unfortunately, due to your severity, it
  required more conversations with our Regional ******* Distributor to gain additional financial
  help for you.
  

  We were pleased to learn that our Regional Distributor had agreed to provide some additional
  financial assistance along with ******* Corp and Hill-Air.
  
  Your additional greatly discounted costs were the result of our various discussions and
  combined desire to help you and retain you as a future client. Based on our extensive
  discussions and the combined efforts we were able us to help you with a significantly
  discounted repair cost. Unfortunately, by the time we were able to work this complex situation,
  we learned that you had made the decision to pursue another company.
  

  We hope you realize how hard we worked for you to try to reduce your costs and properly
  repair your system. Also, we hope you’ll continue to call Hill-Air for your future HVAC needs.