Budget Heating, Cooling & Plumbing

Just wanted to comment on an excellent service experience just completed with Ross B[redacted] of Budget A/C Heating & Plumbing. Today was the second and installation visit for two hot water heaters Ross has installed for me. Through out the process he has been on time, polite, accurate and most of all professional.

The invoice total following several hours of a difficult installation was exactly what the original estimate quoted.

Ross and Budget have been easy to work with and treated me like a valuable part of their business and I intend to use both Ross and Budget again for my next plumbing, heating and a/c work.

Again, a real pleasure to work with. Gregg M[redacted]

This company is horrible. We have been forced to use them several times because of our home protection plan and they have tried to screw us over every single time. The first was with our water heater. When [redacted] sent out a second company to give us a second opinion they called [redacted] on speaker phone and [redacted] told him that Budget called them back after leaving my house and changed his report (and lied) so that our water claim would get denied. Our water heater did end up getting replaced with the second company and they told us that Budget is a horrible company and they have to go in and clean up their messes all the time. He said they like to get the insurance company to deny the claim and then tell the homeowner that really they should just replace the item... that way they are getting paid by the insurance company for the service call and maintenance and also the customer, which is exactly what they tried to do with us. Last week [redacted] sent Budget out to work on our AC unit and the guy told me it was unsafe to turn on my furnace and I should buy a maintenance package from him and they would clean it, etc. if not just outright replace it. I asked him why on earth would clean it (and especially replace it on my own) when I have a home protection plan. He strongly warned me that I should not call [redacted] company because they don't always know what they're doing and I really need to just have them take care of it for them. The entire time he was at my house he was trying to sell me either their maintenance package, duct work cleaning, or telling me that I should just outright buy a new furnace from them. He also said there was no way [redacted] would replace my unit, he's never seen it done, and "you have to word it just right to them on the phone". I told him the furnace has already been red tagged once, and his response was "and they will definitely red tag it again". Long story short, [redacted] red tagged us this morning, [redacted] sent out a reputable company this afternoon, and we will be getting a new furnace in a few days. Both second opinion companies (for our water heater as well as our furnace) said that they regularly see Budget Heating and Cooling take advantage of customers and purposely lie to get claims denied so that the customer is forced to pay out of pocked and have them replace it for them rather than go through their home protection plan. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!!! They intentionally screw over the customer, they lie about the equipment they're servicing in your home, they purposely word things so that the claim will be denied. All in all, they're a slimy company who cannot be trusted.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2016/01/05) */
We're sorry to hear about your frustration! Somewhere along the line we suffered from some miscommunication and believe you are entitled to receive a refund for the cleaning. We're currently working on getting a check to you to rectify...

this matter. Thank you for your patience on this.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 9, 2016/01/05) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

Matt was a true professional. Very courteous and did a great job. I would definitely use them again.

Water heater problems, system wouldn't stay on. JR checked the manual and explained that it could be 1 of 6 problems, checked each one until problem was found and when done ran hot water to make sure system came back on. Very professional and pleasant and would have no problem having this person and company help me again.

Wil was very knowledgeable, helpful and patient with me and my many questions. He is a credit to your organization.

I used Budget plumbing for a home warranty claim. The technician did a great job and was friendly and informative. The repair was done quickly and the clean up was appreciated. I would use Budget again.

I had a wonderful experience with Budget Plumbing services. Prompt and efficient work. By Will F. The plumber.

We were very pleased with both Jeremy and Jackie for their prompt, efficient and professional attention to our problem with our AC. We called Budget under our Home Warranty and didn't know what to expect. Jackie kept us informed of when to expect Jeremy. He came as expected and was knowledgeable and pleasant and took care of our problem. We would definitely recommend this company.

Both JR and Lacy were very proficient and professional, I called for service and my repair was made within three days!

They sent me a photo of the tech sent to check my AC. It was a nice touch.

Chris came out and fixed the leak in my bathroom, and did a professional job.

They were some of the most responsive, helpful and hardest working people I've seen. They did an excellent job!

Always good service. They show up when scheduled and call ahead before arrival. Service people are always professional and always do a good job.

I was assigned to Budget through a home service warranty program. The response from Budget was timely. The technician assigned was RJ, and he did a good job. I am pleased with Budget!!

JR the plumber you sent out to hook up the sink, garbage disposal and dishwasher did an excellent job. He was courtious and it was easy to tell he took pride in his work. I wil ask fro him by name if I need any work in the future.

Great customer service and super responsive!

Budget sent a technician to my house for a second opinion consultation. The first company told me I had a leak in my AC condenser outside and I'd need a whole new AC. I called for a second opinion and the Budget Tech listened to me and my concerns and showed me his tool to detect a refrigerant leak. There was absolutely no leak in my condenser unit outside. The Budget tech found the leak inside the house in my A-coil!

Budget Heating, Cooling and Plumbing saved me thousands of dollars and I also feel like I know more about AC than I ever thought I would. They explained things to me and listened to me.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/06/01) */
As clearly stated by the complainant, this complaint came through a third party service request. The customer has a home warranty policy and simply can not understand her contract. The customer is upset that her warranty company did not...

cover missing items. Information that is clearly listed in her contract with her home warranty provider.
In addition, this particular customer was one of the most belligerent people to ever contact our office. She called in multiple times harassing multiple employees, even wishing death and voicing severe vulgarities on employees. Ultimately, the owner of the company did contact and try to reason with this customer. Several people were asked to witness the conversation since she had been so erratic previously. The customer proceeded to accuse the owner of molestation with his own daughter, and scream vulgarities that can not be repeated.
Due to the emails, harassing phone calls and online defamation we received with a 3 hour period, the customer was notified that all information would be forwarded to the company attorney to notify him of the defamation and harassment the company was experiencing. Budget HVAC & Plumbing would be well within their rights of pursuing harassment and defamation charges against this complainant.
Budget HVAC & Plumbing followed all guidelines of the customer's home warranty policy and will not commit insurance fraud by stating any different than the information we collect. Never was it diagnosed that the failure of the water heater was due to the ground wire missing. It was diagnosed that the ground wire was missing and needed the attention of an electrician. From there the customer's warranty company did not cover the claim unless proper repairs were made by an electrician.
The $75.00 "service fee" mentioned as a desired resolution is in fact a deductible required by her home warranty policy. Should she require the deductible to be refunded it would be through her home warranty, not the contractor. Budget HVAC & Plumbing makes no determinations in refunding warranty customer's any other out of pockets for non-covered claims and therefore will not be re-imbursing any additional monies.
This complaint is not a valid complaint from a valid customer, rather a disgruntled warranty customer unaware of how her own warranty contract works.

Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 13, 2015/06/03) */
Thank you for your quick response.

I did not make calls to harass anyone at Budget.

The owner called me Friday, May 29th, after I sent an email via a Budget website managed by [redacted] letting Budget know that there is no listing for the company name used by Budget its invoices with the Revdex.com and asking Budget why they are advertising an A+ Rating. At the time I sent the email, I was not aware the Budget was doing business under multiple names. He told me that my email was on a website for the public to see. He threatened me several times. [redacted] confirmed that the owner was mistaken and most likely didn't understand basic internet concepts.

I called Budget a total of two times on Friday to ask them to email the invoices the repair tech had left for me because I could not find them. I told them it would help the electrician who was going to be doing the repair. After about 2 hours had passed [redacted] the electrician had left, I called again pleading with them to send the invoices as it would help the plumber understand what Budget had done the two times that its repair techs worked on the unit. The employees I spoke with were very upset that I was asking them to email the invoices and they both made their feelings known.

[redacted] has agreed with me that Budget was wrong and has agreed to reimburse me for one of the repair bills I incurred.

I am not sure what my complaint with them would be. Can you please read the facts of the case below and then let me know how I should proceed with a complaint against [redacted] if you still feel that I should do so?

The Repair Tech from Budget arrived at my house on Thursday, May 28th, to work on the unit. He said it could not be repaired due to the fact that there was a missing ground wire. He said he was referring it to an electrician, and based on what he saw in my contract, he said [redacted] would cover it.

I spoke with [redacted] the next day. They said they do not cover missing parts and that they were told by Budget that the unit was not working due to a missing ground wire.

I spoke with...

[redacted] (A+ Rating with Revdex.com St. Louis)
[redacted] (A+ Rating with Revdex.com St. Louis)
[redacted] (A+ Rating with Revdex.com St. Louis)
[redacted] (A+ Rating with Revdex.com St. Louis)

Every single one of these companies said that it was not possible for a missing ground wire to cause a hot water heater that had operated without incident for 13 years to stop working.

Because Budget said the unit could only be repaired by an electrician, I had [redacted] work on the unit (invoice attached). The electrician confirmed that the missing ground wire was not the reason the unit was not working and that only a plumber could repair the unit.

I had [redacted] work on the unit (invoice Attached). The plumber repaired the unit and did not replace the ground wire.

The unit is still working and the ground wire is still missing.

[redacted] agreed with me. Budget was wrong. [redacted] is reimbursing me for the bill from [redacted] as well as the $75 deductible paid to Budget via a $75 coupon for future use.

[redacted] will not cover the bill from [redacted]

This is why I am asking for Budget, at the very least, cover the $89.50 that [redacted] charged me to check out the unit and tell me that this was strictly a plumbing repair. I am owed compensation for time spent without hot water due to Budget's inability or refusal to repair the unit as well as approximately 9 hours spent resolving this whole case.
Thank you,

[redacted]
XXX-XXX-XXXX
Final Business Response /* (1000, 27, 2015/08/18) */
08/20/15: There is no resolution on our end and we will not commit insurance fraud for this customer. We are required in our contract with [redacted] to report a missing part. She hired the electrician outside of the agreement with [redacted] and this is her responsibility. We will no longer work with customer due to treats and have recorded and sent to our attorney all social media attacks.

These guys were professional, courteous and completely on top of their game! Fabulous service.