A-1 American Services

Jeffrey N.

I live in Yorktown but when I contacted A-1 American there, my job was given to the VA Beach location. I believe I was taken advantage of since I was out of town when A-1 diagnosed a main line water leak on my property, and then quoted a price of $4200, which I agreed to. I assumed that the company had a standard pricing formula which they applied even-handedly to jobs in order to be competitive yet profitable. Not so.

I have since found that this is not illegal, merely unethical, since I agreed to the price and gave them my credit card over the phone. Every other professional I've consulted said that they would have charged between $1,500 - $2500 less than this company. In essence, they ripped me off fair and square, within the confines of the law. When I went to them (and then the BBB) asking for clarification on why I was charged what I was charged (what were the costs for parts, labor, etc.) they refused to give me a breakdown, stating simply that I had agreed to the price, and stated repeatedly that I had signed the invoices after the work was completed.

Thing is, I did NOT sign the invoices. They had my tenant sign them. They claim I had given my tenant authority to sign on my behalf. I did no such thing.

So, buyer beware. If you're over a barrel, they'll give you an absurd price and see if you bite. Don't.

John P.

Overpriced and horrible customer service through their front office. 2 days after they ""fixed it,"" our HVAC it was down again and we had to go to another company. Who managed to do in 30 minutes what they couldn't accomplish in a week. They don't return phone calls, late to appointments, and rely excessively on sub-contractors. And when you complain when their subcontractors don't show up for a scheduled appointment or call you to cancel they stated, and I quote, ""Not our problem."" To many other good companies in the area, don't use this one.

Dwane S.

My hot water line under the house broke Thanksgiving night around 11pm. Called A-1 Friday morning around 9 am was told technician would call to schedule time in the next 2 hours. I had to leave town and my wife calls me around noon - no one had called her. I called spoke with dispatcher 2nd time - was told they might NOT get to me due to back up calls from Wednesday - no one told me that in first phone call. Technician called said he would be there by 2:30. Long story short - after 2 other phone calls he finally arrived at 6pm!!.

Now, I had surveyed the damage - 2 holes in a 12"" section of the main line -- that was all that needed to be replaced. Technician gives my wife an estimate of $800 (she finds an online coupon drops bill to $700 - WOW!!). She can't get me on the phone - approves work. Calls me later - I tell her that is OUTRAGEOUS!!....oh well, RIP-off

I try to call to see about getting some relief from the crazy bill - finally after 2 days and 5 phone calls - I speak with Greg - (MGR) - he tells me in an email that ""the job was priced according to our pricing manual. No adjustments can be made"".

Well, they are way overpriced for the small job/parts used. I will not ever recommend anyone to use them. Calling BBB to lodge complaint

Phyllis P.

I have had A1 American at my home 3 times for burst water pipes in my garage.

I recently hired a new plumber and he showed me what A1 American charged me $870.00 for in February 2016.
It was a piece of copper pipe about 2 feet long clamped -not soldered- into the existing pipe.
It was covered in black foam insulation which had a gouge in it leaving part of pipe exposed.

A1 had come out in January 2016 for same issue/area and charged me $980.00,

In March 2015 they replaced same area for $1080.00

When I asked about putting heat tape on pipes I was told it would probably be ineffective,

I googled their location and went to their office (which is kept locked) on November 15, 3016. I was let in and spoke to the billing person and showed her the bills I had brought with me. I asked if a mistake had been made as I could not see how the work that was done was worth the amount I was charged in March 2016. The billing person told me she would contact the person who performed the work in January and again in February of this year.

It has been one week since I contacted A1 and I have heard nothing. I was clear with billing person I wanted to discuss before I wrote review.

There are 2 review sites which come up first -both sponsored by A1 and need a password to write a review. It seems pretty clear why I was not contacted as I cannot access their site. It does not seem ethical to only allow positive reviewers to write reviews on their site. It certainly looks good for them though.

I have told my friends and asked them to tell their friends about the practices of this company.

Cassandra H.

WORST COMPANY EVER! We are first time home buyers and our heat went out...we called A-1 (their commercials got our attention). The guy came out ($80 for a call--not bad at all) and looked around and gave us a long speech about how the entire system went out and there were problems with wiring and he just went on and on about wiring and the system. He said it was $477 to fix...we signed the dotted line and he headed to the attic. Not even a minute later (not exaggerating) he came back down and said ""its fixed!"" Um excuse me? We asked to see the part that was broken/needed repair--he was stuttering, rummaging through his pockets, went to his van, rummaged through there and came back with nothing. We asked to go into the attic to see the problem, he went up there, looked around and came back down. In the end it was a fuse... A FUSE! It costs less than $5 at Home Depot and we were charged $477...needless to stay he was kicked out of our home, his boss was called and now this review with many others were written. I know this was a long explanation but I will NEVER recommend this company no matter how catchy their commercials....CROOKS!

Dan J.

Make sure you shop the cost of installation for you let them install a Hot water heater, $1895 is what I paid to have one installed this morning couldn't use coupons that I printed off their website. And it took them longer to go pickup the water heater than to install it in less than an hour. I called them because they did an amazing job on my Hvac. NEVER AGAIN!!!!!!!

Tammy J.

yes my elderly mother called this company to have some work done while i was out of the country. well don't you know 2 months later i get back home and the sewer gases are coming up from the shower drain and the faucet they put on her bathroom sink was put on backwards and today i get a freakin water bill from the city of Va Beach and it is almost $1,000 dollars!!!!!!!!!! the city even sent us a note saying we noticed your water bill has increased higher than normal and you may have a water leak some where. this new water bill started from the day after the tech left the house. i call A-1 to complain and tell them of everything going wrong including the faucet on backwards which should be classic plumbing 101!!!!! and they tell me the warranty is up but they will send someone out to see whats going on and charge us $78.00 and give us a quote on how much it will cost to fix the problem..........I said .oh really, your going to charge us to fix the problem im sure your tech created.........well mam your warranty is up.........i said...SCREW YOUR WARRANTY, MY MOM IS 82 YEARS OLD AND YOU GUYS HAVE SENT SOMEONE OUT HERE WHO OBVIOUSLY DID NOT KNOW WHAT THEY WERE DOING AND OF COURSE MY MOM LIKES THE KID THEY SENT OUT SO SHE DOESN'T WANT TO GET HIM IN ANY TROUBLE. basically i don't want them telling me whats wrong anyway, i need a plumber who knows what thier doing to come out here and tell us if in fact what A-1 did was why we smell sewer gas in the shower, a given we already know is it is their fault that the new faucet is on backwards, and hopeful to find a leak somewhere that will explain this $1000 dollar water bill!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would not recommend A-1 to anybody

Lex S.

I called this company because I heard they did good work. Boy was I wrong. Not only did the technician try to cancel my appointment, he showed up looking very unprofessional. He walked in checked my thermostat walked to my outside unit and told me it's frozen there was nothing he could do. He said he would try to return the next day. I got a call the next morning and was asked to make a payment for a diagnosis. I explained there was no diagnosis done and I was not paying $80 for Adam the ( the technician) telling m there was nothing he could do. I was told to never call again for services because it was not fair that he wasn't paid for telling me there was nothing he could do. I will never recommend this company to anyone! I have several rental properties I wanted checked out. You lost a customer forever. So dissatisfied with this company.

Robert W.

Please be aware that you may be paying 2-3 times the going rate for repairs if you use A-1 American.
We recently had the capacitor go out on our outside AC unit and they refused to give price over phone and required a $80 service call. After arriving, they were charging a $510 ""value rate"" for this repair ($710 normally???) based on ""book value"" (which was the pricing we had originally requested over the phone). The part changed was ~$10 and the repair took ~10 mins. The tech was on site for 24 mins total. After he left we called around a few other places and they said the average for this repair should be $230 including overhead and profit. We have friends who got stuck with a ~$300 bill from them for un-clogging a tub (again about 10 mins on site).

We have reached out 7-8 times since the 15th of August to get this corrected, but they refuse to call back. They are advertising: ""will do everything in our power to see that you are satisfied"", they will ""get the facts"", and they ""will keep your costs reasonable"" all of which is false advertising. From our experience with them so far, it is unlikely we will get them to fix the sloppy work or get any money back, but wanted to warn you about this company and ask you to re-consider recommending them.

This post was posted to nextdoor.com when we posted about being ripped off (2-3 times going rate) A-1 American Services, Inc. on a outdoor AC capacitor repair.

""I made the mistake of having them replace my dead central air system with a heat pump. Then within 2 years I had problems. I was charged $200 for James to top off the freon and blow out the drainage pan. He was here about 20 min. He wouldn't take the $50 coupon that's on the front if phone books because he said he gave me a discount."" - Marjorie H.

Yes they [A-1 American Services, Inc] have a very very bad reputation ! - Nicole O.

Taken also [by A-1 American Services, Inc]. Highly do not recommend. - Delores F.

They [A-1 American Services, Inc] came out to give an estimate on replacing our HVAC system. Their estimate was over $10,000, claiming they would have to put in another attic stairwell to gain access. I got them out the door in a hurry! - Cindy N.

I had a friend who used them and got robbed big time - Jennifer N.

Several years ago we had a problem with our air. First company I called was A-1. They told me, husband out of town, that we needed a whole new system, well over $10,000. Husband said get other quotes. Had someone else come out and they added freon and repaired a leak somewhere in system and fixed it for less than $150. Do not trust these people and no matter how hot it is when your ac goes out, always get several quotes. If you are hot, go to a hotel. You may save money. - Barbra S.

A bunch of years ago,I used A-1 for a shower diverter replacement.It cost over 800.00.Yes,way too much for the work done..Never again with them..I use Allied Contracting.They are cheap,fast and very courteous,and close by. - Paul E.

Quite a few years ago I asked for an estimate for a new water heater. They [A-1 American Services, Inc] quoted well over $1,000. I got the job done for hundreds less by someone else but don't recall the name. A-1 has a good TV ad but don't use them! - Mary L.

""A-1 American. They came out and gave me a couple of choices. Worked with me on paying it in a couple of installments because I went with the upgraded, stronger, longer lasting stuff. Its been years, never had any problems or any one out to mess with it, nor have I had to fix it."" and ""Let me clarify I used PLUMBING not the AC/HVAC heating people. I dont know if they are separate companies but I got a totally different response from the plumbers, never contacted them for HVAC."" - Vic N.

a1 America is overpriced,they look at the neighborhood and this is how they arrive at a price - Marc P.

This is A-1 American I am referring to. Their Techs are not on their payroll, they are contracted. They give them a notebook which includes the amount of money they have to get for this service BUT the tech can charge whatever he thinks he can get over and above their list price in notebook. It is entirely up to tech which is not really considered an employee of their company, only a sub-contractor. I have often wondered why they stay in business operating as they do.
This company is not to be confused with A-1 sewer and drain plumbing. - Cathy W.


This post was posted to facebook.com when we posted about being ripped off (2-3 times going rate) by A-1 American Services, Inc. on a outdoor AC capacitor repair.

They are known the charge way too much. Wish I had know. Know a great a/c guy at First Norfolk who is very reasonable and fair. - Wendy S.

[Ripping people off] Happens every day it's their biz model - Bob B.

Julia H.

Recently A1 came the replace a kitchen faucet and was surprised at the cost. They charged $1100 to remove and install a faucet which we later priced for less than $100. This is excessive pricing. On the bright side they are very professional and good quality of work but that is gouging.