A-1 American Services

Nicole M.

Back in February we called A1 American to get a new HVAC or heat pump system, it cost us $3200.00. The technicians name that came is Adam. To make matters worse he never seemed to show up when he said that he would. He always ran from 1-2 hours late. It is now May and now the AC unit went and it is not working at all. The Goodman heat pump that he installed, upon inspection from another company, showed us the various faults with the installation. First off, he did not use the proper size tube lining, it is supposed to be 3/8"" and ours is not. It is also leaking in three different spots, and only has one locking cap instead of 3, which makes it very easy for someone to steal the freon from the unit. The other company that we hired to do the AC unit came out today and said that Adam had sold us the wrong size HVAC unit and that he knowingly did so because the HVAC unit was to powerful for our AC unit to handle, which made our AC unit break. Also because the unit is not installed properly, it voided our warranty with Goodman to get another uint. For everything to be fixed the proper way, it is going to cost well over $5000.00. It is also believed that they did not have a permit for the work that they did, if the city of Virginia Beach were to inspect the work, Adam would have never been allowed to install the unit due to the fact that he used the wrong line size. It is discusting what this company did to us. They claim to be an all american company who cares, they knowingly scammed a sailor whos very job is to protect this country that we live in so safely. Please help us in letting the public know that this company does not stand behind their work. We tried to contact A1 American in which they do not want to respond to us. Besides calling and asking to speak with a supervisor, we have tried to post on their facebook wall resulting in our posts and pictures of the unit leaking being deleted.


Adam from A1 American: 757-343-3218
A1 American: 757-425-2400

Robert K.

Installed a new HVAC system and the line isn't the right size for the new unit thus causing a freon leak. Said the problem was my evaporator coils leaking in my air handler. Not true. Never use them.

Michael B.

I agreed to let this company change 2 thermostats in my electric water heater. Price quoted was $486.79. No being a plumber, and needing hot water, I thought the price high but the technician said it was average. He left to get parts, and returned an hour later, spent 10-15 minutes total in the house. Absolutely the most expensive 10-15 minutes of my life. If he had told me just how simple a job it was, I never would have signed the contract. Another trick they use is to collect the payment check before getting the parts so you feel trapped into dealing with their company. DO NOT USE THEM. Most plumbers charge a lot less.

Steven M.

I am retired Army, currently serving as a GS employee in Suffolk, VA. When I was on temporary duty to San Antonio, TX my wife was heavily overcharged by A-1 American Plumbing and Heating. I checked and they have an ""F"" rating from the BBB (http://www.bbb.org/norfolk/business-reviews/plumbers/a-1-american-services-in-virginia-beach-va-1020 ) and appear several times on the ""Rip-Off Report"".
The bottom line is they took 20 minutes to install $30 in parts and charged us $724.00 after ""military discount"" ($1116.22 without discount). I checked with other industry professionals and they said the standard markup is 300% on parts and $100 for the visit to include the first 1/2 hour of labor; that should have brought the total to $190.00. I called the highest level manager for HVAC and he stated that they use a ""standard pricing table that does not take into account the cost of materiel and that he would not reconsider the bill."" (I don't know how a business model works without consideration of cost.)
The owner of this company is waving the American Flag, soliciting the military's trust by stating that his retired Navy father started the company and they are still committed to the military; all while charging 3 to 4 times the industry standard after military discount.

Tanesha K.

I have no heat, and called what I thought was a 24 hour service company. I called and was redirected to another technician that said they would have someone call me back. Well a technician called me back to inform me that they were eating dinner with their family; and could they come out to look at my unit tomorrow. I told them that I would have to take my small children and myself to a hotel; and did not think tomorrow would be acceptable. I ask: What is the point in being on call for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week if no one is truly working?

Lynn T.

I have heard many great things throughout Hampton Roads on the quality of service that the company offer, however I am not satisfied with the service that I have been given. I have a leaking facet in my tub and I am pretty sure that I need a new assembly installed. I called your company last night 2/17/2014 via the 24 hour line and spoke with a gentleman and I told him my problem and he quoted me $78.00 for a technician to come out to my home and assess the problem. I was ok with this, but I told him that no one in my family will be home until after 5PM on 2/18/2014 and he assured me that was fine. Today 2/18/2014, I got home around 4:30PM, so I called the main office number (757) 512-7548. I spoke with a lady about my appointment time and told her that we were already home so if the technician wanted to come earlier that would be ok. She was able to locate my name and information that a technician was scheduled to come by my house this evening. A few moments after I spoke with her, the technician Tim called me and said that he was in Newport News and that he had one job ahead of ours and that he would be over around 6:30PM on 2/18/2014. I gave him an alternate phone number for my husband because I had to attend a class this evening. My husband texted me while I was in class at 8:00PM and told me that he has not seen the technician nor heard from him. My class was over at 9:00PM 2/18/2014, I then called Tim at (757) 681-5534 and asked was he still planning on coming to my house this evening? He did not remember who I was by name, nor the job that I was talking about. He spouted out various jobs that I am assuming he has lined up. He then asked if he could reschedule for tomorrow 2/19/2014 around 10:00AM. I proceeded to tell him that I have therapy with my child at 10AM, but I told him that someone would be at the house. My concern is that he is not going to show up tomorrow! I have a busy family and 3 children, one which is disabled, I have 2 jobs and school and my husband also has a job. I do not have time in my schedule nor the money to miss out on work. I believe that this is bad business on your part! This is the first time that I have went with your company for plumbing needs and this will definitely be my last, that is IF I can even get a technician out to my home.

Kim W.

My heating unit stopped working on 12/26/2013. They sent a technician out and replaced the heatstrip contrator. I wake up this morning (Sunday) and the heater is not working. My fiancess called them to come out and they told him that since it is warrantiy work, the same tech would have to come out and do the repair. The tech was really busy and couldn't come out until tomorrow.

I called them back about an hour later. I was told the same thing, that the tech is repsonsible for the warranty work. I told them I disagreed because I had paid A-1 for the repair, it was A-1's name on the contract/receipt, the tech's business card, advertisements on TV and the internet and the one stating satisfaction guaranteed, 24 hours, Saturday, Sunday and Holiday service. I asked them to send another tech. The guy said he would speak with the supervisor and get back with me.

They called me back. He said that he spoke with the tech and the tech said that when he came out the first time he told us that we needed to replace the entire unit. THIS WAS A TOTAL LIE. I told them it was not true the tech NEVER said that. Also, the tech even wrote on the invoice everything else checked out ok. I told him I wanted to speak with a supervisor and was told he was unavailable because he was in church. I asked to speak to a different supervisor or that supervisor's boss and was told he was it. At this point I told them I did not want the original tech to service my heater because he lied and I did not trust him. He said he would send the supervisor a text and get back to me.

I waited over 30 minutes before I decided to call another company. the other company was polite and said would have someone out before 6pm today.

In my opinion, NEVER use A -1 American. YOU WILL REGRET IT. They do not provide 24 hour emergency service and their customer satisfaction guarantees and warratees are a joke.

I should have read all the reviews before ever using them. I also feel that someone should investigate them for false advertising.

David D.

A-1 American said he put 6 lbs of freon in my unit. The only tank he had was a recovery tank. And he charged me $385 for the 1st 3 lbs, and $350 for the next 3 lbs. He told me I had multiple leaks, and my coils on the inside unit were beyond repair and must be replaced. All this happened in less than 20 min. This unit was 5 1/2 years old. I called another HVAC guy, and he said I had no leaks, the inside coils were just fine. But the compressor was damaged, most likely from A-1 American removing freon. He put in 15 lbs of freon and charged me $350. After 2 days of trying to contact the supervisor at A-1, he finally returned my phone call and refund $435 of my $735 charge, but the damage to the compressor was already done. I wouldn't recommend A-1 American to change a light bulb.

John A.

I contacted A-1 American for a drainage problem at my home on a Monday. Call center took info and told me a tech would call. Couldn't give me any idea on the costs other than the $79.00 charge to just come out. When the tech did call(5 hours later), explained again what was going on, and what I had done. I asked again for a rough estimate. His comment was between $600 and $800 dollars. Told him not to bother coming out.

I had also contacted One Stop Plumbing in Chesapeake that morning. They had given me, on the phone, a rough estimate of $150.00 One Stop arrived the next morning, and in less than 1 hour, had finished all repairs, and had a total bill or $155.00.

A-1 American is not being ""American"" in any way!

J T.

I wanted to convert from gas to heat pump in 2 rental properties. They said they would have to charge me a service call to give me a price. They were rude and hung up on me when I didn't wan to pay 156.00 for estimates.