A-1 American Services

Unknown P.

I wish I had seen the reviews before I called. They are overpriced. Wanted to charge $675.00 for a $35.00 part on a water heater. I think they want to just make money on service charges $79.00 or luck into a job from desparation and not have to do any work and if they do then it's highway robbery.

S J.

Our heater went out on one of the coldest days this winter so I decided to call A1 American since I always see their commercials on tv and assumed they were an honest company.
I spoke to a young lady named Tabitha and explained what was going on. She asked if there was anything else they could look at while they were out because it would be a charge of $78 for him to come out and that I might as well have him check everything. I had 3 things that he could look at and asked her again if it's only $78. She assured me that it was a charge of $78 but if I decided to have them do the work the $78 would come off the total bill. Sounded like a good deal to me so I scheduled a time for them to come out that same day. James showed up at my door and I explained to him that I had a meeting but my mother was there to answer any questions. After he checked my heater he suggested it be replaced because I live at the beach where things wear out quicker due to the salt in the air. Okay. He checked my water heater because the pilot light keeps blowing out and he suggested I get a new one. Okay. I had him check an upstairs bathtub because it doesn't get hot water. He suggested cutting a hole in the wall so he could get a better look. No thanks. Needless to say I didn't have any work done that day but he called me during my meeting and asked for my credit card and said that he couldn't leave my house without payment. He told me that the charge was $339. I asked why so much and he said ""because there was a lot for me to inspect."". I was launching my company in 2 days so the meeting I was in was more important than haggling with James about the bill so I gave him my cc# and told him I'd call A1 American to discuss. When I got home I remembered that I was SUPPOSED to be charged $78 no matter how many things he ""inspected"". Also, there's a spot on the form that I had to sign saying I was only to be charged $78 for that days inspection. I have been calling just about every week since Jan 30th. I CANNOT GET RAY the supervisor to call me back. He did call me ONE TIME at the end of Feb to ask what happened and said he'd look into it and call me back THE NEXT DAY. Well, it's now April 16th and no matter how many times I call I cannot get Ray or anyone else to call me back. Every time I call he's in a meeting or out in the field and Tabitha has told me that there's no one over Ray. Basically, James inspected 3 things in my home, was here for an hour, made some suggestions, didn't do ANY work and charged me $339. Does anyone have a suggestion on what I should do? I just can't sit back and allow them to take advantage of me. I mean, it's a $261 difference. I really appreciate your time and suggestions. I wish there was a way for me to post a picture of the bill they gave me. It shows where I signed agreeing to $78, where he only made suggestions, and where he charged me $339. It also shows notes from a lot of the calls I made to them, times and who I spoke to.

JoAnn F.

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!! They will take advantage of you situation and grossly overcharge! Horrible service!

Cory V.

Wow, I wish my elderly mother had known how to use yelp. the reviews i've read are almost an exact replica of the unethical, overpriced, unprofessional, never return a call morons who own/run this place. They way-overcharged a 90 year old woman who only had a leaky faucet. 800 bucks for a new faucet. the worst part, though, was trying to get someone to call me back. I thought I felt sorry for the receptionist who had to keep taking my calls, but if she had any backbone she would go get another job. DO NOT USE THESE RIP-OFF ARTISTS. You'll end up paying way more and getting way less. I encourage everyone to file a complaint with the BBB. You SUCK a-1!
P.S. I only gave it one star because it wouldn't let me give it ZERO stars!

Mike D.

These guys are rip-off artists. My heater igniter failed and the bill was $378.00 for the repair. The part cost $21.00 on eBay and the tech was at my house a total of 30 minutes over the course of 2 days. During the process of changing out the new part, the Technician broke another part. He stated he would order the new part for the one he damaged and replace the next day. I haven't seen him since. Take my advice and call a professional company.

Matthew C.

My pipes were frozen and I asked my father in law who to call. He had seen the commercials for this company. I had already set up a propane heater blowing under the house and when the guy arrived he says ""I've done it like that before."" He proceeded to tell me that it would be about $500 for him to crawl under the house and unfreeze the pipes. It was snowing slightly and I know he just didn't want to do the work. He was sure quick to take $78 damn dollars to walk in my yard and tell me it would be $500. What a joke. Avoid this company at all costs.

Jim F.

Better hold on to your wallet!!! $900+ to pull a toilet and run a snake down the line.. The tech said they have to pay for the advertisement somehow. He was honest I will give him that......

Arthur G.

It is winter and it is cold outside - extremely cold (20's) so if you should have a problem with your heat, who would you call?

Don't call A-1 American. why?, despite all their buffery and hyperbole on their TV ads, their performance is the pits.

The technician I dealt with was not very candid and the office staff was, well lets just leave it as, less than helpful.

So, want to avoid more problems that you started with? Want to avoid real aggravation?

Call someone other than this company - unless you really enjoy grief and problems.

Marrk T.

I find it kind of odd that if you want to post a review to their website you have to have a password. All the reviews are rated 4 and 5 stars? Well the service technician came out and told me I needed a new pressure switch, a new inducer fan, and new fluke pipes which would cost about 3000+. Well I had another technician from a different company come to inspect and he determined the actual cause was the high limit switch. He had my heat up and running in an hour. I think A-1 American is a rip off.

James S.

Please......please....please do yourself a favor and call other, more ethical plumbing companies to meet your plumbing needs. All you have to do is read the littany of pricing complaints on this company to know that they are overpriced and not competitive when it does come to price. They show up when they say and, in my case, performed quality work but they are disingenuous at best when it comes to being upfront on their prices. In my case the installation of sink waste piping and customer provided sink faucet for a newly installed kitchen sink came to $735.00 for 35 minutes work. Had I accepted the granite companies offer to have their plumber do the install the price would have been $300.00. Hindsight is always 20/20......while I won't ever make the mistake of calling this company again....I can only hope that this review will steer customers to making more informed decisions and to more price friendly companies.