Cates Service Co

Cates is a scam company- they won’t provide me an invoice for repair already paid for which would show what parts were replaced or work done. “Jeffy-Boy” in Cates office refuses to provide it to me, was condescending & smug and basically was an ******* in his refusal of my 3rd request for one. Cates was going to try and charge me $630 to install a $40 high pressure switch. Jeffyboy refused to provide me with the part # of the replacement part, which their technician took with him when he diagnosed it was bad while out on 2nd service call, which I also paid for, one day after he was already out and failed to catch the bad part. Cates charged over $1500 for that first day, including another service call, replacement of an exterior fan motor and a capacitor. I’ve since gotten other estimates for the cost of those repairs which were half the cost of “Con-Job Cates” - “Jeffy-boys”company. Stay away from these scam artists.

I've been a Cates customer for more than a decade. In my experience their technicians are highly competent, well equipped, efficient, and polite, but their parts pricing is outrageous. The last two service calls I have been charged as high as 925% (!) markup on common replacement parts. I like the quality of service available from Cates, but I won't put up with the price gouging any more.

This was the first year I had Cate’s. Even in this heat the whole house is comfortable for the first time. Before if the upstairs was cool the downstairs was hot. Don’t know what they did, but we are enjoying their work.

It was great! They were on time and professional.

They are responsive, and show up on time. They are very trustworthy, and usually do a good job. I do not have to call them back after they leave. I have used them for about 8 years, and would recommend them to others. They are a good company, and I have not had any problems. I pay around $160 for 2 visits a year for maintenance. They came out on an emergency base one time to fix my thermostat, and the person was very knowledgeable.

I had a contract with them. I have been using them for years. They are very reasonable. I don't think they took the side off and cleaned the leaves out, but it didn't affect the unit at all. They were here when they said they would be here. I had no problem with them.

The furnace quit running at nine years old and they replaced the blower, blower motor and relay switch, all very expensive. I don't blame them, I blamed Carrier, but Cates turned it in under warranty and replaced all three parts. He was honest enough to say that he was going to replace the blower and the motor because they were getting ready to go out.

The design of the air filter where the vent connects to the blower was not an efficient way of doing it. It was losing a little bit of air flow. It should've been designed a little different from what they done. The sheet metal guy did not do a very efficient job, but it works just fine.

I felt that they did not completely clean the unit outside.

I have used Cates for many years, most of the time without getting a second estimate. They have replaced several furnaces and A/C's over the years. When we returned from vacation last week, one of our A/C's wasn't working. I called Cates and they had someone available the next day, who fairly quickly determined that it was the thermostat, which they replaced (they had installed the previous one several years ago). The thermostat had failed before when the batteries were spent. This time, I asked the service tech if the thermostat could be hard wired so it wasn't reliant on batteries, which he easily did. He then gave me the invoice which was $98 for around an hour of labor, and priced the thermostat at $244 but gave me a 20% discount. I looked up the thermostat (a digital non-programmable Honeywell) later that evening and found that it can be purchased from Amazon for around $31. The highest internet price I could find for it was $55. I called Cates and complained, and they admitted that they mark up items (700%???????) and offered to discount my annual inspection in the fall by $75. I don't think so. After all these years of using them, I find out that they are screwing me on pricing parts. It really makes me wonder if I may have been overcharged by them over the last 25 years. If you use them, get other estimates and compare, and don't trust them to sell parts at retail.

You make the appointment when you wanted. I use them all the time. I have used them for several years.

We thought we would need a new furnace and we did not. So, they are very honest people. They have never been but honest and upright with us.

When getting the bid, they did a good job explaining what we were getting and what the costs were going to be. They arrived on time for the install and were polite. The furnace works great however we haven't had the opportunity to test the AC unit due to cold weather.

The sales rep showed up on time and was very professional. He not only gave me a great quote but offered to move my a/c to the side of the house for free since we were doing both a/c and heat. (Other companies wanted to charge $500+.) They did not talk about other companies as most other companies did and we got a 10 year service contract with the purchase. Every year they come out once a year for a check up on the house! The actual techs were great. They were quick and were very nice to me and my little guys as we were home the entire time they worked.

They have been very good with the maintence, I don't remember the price but we will continue to use them.

They are great! They service both units; they were here about an hour. They arrived early and did a pretty through job. They took care of everything and will be back out in the spring. They price was very reasonable.

They are good. I have been with them for the last 25 years and my air conditioner is about 20 years old. Their service professional are all very friendly and professional and they answer all your questions and they always tell you and make suggestions. I have no complaints with their prices. They are more reasonable. I don't have any problems at all. I would use them again in the future.

everything was fine except they declined to provide the senior discount as listed on their Angie's List page. Said it didn't apply to service calls.

I had Cates Service Co install a new furnace. They did a fine job on the installation. They came on time and completed the work in a timely manner. Very informative and nice people to deal with. About a week after the installation there was a slight noise and they came right out. They determined that fan was making the noise and replaced it.

Service call for an out-of service unit cost $250; fix lasted 2 hrs, they applied that svc call fee to the cost of the new unit, if I went with Cates. Cates gave me an estimate the very next day, as did one other company. Both companies were able to install the new unit the next day. I went with Cates because they were about $800 less and they included 10yrs parts & labor warranty. Two men showed up early the next day to do install. They were very professional & experienced. They took about 5 hours to complete the work, installed a new thermostat, hauled away the old equipment, cleaned up & answered all my questions. I am very happy with the new unit (much more quiet & efficient), the work done, and Cates went above & beyond including a new filter & thermostat without extra charges. The final cost was exactly what was quoted.

They are an outstanding company. They are very reliable, the people are knowledgeable and they are reasonable in cost. I have used them for 20 years and give them all A's. I will use them again in the future.

They do excellent work. They do a fall and spring check up. I pay $149 for a year and they come in the fall and spring. They had serviced the furnace when we first moved to the house so we picked them up and they have always been there. They always come on time and they are very courteous. They do a good job and they replaced my furnace and the cost was reasonable.

They are prompt, reliable, and very knowledgeable. They do a complete checkup. When they have come out to do a repair they do it very efficiently and quickly. They will come out within a day or two of having the problem. The overall experience has been excellent. I have a high-end contract where I don't have to pay for anything if something goes wrong. That is kind of a special deal. I don't have to pay for any parts and labor if something goes wrong. If we are in the middle of a cold spell and the furnace goes out, we get priority treatment, and they will come and fix anything for free. They are very reliable. The contract covers both air conditioning and heating for the whole year.

They did not provide an estimate and did not call back. I called to remind them and the rep never bothered to call back. This is lousy servcie and it appears to be chronic from the other reports. If they dont want the job, or cant handle it, just say so.

We recently purchased a townhouse and a couple of items came up during the inspections regarding Cates' installation of the furnace and air conditioner. Besides the regular inspection we had a chimney expert and two HVAC companies come to the house. We do know for a fact that Cates did install the units because we have the receipts and Cates did eventually acknowledge the install- after a couple of calls. The furnace was vented incorrectly because the chimney vent is not lined. Cates' response to this was that it is to code without the liner because the water heater is also vented with the furnace. Because I have done my research on this, I know that with the water heater there is even more of a need for a liner. But he was condescending and according to him I didn't know what I was talking about. I did not confront him with the other item - when the air conditioner was installed the copper tubing was not upgraded. It should have been increased in size to match the new unit. This reduces the efficiency and is not a proper installation. And is included in the price. I believe I was speaking to the owner and he was none to happy about me calling and was pretty nasty. After asking about the liner I didn't go on to the second item. I was getting nowhere. So I was hoping they would just work with us on pricing a new high efficiency furnace we could vent out the side of the house. I was able to schedule a time for them to come out to quote a new unit. They never showed up or called. I guess the part that really upsets me is that the units were sold to an older couple and it appears they were taken advantage of. The units overpriced and installed incorrectly.