Kevin's Plumbing & Heating

Without a doubt, the worst experience I have ever had with a company. In June, our air conditioner stopped blowing cold air. I contacted Clair Plumbing and Heating, an Archbold heating and cooling specialist, and Kent spent about an hour looking over the system and determining that the unit had a freon leak and had no freon left. He discussed possible causes and solutions, and offered a quick estimate before leaving, all for no charge. A second self-employed specialist, Ben Poorman from Wauseon, came and provided much of the same comprehensive information, again for no charge. I decided I wanted a third estimate, just to compare before buying, so I called Kevin's. The person on the phone said nothing of any charges for a visit, and told me they would send someone out. After a long wait, a man arrived from Kevin's, checked the system using his gauges, informed me that I had no freon, and left, all within 10 minutes. When I asked him for an estimate on replacement, he told me that I would need to call the office and have someone else come out for that. For his 10 minute assessment ("You have no freon") I was billed $65, having had no prior knowledge that I would be billed, and getting far less than the competitors offered for no charge. It gets worse. I explained this to someone at the Kevin's office. He said he was sorry that they hadn't been clear, but explained this was standard procedure. I said I didn't think I should have to pay such a high amount especially since no one had mentioned rates when I called. About a week later, I received another invoice, this time with the handwritten words, "Thank you for your payment." In my experience, this is a message that comes when one's account has been settled, so I assumed Kevin's had chosen to take the reasonable approach and forget the balance. Instead, I found out in October - after no further contact from Kevin's - that I had been reported to a debt collection agency. Contrary to their website's suggestion "callkevins.com," do not call Kevin's. This is a follow up to my previous review. The owner called me personally in the middle of a Sunday afternoon to apologize for my billing mix up and pledging to make the situation right with the debt collection agency. He explained that the situation had never reached his attention and that I should not have been billed in the first place. I appreciated his commitment to customer satisfaction. I would still caution customers to inquire about terms and rates on the phone prior to hiring Kevin's and make certain that all potential charges are clear up front. Thanks, Kevin's.