Action Service And Repair

O.K. so when our HVAC unit died it was the WORST possible time. We had 0 money and it was right at the beginning of Summer. We got 3 quotes. Action Service and Repair- Chuck Halloren - came in the lowest. He beat all the other quotes by 6 or 8 hundred dollars. He also inspected everything around the unit and noticed we had a powerline connecting to the house that needed to be adjusted. So he said while they were out there, if we hired them, they would fix that too! I was impressed and happy to be saving so much money. At first his communication was decent. He wouldn't answer his phone much- but I understood he was busy- so I didn't mind waiting a day or two on a response while we waited for our loan to come through and waited for the unit after he ordered it. I personally 2 days waiting on a return call is a bit excessive- especially when I needed an answer to a question right then- but I kind of blew it off because we were saving a bunch of money. Well finally the day came for the install. They came out and installed the unit. When I pulled into the driveway that afternoon from work, Chuck was hauling all kinds of stuff - metal and ductwork - out into my front ditch. I ended up having to haul all that stuff off myself- he never came back and disposed of it. Anyway, he took me around and showed me the unit. He explained that the new return duct was bigger than the old one so he could not use the same sheet metal- so he would come out tomorrow or the next day to wrap the sheet metal around the EXPOSED flex ductwork. I also noticed that he did not fix the electrical line as promised- but I didn't say anything. I also ended up having to pay an extra $70 for a thermostat that I wish would have been mentioned at the beginning. ANYWAY- long story short. 3 months later and I still have exposed ductwork. He never returned to my house to do any of the promised work. YES- I have an HVAC unit- so thank GOD at least that got installed- but the job was never finished. I have called texted begged and pleaded- he hasn't answered his phone since the day after he came out. As soon as the checks were cashed- the work was OVER. Thank GOD I didn't give him the money until after the install!!! What did I learn? Sometimes it might be better to spend a few hundred extra bucks to get the service and professionalism of a real company rather than a mom n pop. Now I am on Angie's list looking for someone to come out and finish what the first guy didn't- so everything I SAVED- is probably about to get SPENT.