Cowboys A/C & Heating

I am seeking  reimbursement from Al Martinez, owner,  and COWBOYS A/C and HEATING, for damages done to my house because of damaged A/C system.  

On Dec. 19, 2014, we discovered water running down walls, soaking carpet, loosening wallpaper, and soaking furniture legs. I immediately called my contractor that does work for me, Radiance Homes, to get help on what to do. She called her A/C sub-contractor, Climate Magic, who immediately came out and assessed and repaired the problem.  

His description of the problem is as follows: ?Checked upstairs right side system for water dripping from secondary pan out-of- level due to 2X4 which supported kendorf with all thread had split and allowed unit to drop several inches. This in-turn did not allow coil to drain out primary and lead to existing problem. Supported rack for furnace coil with plumbers strap.?  Model: FS4BE-036K  / Serial: FSD100702416    CLIMATE MAGIC immediately fixed and re-leveled unit system.  

Much damage was done, as the units are located in my 3rd story attic with the water penetrating down through second story to the first level kitchen. Most of the damage was done in my second story living area.  

Damages required services of CLEANING AND RESTORATION SPECIALISTS, who removed damaged carpet and pad, disposal of same, moved furniture, used dehumidifiers and drying equipment for a couple of weeks, removed sheetrock and insulation and treated for mold, and then replaced carpet and furniture. BURGESSES PAINTING, INC.?s services included new wall and ceiling insulation, drywall, damaged door frame and baseboards, wallpaper removal, walls textured and primed and painted, and kitchen ceiling?s stains treated and painted. CHARLEY HUNDLEY (maintance sub) replaced the wet and damaged ceiling insulation in attic.  

I was on a maintance program with this company, COWBOYS AIR CONDITIONING AND HEATING, and this problem should have been discovered had they properly maintained the equipment. Had they blown out the drains, they would have seen the un-level system and secondary pan. It was very noticeable. I believe the supports were broken when they installed a new A/C unit. Since we do not use the unit constantly, I believe the damage of overflow was done when we turned the unit on for the warm season.  

I am seeking total damages and repairs of $ 11,945.17 from Al Martinez and COWBOYS A/C AND HEATING of San Antonio, Texas.  

Mr. Al Martinez responded to my initial complaint and came to my home. He assured me he would take care of the matter. However, he declined to view the damages and said he would consult his insurance agent and get back to me. After approx. two weeks, I had not heard from Mr. Martinez so I called. He responded that he had not heard back from the insurance agent and that he would call him and get back to me in 30 minutes. I never heard from him. I continued to make calls and leave messages for Mr. Martinez, but he never returned my calls.

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They didn't charge me for the service as it was under warranty. They are excellent. They came and service my call and my heater is working. I would use them again in the future.

We wanted a unit that would last a long time and be efficient, they installed it for about $13000.00. Another company inspected our systems and stated they would charge between $7000 and $8000 for the unit to be installed. I feel I was ripped off. They also recently told me I needed to have my ducts repaired for $4200 but I declined this work  and decided to use the other company for future services. They also offered a maintenance contract that would be for 5 years and cost $1800.00.

They come out twice a year. Once in spring for cooling. They come out again in fall for the heating. They are prompt. They are nice people. We've been using them for about 3 years. They are pretty good on prices. They are honest and don't charge you for what you don't need.

Rep that came to the house to do the unit cleaning was very nice, answered all questions. He showed me an itemized work order, and explained another guy would follow to install the light, clean & sterilize the blower interior, and install the return air cover. A guy showed up awhile later, performed work, had me sign and left. I realized I never saw the guy go outside to the compressor unit at all - that's where the high voltage controller was. I called in and spoke to the receptionist and asked for a copy of the itemized bill. She said she would get it on the following Monday and let me know. Never got the call. I called back about the bill and told her I wanted the HVC taken off my bill - it was a little expensive and with the whole thing running so much, I said I didnt want that right now. The first tech had mentioned it was still working - he just recommended replacing. The girl said she would have the initial guy call me. He did - I explained about the HVC and said to takeit off the bill and I wanted a copy of the itemized statement. He said he would send it. Never got it. So now its several weeks later and I am going to change the filter. The vent cover - which should have little clips that allow opening it up to replace the filter - had screws - no clips. I got a screw driver and removed the screws. When the vent cover came off, I realized it was the original vent cover - just a plain cover, not one with a door that opens so you can replace the filter. I opened the blower unit door to take the filter out of the unit - it slides in with great difficulty at the base of the blower housing - thats why I wanted a new vent cover - anyway I opened the filter slot and - no filter. Not only had the seconf guy NOT replaced the vent cover, he didnt even put the filter back and left my house with the unit running and no filter. I called again - this is getting a little rediculous. She said they would take care of it today - would be at the house between 12 and 2pm. I said I also wanted them to check the blower unit as it probably needs cleaning after running for a month with NO FILTER. She said absolutely - they would take care of it. Waited 12-2pm - waited til 215 pm - called the office - guys are no show, take the vent cover off my bill - Im going to home depot to get one. She said wait - let me find out whats going on. Guy comes back on the phone says "the guys are just finishing up another job and will be on their way". I said you havent told me when they will be here - they were supposed to be here between 12 and 2 - I have things to do - take the vent cover off my bill and Ill take care of it. Guys tells me "We can't take it off your bill. I said you can - you charged me for something I didnt get, now I want a refund. I am being told you are giving me credit for the HVC, so just add this to the refund. I am not waiting another minute on you guys to show up when you feel like it to repair work that wasnt done correctly the first time. He said very well and hung up.
So bottom line - these guys do not pay attention to detail, nobody follows up on whether the work was completed, they dont return phone calls, and for what they charge, kt just is not worth it.

Well, I called them back in 2012, to do an AC/Heat service tune up on my old AC system, the old system was installed in 1992. They did the service and told me the Heater had a gas leak, which I did smell at the time. I was talked into getting a whole new, more energy efficient system. We got their top of theline system for the initial cost of $9500 with a 0% interest rate. They worked great on the price. The install went great and quick, the new system saved me money on my bills. After this point, things slowly went south. They came out for the next summer service, part of the contract and had no issues. For the 1 year service they came out and told me i needed to replace all my Duct work at a cost of $1300, I asked them why they never told me or did this when i installed the system. This was the first sign of them starting to nickle and dime me. for th elast service on the two year service agreement, they tried charging me for the tune up, saying I only had a 1 year agreement, i pulled my paperwork and shwoed them, they corrected it, they also advised me the bulb in my heater the UV lamp would need to be replaced in 6 months at the cost of $160. Well the 6months approached, they serviced and then told me it was close to $400 for the bulb replacement. I was not happy, more nickle and diming. I did not have them change it, instead found the bulb on Amazon for $25 and replaced myself. For this past service in July 2014, they had to reschedule two times, the first becasue it was raining, and the second becasue their truck broke down. I waited a month until they finally came out for the reduced fee of 29.95. Well i had a different technician this time, he was polite, he cleaned the AC drain, checked the AC system, and told me i needed a hard start kit at $350, I asked why it never had one/ or why no one has ever told me before, he said its cheaper and they make more money by not including them with the AC unit. Wow, another money making ploy. He did say my bulb needed chagning for my UV light, I asked how much he told me $260, i said i'll have to wait, then he said he could replace it for $60 cash on the side, of course i said yes. Well he "replaced" it, but i noticed the bulb he brought in and took out looked the same, so after he left I checked the bulb in the system and he still had the orignial bulb in there, he just reset the light. I called the main line, and then he called me back, saying he changed it. I caught him in a lie, so he said he would get me a new bulb the following week. He did end up giving me a new bulb, but shows what kind of employees they have. After being a customer for 2.5 years, I am looking for someone else. They were ok once, but now I keep getting nickle and dime every service on a new AC system. I would NOT recommend this company.

They were excellent. They put a camera down into the system and showed us exactly what was wrong. They worked with us on price. They were very punctual. They saved us money when they could. We had a very good experience with them.

when Cowboys have come out in the past they have always been very nice but still would not recommend for any services

when very well...very professional and they did a great job...would use them again..

Wonderful!!!!  Cowboy A/C and Heating really took care of us and went above and beyond.  From the initial visit, Juan, the Technician, explained all our options thoroughly, answered our questions thoroughly, was extremely polite and professional, made sure we were comfortable with the options and our finial decision; from the start he had our best interest and the interest of our family in mind.  We were able to schedule the set up for the following day (today).  They arrived on time and are working as quietly and cleanly as possible.  They are very respectful of our home and our comfort during the transition.  Juan came by to check on the progress and see how we were doing.  From start to finish, this company was outstanding!!!! They are also sending us some rebates for an energy efficiency A/C.  I HIGHLY recommend Cowboy A/C and Heating.  Excellent service, price, customer satisfaction, inspections by Cowboy A/C and Heating and the City of San Antonio, warranty (10 year and 4 free checkups), 18 months no interest financing if you need it, multiple options of A/C units, HONEST (I asked about something "extra" and they were very honest in letting me know to try our new system as is first and then, if necessary, the extra could be done later.  Any other company would have just taken the money in my opinion).  We are very, VERY, pleased all around and now we have an energy efficient, clean air, wonderful new A/C unit.

We absolutely will never do business with them again and we would tell anyone who asks. They didn't charge us anything. They tried to sell us $5,000 worth of stuff on a $20 visit. I was so mad that I refused even to pay the $20. We had used them to put in 2 brand new air conditioning units two years before. To go from paying that much money for two sub-par units to needing $5,000 worth of stuff. We had a second company come in and they basically told us that things were switched off, not burnt out. There were holes that were leaking air straight to our ceilings. It looked like they may have done it themselves to make it run less efficiently. It was just outrageous. It was crazy.

The serviceman spent very little time upstairs where our unit is located. And when he came down, he said our coils were disgustingly dirty. But out of the love in his heart, he stated that he would pull the unit out and clean the coils for $950.00.. Really.
He then spent about 15 minutes outside and informed us these coils were dirty as well. He used our hose to clean the unit, but then asked if we had something with "more pressure". Really
The serviceman said he had no idea what seer our unit is. I asked because our installation paperwork had 13 seer on one page. 14 seer on another. And 15 seer on the CPS rebate. So I am thinking this last page is fraud. I will be checking on that.
Do NOT use this company.

I would never use them again. I ended up going with somebody else and taking out a brand new unit that they put in because of all the problems I was having. I'm still actually paying on that unit. The guys who would come out here were always nice, but I don't think most of them knew what they were doing. They did a bad job when they installed it and I had all kinds of problems. I even had problems after we took it out, like water leaks from where they cut a line. It was a nightmare and I would never recommend them to anybody. They charged me almost $10,000 for a unit that I had taken out about a year or two later. During that time I had them out here numerous times. I had freon leaks and just all kinds of stuff. It was bad, so I called another company who came out and put a newer unit in. They took the old one out and told me that there were so many things that they had done wrong and that's when we talked to an attorney. I even had pictures of things that they had done, which was just bad. I don't know if they have changed since then, but back then it was a no.

We recently purchased the house and we wanted to have everything checked before Summer got here. Cowboys Air Conditioning & Heating tried to sell a lot of unnecessary work. They gave us an estimate of about $3300, they wanted to replace the fan motor, another provider came and said that it was fine.

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Cowboys Air Conditioner called me on the phone selling a maitance and tune-up special for $49.99. When they got to the house the poked and proded at the air conditioner unit and said the main coil needed to be replaced. They charged me $595. I payed for the repair. I started to search the interenet on the cost to replace the coil. I learned I was over charged by $300. I called Cowboys back and after talking to them for some time they said they would offer me a one year maintance package for free. I have never heard from them again. Don't use use this company!!! They are not honest!!

I was contacted by an individual on the phone who claimed that Cowboys would check out my AC system and if
needed, add up to one pound of freon at no charge except for the $49.95 for the checkup. The tech did a
reasonable job of checking the compressor, and when he checked the pressure, said it was low on freon. I asked
when he was going to add freon, he mentioned that freon was $155.00 a pound and they were not allowed to
carry freon on their truck. He then went into the attic and stayed almost an hour. He asked me to turn on the
cooling function. I could not climb into the attic to watch him and when I checked on him about 30 minutes later,
he said the coils were freezing up. Of course they were because the temperature was about 50 degrees and the
system had been trying to reach 40 degrees while he checked. When he came down finally, he gathered up his
tools and walked to the truck. I asked about the freon and he told me he couldn't add freon because the system
had a leak. On the report among other things, he reported that the capacitor was bad, the evaporator coils were
plugged, the evaporator was rusty and leaking, the ducts needed sealing, the plenum needed repair, the
installation was not up to code, the drain line dirty and not up to code, He then told me that he couldn't add
freon because the system was leaking and because the system was 'plugged', as he put it, he couldn't get good
readings. My largest complaint is for false advertising. The scam here is that if a system is low, Cowboys can not
add freon either by law (there is none) and because the technician doesn't carry freon, there was never any intent to add anything.
Air Conditioning systems leak molecules of freon and based on the last 10 years of service, around 1/2 pound a
year. I paid the $49.95, the tech handed me the very lengthy almost unreadable report and left after I initialed in
several places.
I became concerned and called the tech later to ask if he sealed up my system in the attic.  I am still concerned what may have been done during the almost hour the tech was in the attic writing up his findings.
I submitted the above in part as a complaint to the Better Business Bureau.  The next day Mr. Martinez called.  He was under the belief that two people were here, but there was only one.  He insisted that he personally come out and inspect the system himself and that he would add the pound of freon and give me the $49.95 refund.  I refused his offer to come on my property and the refund check was received in two weeks.

On March 21,2013 at 3:00 pm Cowboys AC came to do a routine spring check
up on my air conditioning units. Technician told me the coils on my 4
1/2 year old unit were extremely dirty and needed a $1200 cleaning.
First I said I wanted a second opinion, then he told me that the motor
the outside unit was leaking oil and pulling high amps. The technician
said that the part was cover under warranty but the labor to replace
wasn't so if I did the cleaning he would replace the motor at no charge.
I said okay, but while he was trying to schedule the cleaning, I told
him I did want the second opinion, at this point the technician become
extremely rude. We later discovered that the technician had left the
outside units circuit breakers turned off, so we were without air
conditioning for the night. I had another company come out at 8:00 am on
March 22,2013 to check out my air conditioning units. That technician
said the unit were in good shape in fact he described the coil as almost
in "virgin" condition. That the outside unit was not leaking oil and
was pulling the proper voltage.

In July, we received a call to come out to our house for an air conditioning tune-up and air duct inspection for $49.95.  When the guy came out for the inspection and had done his assessment, our final bill was $565 and we thought we were only paying $49.95.  However, he seemed legit and also provided a one-year maintenance plan with the price.  He fixed our air conditioning because he said it was loose, so he provided a tune-up and "replaced" some items and also bolted it securely to the ground as he stated it as loose.  He never said anything else, and seemed honest.
So, we never received another call from Cowboys to do another check-up and so we called to schedule an appointment which was for Wednesday, 13 December 2012.  Two men came out and both of them looked at our system.  Without even opening it up, they started telling us that our system was overheating and the coils needed to be replaced immediately, or we would have to replace both our system.  Since we have two air conditioning systems, this would run us about $20K.  He really had us worried, and we started talking numbers.  It was during this time that the service call (which was technically free because of what we paid in July) jumped to $5000 to replace the two heating coils and install a UV light and upgrade our system.  Our house is six years old and he started getting us more worried with carbon monoxide poisoning.  Our children are closer to the furnaces of his was another concern.
It must have been divine intervention because the credit app was not completed.  He stated that he would look into the financing in the morning.  We also told him we would look at our bank as well.
Later that evening, my husband and I discussed what happened, and we started researching online about Cowboys.  This is when we found several issues that were the EXACT same scenario as what we just experienced.  Be careful...they are shady!
We called out Champion AC to do a second opinion and what he told us was EXACTLY OPPOSITE from what Cowboys told us.  Our system was fine and that we only needed minor preventive maintenance.  There were no issues with our system at all to the extent of $5000.  BEWARE!!!!!
I spoke to Al Martinez on 18 December 2012 and also spoke with him on the situation, and he stated that he would work on refunding me by money.  I haven't heard from him at all other than the email he sent back stating that he would work on it on the 18th.  I have since emailed him again and have heard nothing.  Truly disappointed, and plan on filing a Better Business Bureau complaint.  BEWARE - they only care about your money, and don't care about ensuring good customer care!  I shouldn't have to wait this long for a response...I should have been kept informed along the way.

Two guys came out. The same guy that came last year was one of them. But he never came into the house and never talked to anyone. The other one was the one that tried to upsell on everything. Kept wondering why I needed to get a second opinion.
The other company said the coil was a little rusty but couldnt tell if there was a leak or not. They put in 4 pounds of freon and charged less than half of what Cowboys would have. Said we could wait until next year and see how much freon it loses but may need a replacement.

Said no freon was leaking into the house. There were some insulation issues with air flowing into the attic. Something else Cowboys completely missed.
Stay away from this company. They are either incompetent or scammers.

It was really good. They were really fast. It was at 9:00 PM, so it was very nice that they came that late.

They came out to give me an estimate and they were three times more than the company that I hired. They are very pushy and try to sell more than what you need. He told me things needed to be replaced that I later found did not need to be.

The AC was kicking off and I called them out to check it out.  They explained that Freon amount needed adjusted since it was over filled.  There was also a part that they added that would help the AC unit use less power as it turned off and on.  I was impressed that the guy who came out just kept on working while I was talking with him.  They've become my go-to air conditioning service and the guy who helped me even gave me his personal cell phone number so that I could get a hold of him quicker.  He even called me the next morning on his way to work to double-check that everything he did the night before was working well for us.  I would recommend them to anyone.

Purchased an indoor unit last  July and was told by the technician that my outside unit was in need of new contactssince mine were burnt. I had him replace that and he said my capacitor was borderline and may ned to be replaced within the year. The two techs that came today were two hours late and seemed more interested in what I did for a living and what I had in my back yard than doing a service call.While one inspected the indoor unit the other hosed off my outside unit and spent more time on that than actually taking readings.When he was done he told me I needed my contacts replaced since mine were burnt.These are the same contacts they replaced last year.Now he says my compressor is going out and if I don't replace it my entire system will be poisoned!! I asked him if the capacitor was okay and he said it was a little low but the most important thing was to replace the unit. I was given an estimate of $4800.00and told if I bought it today the warranty on both units would be 10 years .He said the unit I purchased last year is only warranteed for 5 years.Feeling a bit leery of their pressure to purchase I told them I would think about it . They could't get out of my house fast enough . It seemed the a/c service wasn't their primary concern since they didn't attempt to check my thermostat or air flow among other things that were supposedly in hte maintenance contract. I would't recommend this company to anyone . Stay away from Cowboy A/C !