Mechanic's Responds Investigative Team's Report on Robert Bob Casteel of Casteel Heating & Cooling, Inc

Mechanic's Responds

March 10, 2010

Is Robert “Bob” Casteel of Casteel Heating and Cooling, Inc. living a double standard and violating Georgia State Law?

Our Opinion: Companies that operate by hiding their license number from the public so they
don’t have to take the heat are a disgrace to the industry.

For additional documentation, reference the Complaint filed with Georgia Licensing Industry Board against Robert "Bob" Casteel here: Bob_Casteel_State_Complaint.pdf
You can also reference, the Security_Deed_for_Bob_Casteel's_Business.pdf here.

Part I - Investigative Report

Mechanics Responds F-Team Logo: Finding out the Truth The Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team discovered in 2007 that Robert “Bob” Casteel decided to go on tabloid TV and bash a competing air conditioning contractor Mechanic’s Heating and Air Conditioning, LLC. Besides making statements alleging this competitor did faulty work, Mr. Casteel made negative comments that the corporate structure of Mechanic’s Heating and Air Conditioning, LLC. was wrong. The Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team listened carefully to these statements and then sat down and crafted a six month financial budget to investigate every facet of Mr. Casteel’s life and businesses. And let me say WOW! Did we ever find a lot to report to you.

And did I say WOW!??!!!

Where do I start? That is the hard part. Well, here goes……………..

The Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team found that Mr. Casteel appears to operate a heating and air conditioning company by hiding behind a corporate structure called Casteel’s Heating and Cooling, Inc. This is the same type of structure that he hammered Mechanic’s Heating and Air Conditioning, LLC. about in 2007. Hmmm!

Well, recently he and another individual purchased a piece of property and placed it in yet another corporate entity called Cas-Hill, LLC. (See photos below) Why would he do that when Mr. Casteel bashed this same setup? Is this a double standard?

So then the Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team decided to check on where Mr. Casteel operates out of and ran into a tsunami of information. We discovered that Mr. Casteel and Casteel’s Heating and Cooling, Inc. have appeared to operate or are operating out of the following addresses:

2218 Canton Road, Marietta. Ga. 30066

1741 Lower Roswell Rd., Marietta Ga 30068

1176 Franklin Rd SE Suite H, Marietta Ga. 30324

2215 Roswell Rd. NE, Marietta Ga. 30030

1406 Soaring Trl, Marietta Ga. 30062

37 Powder Springs St. Marietta Ga, 30664

Wow! That’s a lot of addresses. The Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team wondered why he needs so many addresses?

By digging deep, the Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team found the following telephone numbers Mr. Casteel appears to be using:

770-393-8420

770-953-6229

770-424-7656

770-565-1866

770-565-5884

770-792-3704

770-792-6670

770-794-5841

Then we discovered a variety of company names attributed to Mr. Casteel:

BOB CASTEEL HEATING & COOLING, INC.

BOB CASTEEL HEATING AND COOLING, INC.

BOB CASTEEL HEATING & COOLING

CASTEEL COOLING & HEATING

CASTEEL’S HEATING & COOLING

CASTEEL’S HEATING & COOLING, INC

The Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team then sat down and re-reviewed Mr. Casteel’s TV comments. It appears he was upset about the licensing procedure for Mechanic’s Heating and Air Conditioning, LLC. That’s when it struck. Like lightening out of the sky. Like a person who rails about a particular sin and then is discovered to be engaging heavily in that very sin. Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team assumed Mr. Casteel had such an intense issue with licensing that he may be engaging in the same behavior himself.

Bingo!

(Photo Below of Mr. Casteel)

The Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team discovered that Mr. Casteel and Casteel’s Heating and Cooling, Inc. was not displaying their own license number on all of the vehicles as required under Georgia law. Georgia law requires this license number on the vehicles so the public can file complaints against nasty and wrongdoing conditioned air contractors. (See Photos below)

The Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team discovered that not putting your Georgia state conditioned air license number on your vehicles not only violates the law, it makes it harder for the public to file a complaint. This reporter thought, “But surely Mr. Casteel and Casteel’s Heating and Cooling, Inc, has no complaints to worry about?”

Uh-Ohhh!!!!! Like a cooling unit blowing frigid air, The Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team found a blizzard of complaints by alleged customers on Kudzu.com:

Rip Off Artist Shaharez 10/30/2009

Came out to my home to service my unit and tried to tell me I needed a new unit. just needed pilot lit.

Terrible Experience With This Company rogncar Posted on 6/3/2009

I called Casteel for a price on a 4 ton coil. The Casteel sales rep. came and looked at our system and said that he did not recommend putting in a 4 ton coil even though we had a 4 ton condensor. My wife and I decided to go with Casteel on a Friday afternoon. By early Monday morning I got a call from the sales rep. saying he made a mistake and we needed a 4 ton coil to go with our 4 ton condensor. He owned up to his mistake so we decided to go ahead with Casteel. When the installers showed up they said the problem was not the coil but a leak at the condensor and that they needed to repair the leak and recharge the system. When I received the call from Rich in the office explaining to me what they found and telling me it would cost $650.00 I asked is this going to solve my problem. He assured me it would. $650.00 later it did not. I called Casteel on Tuesday and told them that my system was still banging when it turned on and they sent a tech out. The tech told me that the installers overcharged the system and there was now freon all over my condensor. We decided the next day to ask the sales rep. for our money back. The sales rep. said we would get our money back. After several days I called and Thomas in the office said they refused to refund our money and said "they did the work" even though it did not solve our problem. Mike the sales rep. later that week gave us a personal check to refund our money. The sales rep. is the only thing honest about Casteel.

CREEPY! Quinton 7/13/2007

I called these guys when my air conditioner broke because they had the christian symbol in their ad. They sent a guy over that reeked of alcohol and made some off hand remarks. I am a single Christian woman and really was scared to have this guy in my house. I finally called my neighbor over and he asked the guy to leave. I certainly won't call them back!!!!

Worst in Town KRHKRH 12/31/2008

final inspection report (by a person who never visited the house, using pictures from before the installation), failed to get a county inspection, ruined a ceiling and a wall, and stopped taking my calls, inexplicably. I have to assume that the failure to get a county inspection means:
1) They failed to do something they should have; or
2) They did not do something they should haven’t; or
3) They did not care enough about the regulations to bother.
Perhaps I will never know the real reason. The first time I heard from them was for the semi-annual check up six months later. Not a chance will they ever step foot in my house again.
I have to believe that all of these positive Kudzu reviews have been falsified by Casteel. Don't believe them. Find a real person who have a real positive experience - if you can. I don't believe they exist.You may notice that almost all of the positive reviews are made by people who have no other or one other review. In other words, Casteel is creating false positive reviews. The real reviewers are split about 50/50; strangely, no one is in the middle.

Poor Customer Service homeowner997 10/2/2009

My wife and I just moved into our new home where the A/C units weren't working. I saw on the Casteel website an advertisement for a free estimate. So I emailed them and said that I had A/C units that weren't working and that I wanted an estimate for repairing them. They called me and set up an appointment. When the technician arrived, he informed me that the free estimate is only for purchasing a new unit and that it will cost $79 for him to do any diagnostic work. He then checked one of the thermostats and said that it wasn't working and I'd have to buy a new one from him for the diagnosis to continue. The new one was a $50 device selling for $200. We went ahead with the service, but we were unhappy with the experience and felt taken advantage of. I wrote to the company and said that I thought their dispatcher should have informed me that they don't do free estimates on repair work. The summary of our exchange was that the customer service agent told me that I got a good deal and implied that I was irrational and out for money. He maintained an attitude of “the customer is always wrong” and insulted my intelligence. It ended with me canceling the service plan that we signed up for. I don’t want service from a company that treats their customers so rudely.

Stay Away My_Opinion 2/12/2009

Used them twice. Not satisfied either time. The first visit was suppose to be free - it wasn't On the second trip, the tech said I needed a new heating and air unit $4,800. Got a second opinion and saved $4,500. In my opinion, the people are crooks

Told me I needed a new AC but I didn't kevin1 9/28/2009

Casteel came out because my A/C wasn't cooling. They claimed I had a leak in the compressor and I needed a new A/C unit. They were unequivocal about this and even suggested I buy it right then. I called another company (Eddie from Atlanta HVAC) and he found the leak in the upstairs unit, showed me the leak indicator and fixed it. I've waited through the whole summer before indicting Casteel to ensure Eddie was right and lo and behold, he was. Casteel wanted to charge me thousands for a whole new A/C and were clearly wrong (they told me new Freon would leak out in a couple of months at most).

Never sent a quote! tolisarg Posted on 9/4/2009

Eric came out 8 days ago and spent nearly 2 hours, TALKING and going over some of our options. He circled nearly 15 models that we could go with, rather than narrowing down our choices. We requested a quote for a new HVAC system, and he said that he would price out several options for us, and he has yet to even call to say he is still working on it. I called the office after a week went by and they said that thy would contact him and get back to us on a status, day goes by nothing, so I call again, and this time they say that the main line phones are down so they can only relay my message again. Seriously, you think that they would like the business of a brand new HVAC system. Every other company we had come out gave us an estimate the SAME day and has touched base to see if we had made a decision.

7-day service false Masha33 11/20/2006

I called this company at 8:30 a.m. on a Sunday after my furnace had gone out the night before. Though they advertise 24-hour emergency service, no one called me back until 7:30 a.m. Monday. By then, American Energy had long since fixed the problem.

Don't believe the hype MikeHoncho 10/9/2009

They were no where near the cheapest but I paid the premium for the touted 100% customer service, and exceptional warranty. I gave them a pass when I had to call them back out to redo their 49 point inspection and fix some things they missed. However, my aggravation increased when, after signing up for their service plan for both my units, on the first visit the tech lets me know that the filter on the unit they installed is not covered on the plan and is an additional $50. Fast forward to a week ago and the outside unit stops working at about 9 pm. I call and they send someone out the next day. End of converstaion. The tech comes out and immediately discovers the problem, a short in the wiring where it connects to the unit. Since it was not the unit itself, he goes on to charge a $79 trouble shooting fee. They made no mention on the phone of a potential fee (not expected since they installed the unit and I am a current service plan holder). I begrudginly paid the $79 (he did determine the issue) and requested a quote to replace the electrical wires and disconnect box for both units. With my service plan discount, it would only be about $1200. After confirming with the tech that having someone else do the work would not void my warranty, I went to the big orange box and worked with the electrical aisle expert to complete the work that afternoon for a cost of $53. My wife called corp to complain about the $79 fee, her call was not returned. I don't trust them anymor

Have someone check what they tell you tortfeasor Posted on 3/9/2009

Service technicians were sloppy and their installation quality stunk in 2 installs for me. Double check their quote against reality and make sure they replace your old plenums if you have foamboard.

Mixed Review sszabo2 8/20/2008

When my AC went out in the heat of the season this past summer, they called at 9pm to schedule a 7am appt the next day. I was up and running with cool air and my 6 month old baby in no time.
Flash forward to the furnace check up that I signed up for when I had the AC fixed. Did you know that a heat exchanger has sensors that will warn you that it has air flow that is bad? In other words, it will actually shut the furnace down if CO is getting in to the house or has a path to get into the house. I know this now because I had a second contractor come in and check my furnace after Casteel told me I had cracks in the heat exchanger.
After the Casteel rep told me it was cracked, he tagged my unit unsafe to run. I was unable to get any quote on the fix, though the part was under warranty. I had to wait for the "consultant" aka salesman to come and talk to me.
Although we told him that we may not be staying in the house and really were interested in just fixing the part. We had to endure the, "but a new unit is only $XXX". We made a few calls, had another person here in 15 minutes, and it doesn't seem to be the same story.
I am very grateful the quickness this summer, but I will not be calling them again after this incident.

Do Your Homework ChelleInATL 8/10/2008

My upstairs A/C started blowing hot air one evening and after doing a bit of research online, I had diagnosed the problem as a bad capacitor and also noted that most sources quoted capacitor prices between $20 and $50. After reading the positive reviews on Kudzu for Casteel, I scheduled an appointment with them to replace the part. While the technician was polite, he attempted to overcharge me for the capacitor ($206 for the part alone). I had actually pulled the exact same part up online for $48.99 while the technician was working outside. Only after speaking with the "Vice President", was I able to get a reasonable price for the part ($100 minus a warranty which was fine as I did not plan to do business with them again). This company may do good work but I strongly urge customers to do some research before agreeing to any price from Casteel. Marking up a part between 4 and 5 times what they pay to cover overhead is unacceptable regardless of warranty. Unfortunately, I will be taking my business elsewhere.

Don't waste your time or money rchamp13 7/21/2008

Non responsive customer service and high prices. I spent $80 for a technician to come and assess the problem and it was a total waste of money. Tech said he would get a price for repair and I would be contacted within a couple of days. 4 days later, having heard nothing, I called and was told they would look into status and call back. Next day I called again, was given a price, and was told that a Service Mgr would call me back with details and scheduling. Never got another call. I had someone else do the repairs and their cost was 20% less. Don't waste your time or money.

No return call sadlebred 5/25/2008

I called Casteel on a Friday night because our AC went out. Someone (an answering service?) took my information and said someone would call me "Give me a call first thing in the morning." I never received a call back. Their website says they offer 24 hour and emergency service.
After calling several other companies by 10:00 am on Saturday, I was able to find someone else to come out.

All Talk - No Real Service jeffgator 5/16/2008

I've used this company for 2 seasons now and have found them to be nothing more than blowing hot air, no pun intended. In the fall, they found a heating coil problem in my basement unit and wanted $4000 to replace it. This spring they found my upstairs unit low on free-on, refused to fill it and wanted to charge me $250 just to check for the leak and not even do anything about it. They talk a good game about being your neighborhood contractor but don't follow up with actual neighborhood service. This will be the last year that I use this company.

Not Real Thrilled BKay30 1/23/2008

Was not real thrilled with the sales techniques of this company.
When they arrived into my homeI told them what I needed and the next thing I knew, they were trying to sell me everything from a "blower" test to insulation in my attic called "Icing". They brought out a 'puffer' and showed me that 'air' was moving through my house. When their test would not work in certain locationsthey would move and try to find another spot to show I had air leaks. Then told me my house was BREATHING and was like lungsinhaling and exhaling.
There were two sale guys that showed up and after a THREE HOUR visitThey FINALLY LEFT. I asked why one guys was herehe saidbusiness is slow so trying to learn how other sell and what techniques they use.
I knew when they walked out that I would not use them because of their cross sales of products and also their price was over $6000 more than I had to pay.
I suggest that you shop around and check prices of at least five different companies when looking to replace your HVAC system.
I'm sure they do an excellent jobbut just not an excellent job for them to have my business.

Very Nice but service wasn't great justin0622 6/22/2006

Very nice folks to deal with but the tech that came out for service call didn't really try to fix the AC problem (he didn't have a leak detector on the truck - WHY WOULD AN AC TECH NOT HAVE SUCH AN IMPORTANT TOOL??!!) instead he just wanted to pump more coolant into the system and bill me. When I pay for a service - I expect to correct the problem not just bandaid it.

No free estimate. . . mstrillian 5/10/2006

Their site says "free estimates" but that is just if you know you want a new a/c unit. If you don't know what's wrong with your HVAC system, they won't come out and give you a free estimate. There's a $69 service fee, regardless. I called Comfort Solutions Mechanical and they said they'd come out and give me a free estimate. I'll let you know how that goes under their profile.

May be good if you can get past office person redwood 4/28/2006

Called to schedule repair, but young woman who answered phone wouldn't stop hard sell of extended care plan. Never did get repair scheduled - gave up and hung up.

Never showed paradise4u2 4/12/2006

This company sent me a letter stating that they bought out the company that use to do my service. When I called to make an appointment I was told the office would contact me. No one ever called back and when I explained my telephone conversation, no one accepted responsibility that they dropped the ball. Now, I have to find a realiable company to do my heating and air repairs because this one just didn't pan out.
Good luck if you choose this company!

The Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team found that by not having the license number on his vehicles, Mr. Casteel and Casteel’s Heating and Cooling, Inc. make it hard for these folks to complain to the state. But luckily for the public, the Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team knows how to file a complaint with the State of Georgia and has recently done so. You can read the complaint yourself by clicking HERE. Mechanic’s Responds® will see how the wheels of justice roll on Mr. Casteel’s vehicles now!

The Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team further noticed that Mr. Casteel, on all his company logos, uses a fish symbol that is commonly understood to be a Christian symbol. (see logo below)

This reporter thought it a bit ironic that a man apparently using a Christian symbol for business purposes would be allegedly committing the same sins he has been railing about on TV.

In the Bible, John 8:7 states: “Let ye who is without sin cast the first stone.”

This reporter has watched Mr. Casteel have a great time on TV throwing stones at his competitor. He is a great thrower of stones. Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team wants to see how good a catcher of stones he is.

Mr. Casteel’s advertising states “Built on Honesty.” This reporter hopes that Mr. Casteel will admit his wrongdoings to the Georgia State Construction Industry Licensing Board Division of Conditioned Air Contractors and comply with Georgia law. You can bet the Mechanic’s Responds® Investigative Team will update you with new photos as soon as Mr. Casteel decides to comply with the law and place his license number on his vehicles.

Mechanic’s Responds® will continue to investigate the business practices of Mr. Robert “Bob” Casteel and Casteel’s Heating and Cooling, Inc. We will let you know the outcome of the complaint before the Georgia State Construction Industry Licensing Board Division of Conditioned Air Contractors.

Mechanic’s Responds® will continue to ask the tough questions and keep exposing the unfairness of the Atlanta BBB, and the unfairness any Trade Association, HVAC competitor or otherwise.

As of this posting, Mechanic’s Responds® has not heard anything from Mr. Robert “Bob” Casteel and Casteel’s Heating and Cooling, Inc. If and when we do, we will be sure to pass this information on to our readers.

You can reach J. R. Adams at 770-425-0000 or via email at News@MechanicsResponds.com.

Disclaimer: The information contained herein is for informational purposes only. The information contained herein is believed accurate but is not warranted.
We encourage all interested parties to verify the information contained herein on their own.
The information contained herein was derived from public information sources, from our records, or from Reports or Complaints filed with us.

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