HVAC reviews in Portsmouth, Virginia

If I could give this company negative stars, I would — and they’d still be getting off easy.

Our AC stopped working and the house was climbing toward 80°F upstairs and down. It quickly became unbearable. I submitted a service request through my home warranty provider, and they dispatched us to MSC Inc / Bell Cow, scheduling us an appointment a full week out. We were desperately counting down the days — our home was becoming dangerously hot.

Then, on the morning of the appointment, we get a call: the technician called out, and they wanted to reschedule. No apology, no urgency. I had to beg them to send someone out — I’m 36 weeks pregnant, and the heat inside my home was becoming a legitimate health risk.

They finally sent someone later that day. The technician came, examined the system, and told us the AC compressor was damaged due to normal wear and tear and that we needed 6 pounds of refrigerant. He told us plainly that we had zero cold air, and that the system wouldn’t function until the compressor was replaced.

But here’s the worst part: after he left, the unit completely stopped blowing air altogether. No more warm air. No airflow, period. The inside of our home became stagnant, suffocating, and by the next day, our home hit 93°F indoors. I’m not exaggerating when I say I started to feel delirious, dizzy, and physically unwell. I had to sit in my car with the AC running just to avoid passing out — while nine months pregnant. Fans were worthless. My home — my safe place — felt like it was trying to kill me.

We were then told that the new compressor wouldn’t arrive until July 7, a full two weeks away. There was no way I could survive like that. At that point, I was risking heat exhaustion, pre-term labor, and a true medical emergency.

Then something wild happened: I saw another HVAC company working on my neighbor’s house. I flagged them down and explained the situation. That tech — an actual professional — came to my house the same morning.

Within 15 minutes, he told us the truth:

Our AC compressor was perfectly fine.
We had plenty of refrigerant.
It looked like the last technician had tampered with our unit, likely to make it appear broken.
Let that sink in:

A technician from MSC/Bell Cow sabotaged our AC unit — in the middle of a heatwave — while I was heavily pregnant.
They tried to charge us nearly $700 for refrigerant we didn’t need, and left us in conditions that were unsafe and inhumane.
This isn’t just negligence — it’s predatory. It’s cruel. It’s deliberate.
And if it weren’t for a chance encounter with a real technician, we would’ve been scammed out of hundreds of dollars — and my health could have been in danger.

DO NOT TRUST THIS COMPANY.
They do not care about your comfort. They do not care about your safety.
They will manipulate your system and lie to your face to make a profit — even if it puts a pregnant woman at risk.

This company should be investigated.
And every single person reading this — please take this review seriously before letting them anywhere near your home

Bell Cow was fantastic. Mike Dawson was very professional and answered all my questions before beginning work. He did a great job at a fair price. The repair fixed my water issues and I can't say enough good things about this company and Mike. If you need any work done call them. I'm going to call them to see about an HVAC contract next. They replaced my water supply line to my house and it's awesome to know that good people still exist. I'm not always the easiest person to deal with I asked a ton of questions and Mike was patient and answered everything.

Bell Cow was excellent. They came out in a timely manner, assessed the problem and resolved the issue.

Had to be the worst HVAC technician I've ever met, incompetent, unsure, sloppy. If Dennis is assigned to your HVAC repair ask for another technician.

When my AC went out during a 100* heatwave, my warranty company assigned a contractor that wasn’t able come for several days.
Reassigned to Bell Cow, they came out that same day to diagnose and repair. The technician, CJ explained all of my options to fix our AC. He was patient, honest and answered all of my questions. Including my estimated costs w/warranty coverage.
Ultimately my AC just needed to be replaced. Now being at the mercy of our warranty company, we had to wait for approval and then shipping. That being said, CJ kept us apprised on approval and shipping dates/times. He also installed the new AC unit himself. He was efficient, clean, and did an excellent job! A+ customer service! My husband’s only complaint is that it’s too cold in the house now!!

Everyone was nice and friendly. They got the work done quickly and they showed a lot of care during the job. Highly recommend.

had issues with my upstairs AC unit. The tech explained what he did and stayed for about 45min after the repair to see if there were issues. He even left is number for me to call him if I had questions. I would recommend this company. They responded quickly and maintained communications...

Great work, friendly professional services!

Very good work done by Bell Cow. They came back and did extra work to help remedy a problem I had with smells from the house sealing. They are professional and friendly.

If I could leave zero stars I would I am so dissatisfied with my experience. I was supposed to receive a "custom" crawl space access which cost me $700 what I received however was $45 in material and maybe $50 worth of work. Completely amateur end product there are gaps in not only the brick molding but caulking, and a animal could easily dig under the door and make its new home in my crawl space. I am currently attempting to get a full refund.

Amazing work, very professional and knowledgeable. The technician was able to identify and fix my unit with ease. I’ve had three different companies come out and all tried to charge me $1200 to do a leak test, Bell cow was able to find the issue and fixed it the issue for far less.

I had two techs come in one day. The 2nd tech that did the services was great. He was very knowledgeable. The 1st gentleman, he was cordial, but I did not like he didn't have the plastic booties or socks on and stated he was a manager and not a regular tech. He walked around barefoot. I spoke with management on the phone and made them aware. He also told me that I needed a new thermostat and when the 2nd tech came, he said it was fine. I reached out to Bell Cow because they did my initial install about 6 years ago, however, I would have preferred they sent a tech out vs one of the managers, which didn't have plastic booties and also misquoted what I needed done.

Moore’s does excellent preventative maintenance on our HVAC systems. We started using their plumbing backflow inspections as well recently and have been happy with their techs and how informative they are. Saved us from having issues with the county!

Had recent appointment for a/c service. No show and no call. Enough said.

From 2020 this place went down hill fast. Its a shame in 2014 they were top notch.
Covid didnt help business at all.

They accepted payment for future maintenance and then do not respond on day work. Their phone out of service on that day but acted like nothing was wrong the week before. They . must have gone out of business.😠😠😠

Unreachable, after paying for maintenance agreement, it is Impossible to get someone to return a call, so many messages unreturned.

Terrible customer service, I shouldn't need to call 5 times over a 2 week period, each time saying the scheduler/service tech will call me, finally scheduled my maintenance and they did not show up, or even call saying they couldn't make it. I am now on my 3rd attempt again with a real person answering saying they can't help and will get the service tech to call...

I have maintenance contract with this company. I have called them three time in 4 weeks and every time I was told someone will call me in 24 hours. However, I have not received and phone call.

Has been great service since 2010 and maintained multi-year service contracts to date. But now they are unreachable and I need help. Had no choice but to seek assistance from a different company. The reviews were an eye opener as well!

This company is BY FAR THE BEST HVAC company I have ever used. The office manager was so sweet, caring and very understanding. The technician Brandon was absolutely on top of his work. He was very communicative and kept me up to date throughout the entire process. I will definitely recommend them to all of my family and friends in need of HVAC needs. The work was pushed back some but that comes with the job they can’t control everything. I am very understanding because I know things don’t and can’t always go at planned so I try to be understanding giving the benefit of the doubt and they did not disappoint! Brandon’s work is so professional and I am so thankful I gave them a chance I was not disappointed. I am overall very pleased with my experience. Keep up the amazing work and great customer service.