All reviews for McCarthy Services

This is more about the service tech than anything. I did not receive the advance call that he would arriving (I have a dog and things to move to access the service). He immediately overstep with suggesting on how to run my house (inappropriate). My service ticket says that he flushed the drains and tightened all connections. I don't believe he was working on the furnace long enough to do those things. I immediately tried to upsell me on many things that totaled more than $3500. My unit was installed in 2019. I asked for an A/C maintenance as well and he said no, too cold. But glad that didn't happen, don't think he would have provided maintenance it but rather upsold me some more. I was dealing with a used car sales man that didn't do a thing for maintenance. Very disappointed as I've had really good experiences in the past.

TLDR: These guys have predatory pricing and will absolutely rob you blind.

Our A/C stopped working in July with temps upwards of 95 degrees. McCarthy had installed our HVAC about 7 years ago, so we called them to figure out the issue. They sent someone else the same day to figure out the issue. He diagnosed a whole bunch of issues, including a gas leak, and said the “quick fix” would cost us in the neighborhood of $2,500. He was not able to fix the issue, and his colleague came out the next day. Tip: never trust the guys who come out with the iPad - they run on commission and are only there to make sales. He (or course) said our best bet would be to replace the HVAC unit and quoted us $14,000. He said if we went with the “quick fix” it would take longer and oh, actually it would cost $4,500, not $2,500 that his colleague quoted the day before. Thank god we got a second opinion, because the HVAC company that WASN’T trying to fleece us fixed the problem the same day for the whopping total of…$450 including parts and labor. The company we went with also said the gas leak was bogus.

STAY AWAY FROM MCCARTHY! They are completely unethical, paid by commission, and only in it to upsell you unnecessarily as much as possible. We have an infant, and I truly believe they tried to pray on our desperation during a heat wave to get us to pay as much as possible.

TLDR: Good techs and service (though possibly overpriced); predatory and dishonest sales tactics.

We used McCarty a few times for emergency service when our A/C died. Their techs were timely, professional, and usually resolved the issues promptly. Costs didn't seem crazy at the time, but I also know nothing about HVAC prices, so it's possible (likely: see below) they were overcharging.

The reason for the 1 star is what happened next:

To get a discount on our most recent service, we signed up for their $20/month plan that comes with free inspections twice a year. During the service, the tech said our (7 year old) system was in decent shape and should have a few more years of effective life. But, during the very first "free" inspection, maybe 4 months later, the "technician" reported a bunch of leaks, corrosion, and other issues and claimed the system could die at any moment. He also claimed that a new system would singlehandedly resolve the temperature imbalance between our floors. He then "conveniently" called up one of their sales guys that, "conveniently", could come to our house that same evening to give us a quote for a new system.

Caught off guard by the apparent urgency of our problem, I agreed to get a quote. The sales guy showed up that evening, took a bunch of measurements, and, after a few iPad slides about modern HVAC technology and the company's high ratings, quoted is $23,000 for the "gold tier" recommended system for our house (the cheapest option was $19K and didn't qualify for the $2000 state energy efficiency credit, so it was an "obvious" choice). Before we knew it, we were signing a 0% financing loan agreement for an install in a few days.

After the sales guy left, we actually had a bit of time to consider and were hesitant about the price. While we were chatting, the sales guy called and said "his manager had a crew looking for work the next day so, to make sure they had a job, he agreed to bring the price down to an apparently much more reasonable $17K, but **only if we did the install the next morning**. We agreed to the lower price.

Between the offer and the install the next day, we had a chance to do a tiny amount of research (including reading some of the other recent reviews of McCarthy that reported similar experiences) and were starting to think we had made a mistake. Fortunately, when the install guy arrived, I had the chance to ask him some questions about the system before starting the install. He was brilliant, explained everything in great detail, and clearly knew what he was talking about, and I'm confident he would have done a great job with the install. But by that point, I came to the conclusion that we should at least get a second opinion on the issues and, if needed, at least one more quote before committing. So we said no and the install team left.

We called Air Treatment in Vienna for a free second opinion. Their tech read the McCarthy tech's summary, inspected everything carefully, and concluded our system was in excellent condition -- I thought the McCarthy guy may have exaggerated some real issues, but it seems he just completely made them up. No leaks, condenser coils were fine, AC compressor and refrigerant was in perfect shape; the whole system was "in better shape than the one he had at home." With regular maintenance, the system should last us at least another 3-4 years without issues. When I asked, he also said they could do inspections and routine maintenance twice a year for almost half the price of McCarthy ($140/year for two inspections). Without hesitation, we immediately cancelled our McCarthy subscription and will not be using them again.

So, in summary, they have good techs and timely service, and they probably do a good job with installs. The price we ultimately arrived at actually seems reasonable, based on other quotes we heard afterwards. But the blatant lying and predatory sales tactics are unacceptable, and we prefer to work with a company we can trust. Use at your own risk!

The technician came directly to see my air conditioning unit, outside my house. After he review the inside of the air unit, he said he didn’t have the Freon for the this unit, and gave different excuses. Despotically, the technician was pushing to sale me a new unit over $10,000 with a persistent unacceptable tone of voice. He didn’t finished the tune-up as they promised because he was upset. Ending he leaving mad because I didn’t accept his bad suggestion.
I do not recommend McCarthy Services for any repair or services.

I was duped by one of the technicians last year--he was a slick talker and convinced me I needed an electronic air filter on my furnace. I received one box of pads/filters to replace every 3-4 months. Sixteen months later I need more pads. I tried to find them online, they do not exist. I asked the technician for them, he says they will be delivered in the next day or two, and that was 3 weeks ago. I've made repeated calls, and while pleasant, I'm told the same each time--it's the parts department. Finally, I get a message that one box, not two, will be delivered, and the box only has 3 filters in it. I really was swindled by the technician. I tried calling Honeywell, using the paper I received at time of installation in June 2024; one number is non-working, the other goes to a completely different company. BUYER BEWARE! While the technicians may perform the system check adequately, be careful about all the products they try to sell you. I've learned my lesson, the hard, expensive way.

Was in Home Depot in June 2025 and accepted a promotion for an AC check up with McCarthy Services. Tech was informative, pleasant and everything went well. December 27 and a burning smell from the furnace! Not good so I called McCarthy and they came out and diagnosed a failed blower. Tech was informative and thorough. He ball parked a $3K parts and labor blower motor replacement cost, for a 2 stage blower. They ARE expensive at about $1,300 just for the part so I did some digging and located my warranty information but, the manufacturer was closed for the weekend. I knew I had a warranty but wasn't sure of the coverage. McCarthy said blower motor wasn't usually covered and never indicated if they could confirm and recommended I meet with a comfort specialist (sales) for a replacement system quote. This made sense for a 9.5 year old furnace if there was no warranty coverage. When we met, I asked about the warranty and zero effort was made regarding the warranty and a new system quote was provided. We needed heat with much colder days approaching and with the legal right to cancel in mind, I signed a contract for replacement. On Monday I got into contact with the manufacturer and CONFIRMED my blower motor was UNDER WARRANTY so I called the sales person and told him to cancel the install. Worked out for me because they were 2 hours behind schedule arriving to start the 8AM install. Leaving out the many calls back to McCarthy to get them to respond to the need for WARRANTY services, it ended up like this. They said they would submit my information to their warranty department and it would take 24 to 48 hours to confirm warranty despite temps dropping from the 40s to the 20s in the following days. They all knew I cancelled the install and have clearly retaliated because, I have not heard back from them, in any regard, and it has been 7 days. I called AllTech Services, they arrived the same day, re-diagnosed the issue, FOR FREE (Free Second Opinion!), and the blower motor was replaced, under warranty, the next day, before 5PM. McCarthy relied on my need for heat, inability to contact the manufacturer for warranty confirmation, convenient timing for them and failure to act in good faith, to sell me a $12K system that I did not need. I told them I was displeased with their approach and they said it would be reported to their quality assurance team for follow up. Another deception. I am grateful that I have some knowledge of HVAC systems because if I didn't, they would have cost me $11K more than I needed to spend to restore heat to my home and, I will never conduct business with or recommend McCarthy for service of any kind, ever.

***Update*** The installer did not install the unit correctly and failed to properly program the air handler control board. As a result, the system ran in only one stage and relied on auxiliary heat for over 12 hours, causing the system to operate inefficiently and incorrectly.

After numerous calls and a return visit from another technician, the issue was finally identified and corrected—resulting in yet another full day without heat.

Quality Assurance promised to follow up with a resolution, but that follow-up never occurred. I have since attempted to contact them multiple times, but their answering service will only take messages and has not connected me with anyone who can address the issue.

I hired McCarthy Services during an HVAC emergency because they were the fastest to respond. Unfortunately, the experience was extremely disappointing.

During installation, the technicians took minimal precautions to protect our home. For a multi-level house, they used only three drop cloths and a vacuum, which was completely inadequate. They cut seven holes into walls and ceilings, leaving dust throughout the house, including on clothing and wrapped gifts. At no point did they ask us to move or protect personal items beforehand.

The lack of care for the living space was unacceptable and created a significant cleanup burden that should not fall on the homeowner.

On top of that, the financing interest rate is a complete rip-off. I regret not waiting an extra day to use Appleton & Campbell, but this was an emergency and McCarthy was the quickest to respond.

We hired this company to unclog our main sewer line. They came out, performed the service, and charged $89. They also ran a camera inspection and mentioned that the line was very dirty and could clog again in the future.
Two weeks later, the line clogged again. I called the same company to come back, and the representative told me there would be no charge since the service had been done recently.
When the technician arrived, he quoted $700 to perform what appeared to be the same procedure that had been done just two weeks earlier, and said there would be no warranty.
This experience was very disappointing. If the initial service was only a temporary fix, that should have been clearly explained from the beginning, along with the proper long-term solution and pricing. Receiving conflicting information and such a drastic price difference for what seems like the same service does not feel right.
I value honesty and transparency in business, and unfortunately, this experience did not reflect that.