R A Dobson

I won't be doing business with them ever again.

My 7 year old AC unit was not cooling sufficiently so I decided to try R A Dobson (simple google search for AC repair led me to them). I had never used them before. Their service call fee is $125, higher than average for this area (average around $79) but I chose them anyway thinking that their service must be exceptional for that price. It turned out that my unit had a leak and was low on R410 freon. The tech estimated that the unit needed about 4 pounds of freon and suggested I do a leak check on the system to find the leak. I passed on the leak test because 99% of all freon leaks are in the coil and coils are almost never repairable. I own several rental properties and have had leak tests done before, only to be told that the leak is in the coil and can’t be repaired. The tech agreed with my assessment. I wasn’t about to pay a small fortune to have a leak test done. I told the tech to only replace the missing freon since that would temporarily solve my cooling problem for the summer and I will replace the unit in the fall or winter when demand is low and prices are better. The tech quoted me $190 a pound for R410 freon!!! For those that don’t know, R410 freon is NOT being phased out, only the R22 freon is. R410 is supposed to be the cheaper of the two freons. I was extremely upset that R A Dobson was quoting such a high price for the commonly available freon, especially since they already have me for the $125 service call. I refused to buy the freon at this price and only paid the service call. Before the tech left I called two other companies in front of him to get their prices…one sold R410 at $69 a pound and the other sold it for $49 a pound (and their service call fees were much less). In my opinion (and only my opinion) I feel R A Dobson was trying to take advantage of the situation. I called their office the next day and spoke to a Travis Dobson (assuming the owner). I told Travis that charging $190 a pound for R410 freon is ridiculous and grossly inappropriate. At first he tried saying that replacing freon in a leaking system is illegal (this is not illegal, and he apparently has no issue charging $190 to replace it)….but then said charging so high was his cost of doing business. I won’t be doing business with them ever again

Is R A Dobson a legit?

R A Dobson is not running a legit business. They are not aggressive towards customer satisfaction and complaint grievance redressal, Hence 10 consumer[s] submitted negative ratings, and only a few left positive feedback.

Where is R A Dobson located?

R A Dobson is headquarted at Bryant Court 22875 VA US. You can contact R A Dobson by dialing (703) 481-3700 or visit their website radobson.com.

How much monetary loss is incurred by R A Dobson’s customers?

According to R A Dobson’s customers, a monetary loss of US $100 has been reported. The severity of entire incident reports is extremely low.

Write a replay to Johanna Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

10 Reviews on R A Dobson

  1. They are affordable and still provide quality work.

    A little late on this review, but I still felt it was more than necessary to complete! RA Dobson was able to fit us in during the recent “Polar Vortex” to diagnose and replace our broken water heater. As a 2nd generation client, my patents and I have used RA Dobson for all of our plumbing, heating, and air conditioning needs for 40 years!!!

    They are affordable and still provide quality work. Their staff always seems extremely knowledgeable and educates us as to what and why they are preforming a certain repair or replacement.

  2. The work was completed on the schedule that was given us and our home was left as clean as when he arrived.

    I had a home air conditioner replaced yesterday. The fellow who did the work – his name is Edouin (sp?). He did a fine job. He was very careful about covering the entire area through which he would be traveling/working in our house.

    The work was completed on the schedule that was given us and our home was left as clean as when he arrived. We have been with Dobson for many years and have been well satisfied. Over the years they have replaced our water heater, added a gas furnace, replaced two air conditioners and provide us twice annual A/C/Heating system maintenance.

  3. We love our new air conditioning unit and it has run very efficiently.

    We have used them for many years. They have been reliable and the service has been fine. We used them for our townhouse for many years and when we moved to a single family home we used them again.

    The service techs have always been polite and showed up on time for us and even early sometimes. We had to replace our air conditioning system this past spring. We looked at different units and went with one they offered.

    The one we got from them had a rebate and they helped us with processing our rebate on our new system. The rebate came quickly. There was a discrepancy in the rebate and it came in less than quoted and they took care of the difference as well, very quickly and efficiently. Overall our experiences with them have been positive. We love our new air conditioning unit and it has run very efficiently.

  4. I was pleased that I received this quick response.

    My Carrier Infinity dual fuel system (heat pump and propane furnace) went out on me. The thermostat showed a Flame Sensor error, and the furnace was over-heating.

    There was some damage to the interior of the furnace box – melted wires, some other melted components, alot of soot. Dobson came and replaced the entire furnace the next day, and I had a new warranty furnace within 24 hours. I was pleased that I received this quick response.

  5. Never Again

    Although I have had one incident in the past that I was unhappy about, I’ve been with this company for a many years (yearly service contract) and, for the most part, have been very satisfied with them.

    Today I had an AC checkup by Edwuin and Connor and was especially pleased with things that Edwuin brought to my attention.

  6. I would totally refer this company.

    I recently had my very ancient heating and a/c unit replaced by R.A. Dobson and was very pleased with their work. The scheduling office worked me in just a few days after my initial call and the installation guys were top notch.

    I appreciated that they put on their “surgical” booties each time they came into the house and after they were finished, everything was cleaned up.

    I wished they offered a bigger variety payment and financing plans, but that might be more of a ding against the manufacturers than against Dobson.

  7. R.A. Dobson is an extremely professional company.

    R.A. Dobson is an extremely professional company. I had to have my entire HVAC unit replaced and contacted R.A. Dobson for the job. They spent time explaining to me what needed to be done, showed me all options that I could purchase, and helped me make the best decision.

    When they came to install, the team was nothing but professional and courteous, they even come with booties to put over their shoes so they don’t track dirt and dust through your house.

    They are quick to complete the job and thorough in the job. I recently had the company back out for service to the system, they were able to come the same day I called, worked to get the part from a different location, once the problem was diagnosed, and came back later that night to finish the job. It’s clear that customer service is their priority and that they understand the discomfort of having no AC in the heat.

    Oscar, the technician is phenomenal. Great guy, takes time to explain things to you about what he is doing (if you want to know) and makes you feel comfortable and that you’re not getting ripped off in any way. I have recommended this company to many friends and family and would continue to do so!

  8. I would totally refer this company.

    I’ve used Dobson for over 10 years and have always been happy with their service. The technicians have always been prompt, polite, expedient, and explain everything in a knowledgable and honest way. I recently had an issue with one of my ac units where it wasn’t cooling effectively. The tech gave my his ‘best guess’, then went to check out the system.

    He came back in with pictures to show me what he found (his guess was accurate!), and gave me 2-3 options on how to proceed. It was a no-pressure scenario, and he waited patiently while I discussed these options with my spouse. I would totally refer this company.

  9. DO NOT DEAL WITH THEM!

    DO NOT DEAL WITH THEM! They are unreliable and overpriced. The owners are rude and non-responsive…you will wind up paying twice what you should and will STILL not have a working HVAC system.

    I cannot stress enough how you need to go elsewhere….I’ve been in NOVA for over 30 years and the more I talk to people who have used this company before, the more I realize I never should have called in the first place! They have a horrible reputation….stay away!

  10. R A Dobson Is Scam.

    Not a single good thing to say about these guys – poor knowledge, constantly up selling, overcharging, and using scare tactics.

    Couldn’t find the issue (after my dad, a retired field technician, had already figured it out and told them), claimed he needed to reinstall our thermostat for an additional $135 (no rewiring, just reinstalling), quoted us 50% over the cost of a replacement furnace that we got from another technician,

    and after the furnace cut out 48 hours after the first visit, then quoted 3 times the cost of a replacement part that they found was the issue (what my dad originally found himself) also claiming we now had a gas leak and needed to install a kit instead.

Reviews: 10
Reported Loss : 100 $
Severity : Extremely Low
Reported by : Anonymous
Views :