The case is a reminder for contractors across the industry: Emergency calls may present sales opportunities, but misrepresentation and pressure carry real legal risk. 

Curtis Total Service agreed to pay restitution and penalties following a June 2022 lawsuit alleging technicians pushed unnecessary system replacements, altered contracts, and misrepresented financing terms during in-home service visits.  

Recent news on the case’s settlement after the late-spring 2026 trial completion outlines the importance of HVAC service teams’ adherence to professional ethics on-site.  

Complaint Focused on Pressure, Misrepresentation 

According to the state, technicians used fear-based messaging and urgency to drive sales during service calls. 

“Curtis Total Service used fear and deception to pressure consumers into expensive and often unnecessary HVAC purchases,” Attorney General Dave Sunday said in a statement. 

The lawsuit alleged the company: 

• Pressured homeowners into replacing systems that could have been repaired 

• Had customers sign incomplete or blank contracts 

• Altered contract terms after signatures were obtained 

• Misrepresented financing details and cancellation rights. 

Investigators also said customers were threatened with legal action when attempting to cancel agreements — a direct violation of consumer protection laws governing home improvement contracts. 

The case was outlined on the state’s website. 

Testimony Highlights Real-World Impact 

Trial testimony painted a clear picture of how these tactics played out in the field. 

One homeowner, an 85-year-old woman, testified she called for a routine furnace repair but was told her system could “blow up at any second.” She said she signed a blank contract on the spot under pressure. 

She later learned the installed system cost more than three times the amount she believed she had agreed to, with financing documents allegedly containing falsified income information. 

In another case, a 90-year-old man said he called about a cleaning promotion but instead had his HVAC system removed without consent and was pressured into a $29,000 replacement contract. 

The company agreed to settle after about a week of trial testimony, including multiple consumer accounts. 

Settlement Imposes Strict Operating Limits 

The agreement places significant restrictions on how the company can operate moving forward. 

Key prohibitions include: 

• Recommending unnecessary repairs or system replacements 

• Using misleading advertising 

• Performing work without upfront pricing and written approval 

• Having customers sign incomplete documents 

• Misrepresenting mold findings without lab confirmation 

• Blocking or misrepresenting cancellation rights 

The settlement also bars former field supervisor Matthew Price from management or sales roles in Pennsylvania HVAC companies for eight years and permanently prohibits him from handling financing for nonfamily customers.  

Manager Richard Price faces additional documentation and oversight requirements and is barred from HVAC ownership in the state for five years. 

Ethics Are a Business Issue 

For contractors, the takeaway goes beyond compliance. Cases like this reinforce that HVAC is not just a technical trade — it’s a trust-based, in-home service business.  

The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) publishes industry standards, including a Code of Ethics addressing honesty, transparency, and sales conduct during service calls.  

While the organization is best known for technical standards developed through an American National Standards Institute-based consensus process, it also emphasizes ethical business practices. 

When that trust erodes, legal action follows. 

Industry groups have long emphasized that point. Alongside its technical standards, the association maintains a Code of Ethics that directly addresses sales conduct during service calls. 

Core expectations include: 

• Selling based on verified need, not pressure 

• Providing accurate system assessments and load calculations 

• Following all consumer protection laws 

• Avoiding “manufactured” work designed to inflate tickets 

Programs like ACCA’s Quality Assured Accreditation and Quality Installation certificates are designed to give contractors a way to document that work is legitimate, properly designed, and necessary. 

Through its industry training programs and resources, the ACCA advocates for a consultative, advisor-based sales approach over transactional pressure; contractors should act as expert advisors who collaborate with the client, focusing on long-term relationships rather than high-pressure to close sales.

The Code of Ethics is outlined in ACCA’s state-specific allied contracting organization programs for members. 

The Bottom Line 

This case underscores that regulators are paying closer attention to what happens inside the home during HVAC service calls, but only after complaints have been raised — and for many homeowners, after their already precarious finances have been targeted. 

For contractors, the message is straightforward — technical expertise alone isn’t enough. Sales practices, documentation, and transparency are now just as critical to staying in business as installing the equipment correctly.