"Fuel surcharge" would have looked better on the invoice...
...Ben
Scammer got me Friday.
- Thread starter alwslate
- Start date
...Ben
Tex1001
Member
The reason I went into refrigeration 40 years ago was all of the shysters
in north Texas.
I have followed up on some truly horrible calls.
When people know their stuff and are honest, the world beats a path to
their door. I am a prime example of this.
For your type of call $195 is more than fair in my area.
ETA:
The final bill WAS worded badly.
in north Texas.
I have followed up on some truly horrible calls.
When people know their stuff and are honest, the world beats a path to
their door. I am a prime example of this.
For your type of call $195 is more than fair in my area.
ETA:
The final bill WAS worded badly.
Calling an electrician, HVAC or plumber costs a few hundred at a minimum these days. You pay them for what they know, not necessarily what they do. There is a nationwide shortage of skilled tradesmen. You were treated fairly.
I had the company that installed my unit come out for a spring checkup last year. They said they found a leak in my coil and wanted $2500 to replace it.
I had another company come out and they verified there was absolutely no leak.
Now that would have been a SCAM.
I had another company come out and they verified there was absolutely no leak.
Now that would have been a SCAM.
As a PSA, one may wish to keep an extra capacitor on-hand. $25 for the part that most goes out is cheap insurance and a quick 2-wire fix.
Those prices are reasonable. Most of them won't even charge you a gas bill. They'll just wrap it into the service charge. I'll be honest with you out where I'm at for a rural service charge same day. It starts at 250 not including on-site labor and parts.
I really don't think you got scammed unless your air conditioner isn't working now
I really don't think you got scammed unless your air conditioner isn't working now
Last summer my AC which is only 7 yrs old worked sporadically. I thought it might be thermostat because if I turned it off then on again it worked. Changed thermostat with no luck. Guy came out same day. It was the contacts outside in condenser. Said he could clean them or replace them. Also said you’re being charged a minimum service call so if I replace them you will only pay extra for part. Labor would basically be free. Bill was $265. I didn’t think that was to bad.
I don't see how you got scammed, he correctly identified the issue, repaired the problem and ONLY the problem and charged you what I would consider a reasonable amount. Had he told you you needed a $250.00 part instead of just a simple wiring repair then you would have been scammed.
I was looking for sprinkler service. Saw a truck parked in front of a neighbor’s house for a business. Asked the homeowner if they were happy with the service, said yes.
Waited for the guy to chat-$125 for the call just to come out, $175/hour for any work plus parts, 1 hour minimum. Good gig, might consider coming out of retirement lol.
Waited for the guy to chat-$125 for the call just to come out, $175/hour for any work plus parts, 1 hour minimum. Good gig, might consider coming out of retirement lol.
You're lucky he was honest and didn't say you needed a new compressor. Year before last when I did my A/C start up, breaker was tripped. I found & fixed the problem within a half hour. I also cleaned the coil, which was my main objective.
I only worked on commercial/industrial, but residential for myself! $200 was a heck of a deal. You have A/C now. And keep that phone number.
BTW, $180 for a $30 capacitor is robbery.
I only worked on commercial/industrial, but residential for myself! $200 was a heck of a deal. You have A/C now. And keep that phone number.
BTW, $180 for a $30 capacitor is robbery.
To be honest I never heard about a "gas bill" Living where I do most anything has a mileage charge, well used to that. What we do have up here for want of better terms is a propane zone charge. It is charged depending on how far out you live from the gas company. We are in zone 3, they have 4 zones. Each zone is a little more per gallon delivered.
Same thing for people that use oil which also needs delivering.
"As a PSA, one may wish to keep an extra capacitor on-hand. $25 for the part that most goes out is cheap insurance and a quick 2-wire fix."
I second that vote. Joe
I second that vote. Joe
One of the capacitors failed in my AC unit last summer......it's a Trane, so that is where I went to buy the capacitor............there are two in my unit, so I replaced both of them. I bought both of them for less than $25.00.
I'm sure I paid a huge markup, but I wasn't able to diagnose the problem myself. Replacement looks simple. Mine is also a Trane.
Attachments
I always ask for a estmate for all jobs.
Getting service the same day is a BIG Plus, in these times,
and they usually hit you with a higher rate for the "Emergency" service.
Was the gas $$ writen down on the bill? Seems phoney, ploy to me.
Glad to here you got it fixed.
Getting service the same day is a BIG Plus, in these times,
and they usually hit you with a higher rate for the "Emergency" service.
Was the gas $$ writen down on the bill? Seems phoney, ploy to me.
Glad to here you got it fixed.
Jeff423
US Veteran
FWIW: I had the same issue when I had my unit serviced. I told them not to worry about the Cap. I bought a US made one from Grainger for about $40.00 and replaced it myself.
I do think that people should be fairly paid, but I can't help thinking that service charges are one of the reasons Sharkbite fittings and YouTube videos are so popular.
Last edited:
Think about whatever you did for a living. You were paid for your knowledge and or skills. Same with a tradesman - yes you can acquire the knowledge and skills, but your time has value as well, so you are investing more than just the 40 bucks for the capacitor. I paid 200 bucks for a capacitor replacement and think it was worth the money. If you have the skills, you can save a lot of cash to each their own. As others have stated, I think you paid the going rate.
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