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I agree. It's not the fault of the homeowner - he or she may be naive or simply not be experienced with how the repair industry works. But the company SHOULD understand ethical business practices in their own industry, which includes giving quotes and not ripping people off.
I agree, but, given the circumstances, it sounds like the company is experienced in this type of ripoff and also with the lien collection process. If this is the case, they also likely have a track record with the BBB and other consumer affairs organizations.
It's time to have an attorney examine the work authorization document/s for any loopholes ... and advice on how to proceed. (As long as you still have the money, you retain 'some' negotiation leverage -- so, do not pay the bill until advised to do so!)
Our HVAC was broken and a HVAC team came to fix it.
It turned out that the leakage refrigeration leak caused the problem and they installed a new refrigeration line. Before the technician started, we asked the estimated quote but they were unable to provide the estimation as they don't know how difficult it could be.
Once the work was done, we received bill for $5700 and $4000 is for labor only. It's a robbery, they did not give us the quote and eventually billed us that expensive? If we know that we won't spent $6000 buck for a fix of 10 years old HVAC, I can replace a new one with $2000 more! Is there any way I can argu?
OP, it would be really helpful if you could tell us how they ITEMIZED the parts and labor. How many hours went into that $4,000 for labor? Even if the labor charge is $100/hour -- which seems high -- that would be 40 hours of work or an entire WEEK of 8-hour days. Seems like you would have mentioned if they were there for an entire week?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Electrician4you
He most likely signed a time material billing. I never do T&M billing anymore. If you can’t give a bid price I’m moving in to someone else. Lots of people give T&M then they milk that clock. F that.
My experiences have been the OPPOSITE -- I get ripped off with "bid price" billing. With T&M billing I can clearly see how many hours they are there at my house working (not that I hover -- I have generally had excellent T&M workers who do not pad their bills), and I usually buy the materials myself (at least the big items, e.g. a beam or a vanity or whatever). With "bid price" they overcharge by at least 50% and often 100% or more IN CASE there are any "problems" -- but again, my experience at least has been that there HAVEN'T been time-consuming problems. So no thanks.
In any case, I don't think this was T&M since the OP would have NOTICED if the workers had been there for a whole week. But the OP hasn't been back so we will likely never know.
I agree. It's not the fault of the homeowner - he or she may be naive or simply not be experienced with how the repair industry works. But the company SHOULD understand ethical business practices in their own industry, which includes giving quotes and not ripping people off.
Sorry but being naive or inexperienced doesn’t mean much. Yes the company SHOULD have ethical business practices but a lot of them don’t.
That being said, wouldn’t you think by accepting a offer to do work without getting a actual price is like handing a signed blank check to a person. I mean at some point didn’t op say gee I wonder what this is gonna cost. Or did he assume eh it’s gonna be a couple of hundred bucks.
Sorry but with all the damn information, the expose tv shows and the news of companies screwing people there is no excuse to be naive anymore. Even if you lightly peruse CD you will see plenty of “don't do that” posts
I have a handyman, plumber, electrician, tile guy that can step in. As far as AC I have a few guys at work who will step in. Otherwise I’ll take bids and I’ll look everything over.
Anyone giving me a “we can’t bid this job” basically gets a good bye wave
How did HE mess up? You could just as easily say the HVAC people messed up for not getting anything in writing. They are both in the same boat. The job is done, and neither one knows what is owed.
What do you mean, "neither one knows what is owed"? The OP got a bill when the job was completed. The company knows what is owed. The OP is looking to dispute the bill.
Sorry but being naive or inexperienced doesn’t mean much. Yes the company SHOULD have ethical business practices but a lot of them don’t.
That being said, wouldn’t you think by accepting a offer to do work without getting a actual price is like handing a signed blank check to a person. I mean at some point didn’t op say gee I wonder what this is gonna cost. Or did he assume eh it’s gonna be a couple of hundred bucks.
Sorry but with all the damn information, the expose tv shows and the news of companies screwing people there is no excuse to be naive anymore. Even if you lightly peruse CD you will see plenty of “don't do that” posts
I have a handyman, plumber, electrician, tile guy that can step in. As far as AC I have a few guys at work who will step in. Otherwise I’ll take bids and I’ll look everything over.
Anyone giving me a “we can’t bid this job” basically gets a good bye wave
Yes. I agree. But, clearly by your screen name, you are in the industry so you may be a little biased.
In my profession, I don't expect people to know the ins-and-outs of the livestock transportation industry, and that's why I'm the expert that is there to inform them. That's why experts exist - so lay people have someone to turn to for help and information.
We don't know the OP's situation. Myself, for example, I would like to think that I know enough about this stuff to get a quote. But I live in a tiny little town, so one quote may be all that I could get, and I personally would have no idea if that quote is reasonable or not in my area, be cause I'm NOT an expert in this industry - and I don't really have the time or interest in becoming an expert in the home repair industry.
My point is that the OP may be to blame for being naive, but the person he hired is much MORE to blame for ripping the OP off, because he clearly did it knowingly.
Yes. I agree. But, clearly by your screen name, you are in the industry so you may be a little biased.
In my profession, I don't expect people to know the ins-and-outs of the livestock transportation industry, and that's why I'm the expert that is there to inform them. That's why experts exist - so lay people have someone to turn to for help and information.
We don't know the OP's situation. Myself, for example, I would like to think that I know enough about this stuff to get a quote. But I live in a tiny little town, so one quote may be all that I could get, and I personally would have no idea if that quote is reasonable or not in my area, be cause I'm NOT an expert in this industry - and I don't really have the time or interest in becoming an expert in the home repair industry.
My point is that the OP may be to blame for being naive, but the person he hired is much MORE to blame for ripping the OP off, because he clearly did it knowingly.
Especially when you consider that it's a 10 year old furnace... you'd think they would say the cost isn't worth the fix and they would be better off buying new... Blame the repair company, not the OP.
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