lol my boss for sure would have just reconnected the wires and probably only charge them like 50 dollars. it feels great to know you work for an honest company
That's why community facebook groups are so useful, Ask a friend or neighbor for an honest repairmen , Don't just google it , that's how you get scammed
@@ScattMatt3000 right, they get ripped off just the same as their friend. Just get multiple bids and opinions and let each company know that's what you're doing
I'm an HVAC tech, and the owner of the company made it clear right off the bat that we are a purely honest business. Being honest feels better and is far easier than to lie. All it takes is one well articulated terrible review to crush a contractor. Especially in a small town. The bad ones get reviewed out of work.
@@plainrock-ik3se but they don’t!! Cause a company can have 100% shitty reviews and still sell just as much product!! Review don’t count or hurt anyone.
I am an honest hvac tech, I would never do this to a customer, when you are honest you will have a customer for life and his friends and family as well. I would of connected the wire and charged him/her 85.00 and that’s my service call fee inspection.
As an HVAC tech of 14 years I find it hard to believe the first company quoting $500 to fix the unit without even looking at it. What if there was a bad compressor? That would run the company $1,500 or more to get a new compressor.
100% bullshit on the first. I'm in HVAC also and that shit doesn't make any sense. You don't randomly throw parts at equipment without even trying to diagnose something. Plus, he would have spent less time just looking at the condenser anyways. Hurr Durr, push contactor pin in and omg everything runs, cool, it's a low voltage problem.
Pretty easy to tell from tstat if the air handler turns on and no cooling it’s likely at the condenser. Faulty contacter probably. Not saying what they did was right but a technician of 14 years should piece this together.
@@bigbreastedcat2440 dude the compressor is in the condenser. Without looking at the condenser u have no clue whether it’s a contactor or capacitor or a compressor or a pressure switch or a defrost board or whatever is wrong without looking at the condenser.
Jeff Miles agreed in a tiny square thats going to recirculate the condenser air thus causing high pressure prone to tripping on high pressure on a warm day!
Still not a real tech until you get field hours, you trade school girls are really just wannabes until you actually get out in the field. Sorry, not sorry.
My old company we were told to release some freon during the winter so when summer came along the unit would not cool properly and we would get called out and charge them to fill it back up. I quit that place so quick.
And who pays for that workers school. We pay doctors thousands of dollars to prescribe us allergy meds. Guess people think air conditioning is a right. I payed a guy 200.00 just to replace a capacitor that costs $20.00 but I didn’t know what that was the problem and my guy came out on a Sunday to make sure the I had ac for my wife and infant son. Thats worth it to me.
David By paying for their schooling we are admitting defeat to socialism. Doctors and AC repair shouldn't be so overpriced. You chose your profession. Not my problem. I need a professional. Not you specifically. People need to stop expecting others to fork up money for their bad decisions
Inflation of medical and prescriptions are due to greed and insurance companies. Imo. However , it's not like doctors don't pay for school too. They also are there longer than a 2 yr tech school, and have potential loans in the hundreds of thousands. So you get paid "relatively" to what you put in. Not all the time, but most.
poo I choose my profession and I'll chose my prices. If you don't like it do without. Or get someone who will destroy your system then call someone like me to fix it.
A container ship's engine fails. The ship's owner brings in expert after expert. No one can figure out what is wrong with the engine. Finally they bring in afrail old man who has been repairing ships his entire life. The man inspects the engine from top to bottom. Then he takes a small hammer from his tool bag and taps something. The engine roars to life. A week later the ship's owner receives an invoice for $10,000. "WHAT?" he exclaims. How can this be. He barely did anything. The owner demand the man send him an itemized bill. The man sends a new bill. It reads: Tapping with a hammer......$2.00 Knowing where to tap.........$9,998.00
this video hit very close to home b/c we just had the same problem a month ago. AC went out after a power outage and had 2 people come, the first one said need replace will be like 7k, 2nd person said 15K for replacement. wow. i was devastated but thank god, I found paperwork on the original installation 10 yrs ago (only lived here 2 yrs) and called them. He even remembered this address and was super helpful, proffesional and only charged $168...to repair, i know most likely will need replace soon and will call HOT n Cold air conditioning here in Riverside. It should not be a shock when we receive good customer service, but it seems nowadays it is a shock b/c honest people are so rare and is so sad.
that's insanely common with HVAC. unless it's a pretty new unit that that company installed they will almost ALWAYS claim the entire unit needs to be replaced. the usual excuse is that they can't get parts for it because it's too old (age doesn't seem to actually matter here) yet literally 2 seconds on google will find you the part that's still very much in production.
@@andyv4585 In my experience the only parts that become obsolete are coils because when the manufacturer stops making them you can't find a retrofit that would match up. The other possibility is the manufacturer still makes it but they want 2k for it or something ridiculous and it makes more sense to replace for 5-6k than repair an old system for 3k. Usually when that happens the unit is 20+ years old though.
i seen that happen once. my grandmother had new ac put into her house and once day her ac was working, found out someone cut the wires or untie the wires. i went out there to check it out and it started up. they already screwed her out of lots of money and now they wanted more. i made sure that it never comes apart again and told them if i ever catch them doing that again, i’m reporting them
I was a master automotive tech for years. Sometimes a whole service dept is corrupt, sometimes it's just one person who hasn't been weeded out. Oh the eye openers I could give you! An incompetent tech takes just as much money out of your pocket, as more labor and parts are charged, things misdiagnosed. The arm patch or certification means nothing.
I’ve been a union electrician for 12 years and I I see an easy fix I usually charge them nothing, unless it’s more then a 30min drive then I have to get a service all fee. But that would only be $75
First you have a service charge to show up and diagnose the problem, $90 where I’m from, that’s a legit charge. Then whatever they charge to fix it. I’d hook that low voltage wire up no charge and give them a refrigerator magnet business card and tell them to call me when they have a real problem and hopefully make a customer for life. I tell people if you are hiring a legit professional it’s $75 if he just slows down in front of the house and $100 if he actually does some work. If you need a capacitor, and yes every tech worth a $1 still checks them, $90 service charge, $40-50 for the capacitor, yes he makes $20 on it but he stocks it on the truck and installs it so you are looking at $140-150. Any good one around here will clean the condensate drain, check the charge and hose down the condenser either no charge or no more than another $20 labor. Anything under $200 for that call is money well spent. A major cleaning with coil cleaner will be extra. The other complaint I hear people say if “It was $200 to put a hard start kit on my a/c!” Then go on to say I can but one on amazon for $10! He showed up, checked the unit out and if he is worth his salt he put a hard start kit on it that is to Factory specs and cost him $75. He installed it and brought that compressor back from the dead! If he was a con artist he would have just said the compressor won’t start and you need a new unit. He goes on to check the charge and hose down the condenser coil too. $200 is money well spent and if it’s a big company it’s probably more. Tools, Trucks and Insurance isn’t cheap guys. The con artists shown were awful but don’t paint a trained professional trying to make an honest living with the same brush.
That’s what happens when techs get paid commission and then the managers tell them to up sale and if your numbers aren’t looking good then u don’t get hours.
I learned to fix most things in my house, including cars by watching RU-vid videos. I learned how to coat my roof. I haven't had a service/repair man come to my house in 16 years. Thanks RU-vid.
I’m so tired with ac service here in Houston. How much I spent and nothing works. My ac units and insulation disappeared under no data iPad contract. How I’m tired.
RU-vid can be good at times. I have used some of the instruction videos myself. However be careful as not all of them are good or show how to do the correct repair for the job. Remember, there's the quick fix and the right fix; those two do not always coincide.
I work in HVAC and i agree that if something breaks in your home you should always take a look at it and see if you can fix it yourself. (unless youre renting and dont have to pay for it to be fixed lol) you will obviously save a lot of money if you can do it yourself and some things like replacing a water heater is very simple and most people could do it without a problem. however, i have definitely seen some things in the field that were too difficult for your average person to diagnose/repair, and would require a professional
@@wagner55 It's more like 360 to 440 volts RMS with Air Conditioning because the capacitive reactance in an AC circuit... Capacitance current leads voltage by 90 degrees. Simply put it is another wave-form out of phase on an oscilloscope if you looked at the sine wave. A meter will show an RMS well over 300 volts. Specifically, this wave-form being out of phase charges and discharges as the alternating current flips polarity 60 cycles per second. Sometimes it is additive voltage. Overall RMS is hihger!
I was just charged $1965.00 for coil cleaning from Air Zone. I wish you could catch this company and put them out of business. I’m a 72 year old widow in Florida. They were very rude and intimidating too. Threatened to put a Lean my house if I didn’t pay immediately. I have Choice Home Warranty and I had an appointment with my agent to discuss the problem. The company harassed and intimidated me over waiting 2 days for payment.
If the company you call has a 20$ maintenance or 50$ diagnostic fee you can be sure they're going to lie. $120 is around going price for a larger company that is honest. You get what you pay for in anything and everything in this world.
hvac Tech not true. some companies are based out of impoverished areas and their rate is lower as a result. i know because i work for one. we’re 50 and hour and 75 an hour on OT. my colleagues and i don’t rip people off. that is why we’ve been in business for 72 years.
I think more news should go do these types of stories...or at least have a segment on it...keeping companies honest. I think more people would watch.....
Few years back the AC was checked, for a reasonable price. The AC is on the roof of terrace. I went in the house. He came down telling to just set the termostat higher and went to the car. From the house I heard rattling from the AC. Called the guy back. He wanted to restart a diagnostic ($89). I got up, put my ear on the unit and found out that he loosend a screw of the cover. Never called him again!
I know this by experience one way to cut back on some of that is to follow them out hang around where they're working because it slows them down on really messing with things or like that first not doing anything because they're being watched and I always do it and I always look up just enough information where I can talk just enough for they think I know enough to know if there playing me or not
I've noticed people like to cheat others in all professions. Cops, lawyers, doctors, trade service techs. Lawyers literally wrote a language within a language to perform this task.
Jonathan Koehler lol really doesn't work!? I'm already assuming you don't know much about ac...because you called us out!? And watchin me work does sometimes slow us down! (Sometimes we have more than 6-8 houses to check?!) So slowing us down is hurting you & others!? Building trust is good! I'm pretty fast at diagnosing problems! You'd probably think I charge too much because I make it look easy!? Example: call comes in not blowing cold air... since customer went in attic & changed filter!? Ok I show up go into attic & find emergency pan float switch tripped..... Or system doesn't work at all now?! I go into attic & find the light switch off(furnace switch thought was a light switch!?)! Or not cooling.... find gas furnace combustion door & the blower door vice versa!?😂🤣 Pulling hot air into the system from the attic.🙄 Tripped breaker from thunder storm, dirty condenser coil from lawn service or homeowner cutting grass into the unit etc... List goes on! Puppy biting control wires outside (rodents too))... The stories I could tell! But I can tell ya this... no two houses have the same problem all the time.... ac repair is a job & an adventure!!! You go inside the problems outside or opposite! But yeah need to follow some of these goons because they're making it harder on the good guys!!!!
Scammers , as HVAC technician this is appalling. A lot of company’s don’t offer service contracts and their techs make a bonus on what they sell . That’s the reason for these scammers !!!!!
I noticed most of them were middle eastern or Russian/ former USSR States. When I still lived in L.A. a Russian refrigerator repair guy tried to charge my parents $300 for a new part he never installed. I told him i'm only paying for the service call. He threatened us with the cops. When I called his bluff he got upset and decided not to even charge for the call. I came to find out that he had a history of ripping people off and constantly changing his business name. During his visit, he had 5 different names between his invoice, business cards and the magnetic signs on his van.
My furnace would try to start up but, would not stay running. The inducer fan was making a lot of noise. I called the warranty company that I have through my mortgage. They sent our a technician from a local company. To make a very long story short the technician said that I need a new furnace. He said the insurance company would be in touch with me. I did some minor research. Turns out all my furnace needed was a new inducer fan. I ordered it and installed it myself. It's so sad that you basically can not anyone these days because all they care about is making sale.
Your expert said 200$ the old man said 322. Which isn’t so bad if you really needed it. But 122$ more that like buying a car you win some you lose some.
Pheezy420 REEFER I worked for a company! They told me to take a new condenser & pad to the site/house! I asked the tech at the house what was wrong with the old unit/outdoor ac! He said they've had problems with it in the past!? I noticed the dual capacitor was missing!!!! Ok we took unit out & put the new one in! I got suspicious & unloaded the old unit at my house!!! Powered it up with a new capacitor on my basement system!!! It worked with no problems whatsoever!!!! That customer was lied to by the tech & probably the owner too!!!!! Could have been repaired for 200! Instead of prob $1500-1800 dollar outdoor install!!!! Later I was laid off the job.... obviously because I was too honest! But there Day will come!
Orlando Johnson I’m not saying people don’t get ripped off all the time, in that case that’s fucked up. Making some one buy a new unit for a simple fix. And you should open your own company cause if you want to help people out that will be the best way. And people have to get educated on things like that so we don’t get ripped off.
@@stylez1989 that’s not how you would ask that You know the size/microfarad from the capacitor it’s usually on there you check it with a meter to see if it’s good or not
It always depends on how much rich the customer is and how much greedy the service provider is. The same guy might do it for free for someone who doesn't look in good financial situation.
I had a service company that my repair plan sent out because the fan wouldn't start and he said I needed a new fan motor, so I said just change the capacitor and it started. WTF.
People complaining about 200, there’s a minimum charge. With good companies a customer knows this and must accept that fact before the tech even goes to the call.
It’s a good idea to watch what they are doing and ask questions about what they are doing. Unless they are already telling you what they are doing. Or just get home warranty pay a small deductible and that’s it.
I lived in an American resident where ever thing was covered under rent. So I was charged 800$ for my water heater that leaked. But like I said it was covered in rent so I didn't have to pay.
If it’s a simple fix why did that adult have to call another adult to do it for him ? The difficulty of a job does not determine a price supply and demand does 🤷♂️
I'm an HVAC tech and I don't understand the situation with the first guy. How could they come to a call and not even look at the outdoor unit and then make up a $500 solution to fix the problem? What if the compressor was burnt out and totally dead? What would they do then? That seemed very weird to me... On a side note, I work as a service tech and only fix what needs to be fixed. I may inform the client of something else that should possibly be replaced for future maintenance to save problems down the line, but I'm outright honest on what needs to be done, what should be done, and offer advice on how to keep the unit lasting as long as possible. I've been more than busy enough to do my job properly than to find any ways to cheat business' or residential customers out of money by being a crook.
Main issue why units brake is because filters get dirty and people don’t change them. Also if you don’t have allergies use the plain cheapest filters for better air circulation, just remember change those filters once a month and it will save you money on the long run.
Yeah if techs wanna get paid enough money to make this job worth it than the prices are legit, we pay alot of money for schooling to be able to do this job.
I'm an air conditioning tech. Even I might have misdiagnosed the problem to be a bad condensing fan motor. I hate hidden splices. Wire nuts come apart all the time.
Dude. It's the thermostat wire where it comes into the condenser. Thats hardly hidden. Secondly. If your gonna jump straight to fan motor which is stupid spin it. See if it's locked up. No condenser fan. Check power at connections. Got power. Check. capacitor. Work your way to the fan not from the fan backwards. Holy shit where you people getting your training?
@@robertfox977 Thirty-five years ago when I was in the A/C business, many people that I worked with had little or no training. I worked with one guy who didn't know how to flush out the refrigerant lines properly after a compressor burn out. I showed him how to do it correctly. That guy sold more condensing units that anybody else. He would try to scare senior citizens and women by telling them their A/C compressor was going to fail very soon.
@@robertfox977 : RU-vid?! Ok, ok, just kidding! I see the point, HVAC guys have to eat also. Best thing to do... if you aresmart and inclined to lear, instead of watching TV. take the time and learn how to repear a focet, then a toilet flusher. In no time you can fix most things in the house. AC or Heating essues ? Lear by heart the installation and trouble shooting manual of your AC, and during the summer, the manuals of the heathing system. At least, you would know if your ar lied to or not!
Very true. It's happening with me now. Two technicians came are saying it's an old unit HVAC. Has to be replaced. First one said it will cost me 17000dollars and second one said it will cost me 25000follars. I said I will replace it with window units. It's sad they want to make money as we don't know a thing about the air conditioner. Very sad.
As a senior service technician for more than 22 years I always train on honesty, the issues I am seeing is poor training of basic operation's. On any service call the first thing to do is talk with the home owner listen and understand the issues. Number 2 go to the thermostat turn it to cool and Waite for the blower to come on, if indoor blower is working that tells you there is an electrical issue outside. Go to the outdoor unit and open electrical compartment for the unit and low and behold there is the issue. on a simple basic repair i would have charged the diagnostic fee and nothing more. honesty is always the best polacey.
Take the time to learn your system. RU-vid has a video for just about any problem, but know your system and question these technicians about their diagnosis - make them prove it, don't just take their word for it. You will save yourself a lot of money.
So, the honest contractor is supposed to charge $80 that includes gas, insurance, travel time, licensing fees,taxes etc , but a bungalow in California can cost $1 million. The problem I saw is awful lack of moral and qualification/knowledge. The first guys definitely didn't have a clue about HVAC and were a pure scam artists.
Not A/C but one time my my wife called me while I was at work and said the well pump quit pumping water. so I picked up a new pressure switch as they had gone bad in years past. Replaced the switch, plenty of water, then I noticed something weird. A chinese stink bug had somehow gotten onto one of the contacts of the old switch and was cooked in place. Didn't see the cooked delicacy when the switch was still mounted on the pump. Another anomaly on the farm!
For those of you who said you would stick the wire back on and no charge; What if you had 5 calls all the same way? So you drive 100 miles and repair 5 systems all day for free? That's foolish on two accounts. 1. You're business runs on money/profit. If you feel you don't need the money, then work for free and then file bankruptcy, then you can have all the free time you need because your out of work. That does your customer no good. 2. If all you do is stick that wire back on and leave, you have done the customer a great disservice! You are already there- check the refrigerant, wash the condenser, check and treat the drain, test the other controls and ask if there are any other problems as an example. Then charge for your time. The customer will be happy to pay because they see that you actually cared enough to see that their system is operating as it should! Are you a service company or just a quick money collector.? Oh, and for petes sake; Wear nicer clothes! This is a respectable technical trade! Honestly- Old T-shirts, baggy pants? Have some respect for the business! You are going into peoples homes! You represent the company! I wouldn't have let any of you in my house looking like a homeless person! I've been at this trade for 46 years- todays so called technicians are an embarrassment!
