Jacko, you’re wrong. This guys a Saint. I don’t care what you think about respect-you’re ideas are twisted. I would have called the police on the thief and pressed charges. Plus, you talk too much. Has anyone ever told you that?
@@jockoharpo2622 While I stand by, you make excellent points for baiting and exposing the previous tech. I am not in HVAC; however, I have worked in marketing and know that say and proving why your company is better than the competition without tearing down the completion is better in the long term for customer retention.
Hi Steve..I’m a retired fitter/plumber,We were a multi generational mechanical Corp,started by grandfather..In the business all those years in amazed me at the things some contractors did to elderly and gullible people.I seen guys basically rob customers,they should have carried a gun not a pipe wrench.I never ever robbed anyone,my dad and grandfather ALWAYS stressed a fair days work for a fair days pay.I could never take advantage of people and because of that we made a great living
I am currently in school and am interested in becoming an HVAC tech in the future. I believe the number 1 rule in the business of HVAC is to not cheat people money, as it will just most likely just come back on you in a really bad way.
I had a plumber look at my 20 yo gas hot water service, the water was coming out lukewarm and I suspected the brass mixing valve. I told the guy to replace it and it was fine but he told me the hot water service is on it’s last legs and needed to be replaced and I had only a year or so left in it. He was more interested in replacing the hot water service and his business model is convincing old people to replacing their gas appliances. He already condemmned my gas heater without looking at it.
@@aday1637 I don`t think that the owner said that besides if a repairman refused to fix my system simply because it was oversize , I`d run him off my property....lol
@@aday1637 you don’t cut out parts of a system and not replace them just because it’s oversized. If a unit is not working then you fix it. If it’s oversized then you have a discussion with the customer about upgrading. And still, the customer has to agree to replacing the unit before just doing so.
Thank goodness the gentleman called Steve for another opinion. My elderly parents are the same way - they just want to go along and don't like to make waves. Watching TV and going to bed early is more important - and much less stressful - than a face-to-face confrontation when someone is ripping them off. You get a gold star for this one Steve.
The service company let the refrigerant out of my Grandmother's unit, and then tried to sell her a new unit. She asked me to take a look at it. I cleaned the condenser coil (the root cause of issues), recharged it and trimmed the charge, re-insulated about 5 feet of the suction line. That was 35 years ago. She since has passed away, but the unit is still running and hasn't been charged since. A 1974 Sears Amana. You do good work, Steve.
@@mctransportation9831 I had a similar RUUD unit (3 ton) installed in my folks house back in 1993 or so. It's had a few parts replaced, but is still running! Meanwhile the builder grade stuff on our townhomes (mine and neighbors) would die after 10 years or less. Most had been replaced by 2013. The indoor coils would get bad leaks. Even when new, the expansion valves would leak within the first year or two (fortunately covered by builder warranty). They were R-22 systems too, so limited options other than replacing it. R-22 recharging was getting very expensive! The newer models (a step up from builder grade) seem to be pretty good, even if they stayed with the same manufacturer. They were from one of the major manufacturers, so not sure if they always had coil problems and now use aluminum coils or what.
@@rodhoutx i had a ruud built in 1994 in the house i just sold. I was there 14 summers and right before I Ieft, I had to replace an interior blower motor. That's it. The part was $300. What is a builder model? Im assuming that something cheap that builder use to cut corners.
@@mctransportation9831 It's just going to be cheapest models bought in bulk. It was really probably just those particular models in that time period. I actually remember now that I had that same looking model at a house I bought in 1997 (not a new home). The compressors would get louder over time, noise and rattles, but that used to be pretty typical. Though my dad's RUUD is still pretty much the same noise level even 20+ years later. But when I've seen the newer models and replacements 10 years later (same brand) they were so much quieter and still run quiet many years later, so I think they redesigned all their models. Even my dad's neighbor had one of them installed about 7-10 years ago, and it still looks and sounds like new (it faces my dad's unit), and is still the lower end model. It was just interesting walking through my neighborhood (built in same time period, same builder) and slowly see all the units get changed out so soon. They would have all been R-22 units, so the phase out probably played a major role in forcing replacement if they kept having leaks.
if you find an honest capable plumber, hold onto them until they retire, and then ask them who to trust afterward. Just like you would with a good doctor or trustworthy mechanic.
@@jockoharpo2622 tech is changing just like the electric vehicle will replace internal combustion what you do will be replaced or heavily altered in your lifetime. back to the future is finally your reality!
@@jockoharpo2622 All of that is true, but Steve just isn't the kind of guy with a heart of glass or a heart of stone. He's not hanging around in a dead-end town
@@jockoharpo2622 LOL I got it, I'm an 80's kid. I was riffing on the last verse: You got a heart of glass or a heart of stone? Just you wait ’til I get you home We’ve got no future, we’ve got no past Here today, built to last In every city, in every nation from Lake Geneva to the Finland station
Not only the older folks. I had one a few years ago, young single mom, a competitor told her the condenser fan motor was bad and the unit was in poor shape. Unit was in decent shape, after a new run capacitor, it worked fine. Had it up and running by the time her dad got there. Boy was he pissed 😡. Some people just don't have a conscious, I guess. Good post, Steve.
When I first started out 20 some years ago as an installer , I worked for a company that had several service guys we called "sales techs". We were taking out 8-9 year old furnaces because of "cracked heat exchangers". Never found a crack after pulling out the furnace. It was always old people. I had grandparents that age, so it pissed me off. I got out of that place pretty quickly.
I got an apology from a sizeable HVAC company when I caught one of their techs lying about a cracked heat exchanger, many years ago. I got a second opinion, and everything was fine. So I switched my maintenance service to those guys. I'm always suspicious of AC coolant leaks that they're somehow unable to find too, but those are harder to prove as scams to sell you an expensive new unit.
I worked for a company like that. Pushed me to sell everything under the sun. I switched to install and it got a bit better, but then I found we were pulling out similar units to you, 8-9 yrs old, and the same with the "sales techs". That company has salesmen with tool bags. I'm glad I left that company.
This is our country today...full of scammer and ripoff artists...I do bee removals in Baltimore and there are several scammer/ripoff artists here fleecing people who are scared by bees and charging them 3 or 4 times what I charge for an honest days work.
Oh but when large banks lend you cheap money with no down payment require to buy a house and a few years later the interest on the money goes up and you are force to foreclose, it’s your own fault and should done your own research, buddy.
@@patrickmccarthy5617 Buddy, I read everything before I sign ANYTHING...only a complete jackass signs their lives away without understanding WTF they are doing
Don't hold your breath...they are why idiots like him are licensed (if he is) and insured etc. No one follows up on the licensees unless there are complaints which usually tend to be too late to help out those already damaged, taken, scamed etc.
I own a home improvement business and I am a licensed home inspector in North Carolina and I see this kind of crap often I have my first customer from 19 years ago and all because I'm honest.
Its commendable you were willing to expose this attempted theft These people are are so feeble they cant comprehend the fraud that was attempted on them. This guy needs to be prosecuted and barred from hvac service.
No one is perfect, I wish I had Steve in my area, I would call him in a heart beat. Thanks Steve for all the videos. As a homeowner I know a swear and carry on when I am fixing stuff, I have watched a few of Steve's videos and he is very tame as compared to me. All in all I think he is a good guy educating the public , Thank You Mr Lavimoniere . That being said I have turned over a new leaf, and plan on changing my ways about carrying on and swearing when I am trying to fix something , So thank you all for pointing that out. One more thing......Nice Dog
@@tommycabanaw4875 they have plier style crimpers in all sorts of configurations that would work better her than channellocks. Steve is still the man though.
Take your concerns to the Town Council. If they are licensing him they may be held partially responsible for his dastardly deeds! In the old days he'd be tarred and feathered, much to good for him. Keep up the good work,Steve, help protect the elderly.
@@brianburns7211 ---- Never go by the Better Business Bureau's rating, never., the amount a business pays them each year sets their BBB ratings, not complaints or poor workmanship.
@@davidnull5590 In Mass the trades are pretty closely regulated. Maybe he can have his license revoked. The attorney general would be another good place to report the crook.
Agreed... They should be investigating whose deferral services which seems to be the ENABLERS. They claim to be a benefit... Are the getting kickbacks from the companys they referee?
theres big companies that operate like that i work in an area adjacent to his in ri for us we would contact dlt office of professional regulation file a complaint against his license with trade board in mass were steve is under 10 tons only need an epa cert for refrigerant no license to go after
Refrigerartion Management i work in rhode island and im and hvac guy so grammer aint the best. steve is in the southeast mass area adjacent to were i work. in rhode island even to do residential cooling is a two year apprenticeship to get a license. that license is governed by a state agency. so in RI you have a goverment body that will take and investigate claims to a point. i personally dont always agree with this level of regulation but in cases like this i see why it can be a good thing. this is because that license can be revoked. in mass were steve is there is no license to do refrigeration work on any system under 10 tons of cooling (120k btu). all that is required is a federal epa card we all have to get to handle refrigerant. this significantly lowers the bar as far as entry to the market, which is not necessarily a bad thing. however it does mean that any consequences come in civil court for a contractor in mass. versus were i am one state over there is a contractor board that you cam complain to that is comprised of people that know the trade
Good video, Steve -- looking out for the customers even if they aren't looking out for themselves. expose that slasher! ripping off older couples is not good!
@@patrickmccarthy5617 Not THIS customer, fine, minor point made. But I’ll bet 3 out of 10 follow thru with that Ahole to buy a whole new system. So your comment above is highly incomplete and you owe Ryan an apology.
Wow. Some people have lost all sense of integrity. I don’t know how some people can feel good about themselves scamming customers like that. Steve saved the day on this one!
Hey Steve, Bless your heart buddy, easy on the old man he doesn't know any better. We just need to bust some balls on them pricks scamming people, you know what i mean? WTF is wrong with these people, Huh. You Steve, your a true patriot!
They don’t seem to care. They probably are too old to care about money that much comparing to other things such as health and family. End of the day Steve came across as the jerk to them because Steve was mad and was yelling at them while the con-man was all smiling and sweettalking.
yeah back in the day when i worked on cars not all but there were guys who would finish burning the clutch out on a manual trans on the lift putting it in 5 gear and dumping the clutch so the customer could not drive away to go elsewhere i always fixed the complaint first then up sold any work that i saw was needed but to smoke a clutch or disable the car thats criminal in my book theres enough legit work out there that you dont have to be lazy and not look for it
The only time you disable a unit is if a fuel furnace left to run can cause a fire / CO problem. Even then just pull a wire / leave a note as to why. And you tell the customer / have them sign off on it.
I am a retired Appliance/HVAC Repairman and I also have run many a call after people like him who are too lazy or under trained to repair things correctly It is a shame and gives all the honest hard working Techs a bad name Keep up the good work
As a retired commercial/ industrial HVAC/ Controls guy , thanks for being honest. The HVAC trade has a lot of hackers but when they rip off old people it makes it criminal.
Great job, Steve! I LOVE to see scammers exposed. I think that the old guy needs a while to process this whole experience before he is properly PISSED...(and grateful). A certain segment of American consumers seem a bit accustomed or complacent to being ripped-off. That`s how scammers stay in business. That crooks name was BRODER?
We have scammers by incompetence in my town , They bi-passed all safety controls in a Dairy Queen's furnace and air make-up unit , destroyed a $100,000 burner in a snow melter ,replaced a $15,000 DHW boiler with a plugged heat exchanger , That company has nearly 50 employees and that goes on daily .
Glad to see you are an honest man. I hate those people who take advantage of the elderly. Thank God you are a straight shooter. You are an awesome technician love your videos and Miss Molly, she is a little sweetheart. Got to be a proud Master HVAC Technician Mama, next level, next level Mama. One of the worst jobs I was on one night was an old Onida Royal hot air system cant remember the burner make now, but it was an old low- pressure burner 1725 RPM right - hand - rotation . The burner air tube was burnt up at the end where the head was, I had another old low- pressure burner with the same dia. air tube . I had to go back to my shop to make this new air tube. I cut it to length using a hose clamp and hacksaw, used the original nozzle tube, cleaned the furnace heat exchanger, put it back together with a new nozzle, and adjusted air for efficiency. I think I was on the job for 5 hrs. but got em up and running. Middle of winter in Caratunk Maine.
I've been watching your videos for quite some time now, I don't recall seeing you this mad, my blood was boiling too. You are a hell of a good guy Steve, my utmost respect to you.
Sadly, it’s not all that uncommon. And it’s not just older people. Anyone is susceptible to being taken for a ride if you’re not familiar with the problem at hand. Luckily you came along when you did. 👍👍
Glad you take videos to show us exactly what the other hack does. A bad installation to begin with and then this hack comes along. Criminal to take advantage of anybody like that, let alone the elderly. That hack should be arrested and taken directly to jail. Thanks for being so honest and direct with your customer, Steve. Honest work with honest prices and honest suggestions. You have set the "bar". That other guy should be sued, license taken (if he even has one) and made to pay back each customer for the damage and theft he has done by a court order. So thankful you take videos!
As a mechanic and business owner, this kind of thing makes me very angry. I always do my best to show issues I found and problems that I think are causing the complaint, to my customers. When I can't, I take pictures for them. NEVER would it occur to me, to scam them for anything, time, parts or upsell them something they just don't need. They are bastards that do that, I would chase them off the yard with my 2" wrench. Especially old people that deserve our respect and admiration shouldn't be scammed for their money like this. People that do that deserve a good lashing once a week, until they learn some respect and another round for their sins.
Steve you should've got that guy's number for us so we could blow his phone up so he has to pay for a new number. I can't believe the homeowner was so calm about. I would've jokingly told them if you're not that worried about throw me some free money.
I'm a electrician by trait and work on HVAC. I've came across the same crap people ripping off older people. I've testified in court against 4 or 5 electricians for ripping off people. You are a very nice person.
Personally every time If i ran into this with this particular person I would tell the customers to contact the attorney generals office and report him for damaging their equipment, sooner or later they’ll look into it and he’ll lose his licensing
He's doing this to old people because they are much less likely to complain. When you are older, you only have so much energy in a day and there is not enough to deal with extra BS.
You are a good man, I had an HVAC business for 35 years, seen all the hacks trying to rip customers off, we went out & repaired other other co’s brand new installs cause Carrier would all us & we seen it all. Then you show up to this place with an oversized cu & dampers closed, classic. Godspeed brother!
Nice work Steve! They do the same thing in Michigan! My wife turned down her dads AC so far it froze the coil. They called local service tech he pulled the disconnect and told them he needed to replace the whole unit. All I had to do was let the unit thaw and tell my father in law to keep my wife away from the thermostat.
Ive frozen my coil before when adjusting the vents :) What I do is turn on the heat and it melts it pretty quick. This is why I do not trust anyone working on anything in my house including the cars. I do as much as I can. Typical from these stupid companies "You need a new furnace / Air Conditioning system". Had them tell me that once on my furnace and turned out to to be the exhaust fan. Furnace kept shutting down because of the bad fan. BTW - Greeting from North Central Indiana. :)
@@adamcraig1568 I think its more so that they had their vents closed and then it would freeze up the exchanger. There was not enough air flow thru the ducs to keep it from freezing up.
@@adamcraig1568 she no doubt had it as low as it would go! I just turned off the air and waited for it to thaw and set the thermostat to 70. Never had another issue. I am just a pipefitters and hvac tech from work helped troubleshoot the issue. I am pretty handy and can usually troubleshoot with help. But I know my limitations and very much appreciate videos and commentary from you pros! Make us ordinary Joe's look good some times. Save a buck and as in this video and my initial comment whoop a scammer once in a while.
That the trouble with soon heating engineer don't want to do small jobs so when they do come look for bigger problem that doesn't exist just ripping off the old guys and girls no wonder Steve your piss off name and shame keep up your good work because these people need you. Many thanks Steve from the UK.
Yeah that other guy tearing out wires makes it impossible for anyone to give a second opinion. That to me sounds deliberate and under handed. If I’d had seen someone tearing out wires before I say it’s ok I’d have kicked them off my property and then reported them to the city’s chamber of commerce and other authorities. That poor old guy didn’t seem to understand what you were explaining to him. Sadly we see a lot of that today.
it's hard work to tell a customer they're doing something wrong without insulting them or making them feel stupid. i could never even imagine talking to them the way you do. they'd run me off and blacklist my company. it's remarkable how different basic social interactions are from here to there.
I was thinking the same thing! I guess it's just how it is in Massachusetts and probably some other areas too. It's interesting, like you said, how basic social interactions are from different parts of the states. I could see myself choosing another person based by his social interactions but I may be trading that experienced, very knowledgeable, albeit gruff demeanor for a more "friendlier" attitude by someone that couldn't even put a Lego set together, ya know?!
It's how people talk there . It's a cultural thing. Some folks that are not American and in other countries think the same of us here.. we are a rude society in general. Lacking in manners courtesy and etiquette. Our language even lacks respectful pronouns for people. For instance in Spanish there is a word for "you" and a more respectful one as well .. "tu" and"usted" there are no equivalency in English.. tu is what you would use to refer to a friend..... While usted is something you'd use to reference your mom or an elder or anyone you hold in high reverence... And children are tought to use the latter always until they became adults.. The tech here is a good guy as evidenced by his actions.. and in the long run that's what's important. I hear in his voice kindness although it sounds a bit harsh . But I totally hear what you are saying. I noticed that as well in the beginning.
I wish you were in Minnesota. I’d be calling you for all my plumbing and HVAC questions. Would you ever be open to any phone questions about general plumbing issues? Of course I’d reimburse for your time. Thanks for all the great videos. They are comical and educational at the same time! Fantastic!
It frustrates me that I can't get customers to report the previous contractor to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, only takes a phone call, AND I can't do it for them because I'm not the customer, so have no standing to file a complaint.
@@markbeiser probably because every contractor people deal with tell them how horrible the previous contractor was and how they did everything wrong. My wife and I joke about it every time we have some new trade come to do any work. Without fail they trash talk the previous guy’s work. Every, single, time.
@@OShackHennessy Yeah, I generally don't do that, very unprofessional, and for all I know, it could have been done by the customer's now deceased grandfather or something! There are cases where there is clear shit/dangerous work done by the previous contractor though.
I had a guy come out and check my refrigerant levels on my two a/c units. We have security cameras all over the place and apparently he didn't notice, but I saw that he took his equipment over and bent down close to the units, and played on his phone for a bit, and then did the same thing near the other one. Never once hooked up the a/c manifold unit. Called the company and told them what happened and they sent the same guy back out. He apologized and did the work that he was supposed to do.
Wow, just wow! I would have just demand a refund and went with another company. That company doesn't deserve your business after their service tech tried to scam you. Screw them!
While it doesn't sound like this was the case in your situation, keep in mind that many of us are using Bluetooth connected probes/tools when testing systems, I typically have anywhere from 5 to 11 going on a system, as well as reporting and invoicing apps. While we do appear to be fiddling with our phones a lot, we are not just playing with our phones. 😉
It's guys like this one that's the reason that I watch anytime anyone works on my system! I know of more than one person that's got ripped off by hacks like the guy you're talking about! I had a brand new total system (inside, outside units and all of the duct work) installed in 2019 and had a company that I've heard is a little shady cold call me and when I told them about the new system, they said "a lot of people hire them to check to make sure the other company did a good job"! Needless to say, I told them where to go and take me off of their list! Good for you for trying to help this customer out!
Unfortunately, this is all too common in the HVAC repair business. One HVAC guy told me that he made most of his new condensing unit sales to old retired people and women. He would try to scare them into buying new equipment by telling them that the compressor would fail very soon.
Thank you for posting this. Hopefully it will make viewers with elderly relatives more aware of the scams that can be easily pulled on them. Some years back my elderly aunt who lived alone called in a electrician to change an outlet because when you plugged something in, the plug literally fell right out. Well, the electrician was happy to change it and oh by the way, told her that main panel was outdated and “dangerous” even though she had zero problems with it. Scared, she agreed to have it changed and that added another $1,200 to the original $110 bill.
Steve already had the visual proof, heavily corroded copper wire, melted insulation wire cut off= hot loose connection burnt off, years of experience not necessary on this one, yes the meter would have indicated that high resistance connection was there but only if it was still connected and reading at the contactor.
My elderly mom (we lost her this spring) took her 2 year old car to get an inspection. They told her she needed a new horn because it was not loud enough. I had come over that prior weekend and checked out all the lights, horn, brakes, codes, etc. so it was sure to pass. I couldn't take it in myself because I was out of town that week and she waited until the sicker was almost expired I really really get pissed of when elderly people get taken advantage of. This was a big Chevy dealer in my area. So the slashers are everywhere.
True-that. Even the BBB will give a report on a car dealership with a mention such as: "A lot of complaints...but not unusual for this this type of business."
Thank You for being Honest, I was ripped off by a HVAC serviceman, It was 100+ outside and I needed it fixed, so I didn't quibble. Since that experience I have dealt with local trustworthy vendors. I beat up the scammer on line, left very bad reviews in several spots, I hope he goes broke. Again Thank You for being Honest !!!!!!!
The ripoff artist was a turd to leave it like that unless the compressor was burnt out. If it was sorted to ground it could have been checked as he left it. But as it turned out it wasn't toast. I'd have checked each terminal to ground first thing when I saw that. Glad the customer got an honest guy for a 2nd opinion.
I see several problems: closed dampers could lead to frozen evaporator coil, non-insulated ductwork wastes energy, the garage air should not be mixed with the house, 5 ton is for a 3000 sq ft house
I think the customer didn't understand English very well or maybe it's because he's older. I hate scammers and they've probably taken advantage of this guy before.
Perhaps he didn't film it but since most of the wires were off at the compressor why not ohm out windings and then check so see if there was a short to ground before wireing it back up? Just curious about your process.
Wondered the same thing. Just a mental hiccup I think. He was upset about the guy potentially trying to scam people and wanted to quickly prove it by testing the compressor with power. Assuming windings were shorted, it wouldn't have been the end of the world when he fired it up, just some blown fuses. No real further damage would be done.
I was waiting for the part where the compressor is ohmed out or even checked but maybe it was edited out? Also the ductwork has BIG LETTERS saying LOOK, meaning they’ve done that shit before, or maybe it came loose. I dont know.
I’m not an AC tech but I know enough about the system, no tech will get away with crap like that on my AC. Living in Florida we depend on it to work. Mine is a 2003 Trane. It’s hard to stop a Trane! I service the filter and drain line often, if it ain’t broke we don’t fix it. Luckily I have a guy I can trust, but I still watch everything he does. Great video.
