Oh boy...I think I just got hosed by the Repair Man

[Megamorph]

I just had an independent appliance repair guy come out and look at a refridgerator in a 2 year-old home that I just purchased. The home had been vacant for about a year and the refridgerator had been unplugged during that time. When I plugged it back in, it started running but would not cool. Anyway, the guy comes out and quickly checks a couple of things, then tells me that it needs a "hardstart kit." He goes out to his truck and gets one, then comes back in and installs it in less than 3 minutes. He was at my house for a grand total of 10 minutes. The bill was $225.

The good thing is that the fridge seems to be working properly now.

 

[Joemonkey]

skeet skeet skeet!

 

[geno]

I don't see how you got hosed, you called him to fix it since you didn't know what to do, he installs what needs to be installed, and the fridge works now... the price is a tad high, do you know what the cost of a hard start kit is?? I don't just wondering how much of the bill can be attributed to the kit's price

 

[GasX]

Oh boy...I think I just got hosed by the Repair Man

think?

 

[Bootprint]

Ouch,

Refrigerator Compressor 3-in-1 'Hard Start' Kit - 1/4-1/3 HP?

 

[bandana163]

225$ for a fridge repair?
How big is your fridge?

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Bootprint
Ouch,

Refrigerator Compressor 3-in-1 'Hard Start' Kit - 1/4-1/3 HP?

It's just a giant capacitor similar to the one used to kick start Air Conditioner Compressors and Blower Motors.

Yep, he made killing for a quick 3 minutes.

 

[Jzero]

Originally posted by: Bootprint
Ouch,

Refrigerator Compressor 3-in-1 'Hard Start' Kit - 1/4-1/3 HP?

$28.60 for the part.
$196.40 for knowing which wires to hook up with the wire nuts.

 

[Bootprint]

Originally posted by: Jzero

Originally posted by: Bootprint
Ouch,

Refrigerator Compressor 3-in-1 'Hard Start' Kit - 1/4-1/3 HP?

$28.60 for the part.
$196.40 for knowing which wires to hook up with the wire nuts.

And later down at the bar he chats about how stupid user's can be.


Sometimes it's better to just pay the price and get the damn thing working again.

 

[Nitemare]

The price of not watching Bob Villa...

 

[TitanDiddly]

Dang, could make a killing in that field...

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: PhasmatisNox
Dang, could make a killing in that field...

But have you got the plumber's crack to do it properly though?

 

Damn, that sucks.

 

[CPA]

This is one of those times that I would have not thought twice about paying that much to fix it.

First, because I, nor am I guessing you, would have been able to figure out the problem.

Second, a new fridge would have cost 2 to 3 times as much.

 

Originally posted by: CPA
This is one of those times that I would have not thought twice about paying that much to fix it.

First, because I, nor am I guessing you, would have been able to figure out the problem.

Second, a new fridge would have cost 2 to 3 times as much.

Depending on the fridge, here is a cheap new one from best buy for 280.

 

[rh71]

nice hourly rate he's making. Who still wants to be a lawyer ?

 

[GRIFFIN1]

All of those service people rip you off. Last summer, a fuse blew on the AC compressor. I'm not a total idiot when it comes to things like this, but I have never replaced a fuse on an AC compressor. I didn't realize the fuses were behind the cover in the disconnect box. I live rent free in the house, so I just called the woman in charge of paying the bills and told her the AC wasn't working. The repair guy shows up and replaces the fuse. Then he goes inside and checks the stuff out in there. He says, "This filter is kind of dirty. I think I'll clean it."

A few days later, when I get the bill, I see this:

Labor $75
Fuse $25 (damn thing only cost about $3)
Cleaning filter $35!!! (I could have bought a new filter for $35)

 

[dartworth]

If you can't fix it yourself, then you can't bitch.

Pay the piper...

 

[cjchaps]

Next time ask for a free estimate, and get estimates for more than one place.

 

[Megamorph]

Originally posted by: Bootprint
Ouch,

Refrigerator Compressor 3-in-1 'Hard Start' Kit - 1/4-1/3 HP?

OUCH!!! That's the exact part that he used on my fridge! He charged me $190 for the part!

What should I do...suck it up and forget it? Or make an issue out of it?

The guy obviously ripped me off. 700% markup is a bit extreme.

 

[KLin]

There's been stories done on 20/20 and Dateline about repairmen like this charging buckoo money to fix something that's very simple, or not even a problem in the first place. Did he say that it was 190 bucks for the part? if he did, i'd call and bitch, or call the BBB.

 

[Shelly21]

Didn't they do an expose on Repair man on abc just the other day?

 

[dartworth]

Is the fridge running now? If it is working correctly, you really have nothing to bitch about. You called them to fix something. They provided a service. You pay for that service.

Did you get a price up front before they fixed it?

You will probaly have a better chance of getting water from a stone than geting any money back...

 

[Wingznut]

Originally posted by: Megamorph

Originally posted by: Bootprint
Ouch,

Refrigerator Compressor 3-in-1 'Hard Start' Kit - 1/4-1/3 HP?

OUCH!!! That's the exact part that he used on my fridge! He charged me $190 for the part!

What should I do...suck it up and forget it? Or make an issue out of it?

The guy obviously ripped me off. 700% markup is a bit extreme.

So, he only charged $35 for the install and the house call? Are you sure you don't have it backwards?

 

[JCobra14]

I do in-home service

O/P exaggerated things, even my fastest in/out service calls are 20-30 mins minumum

Can you imaging talking to customer, giving price, taking apart fridge, installing kit, putting fridge back together, getting fridge back into place, collecting money all in 10 mins?

You pay for his expertise, if he charged you 190 for the part, then he made practically no labor.