This Appliance company sent a service man to my home on 11/24/06, to check out my dryer. (It had no heat.) The repair man performed his diagnostic checks and told me the problem was the thermostat. He said he could replace it for $185. Being a non-mechanical person, I agreed. He also said he smelled gas, and tried to get me to agree to replace my gas line to the dryer. (My husband is a contractor, and replaces all of our lines as needed.) I declined the offer and said to just replace thermostat if that was the problem. All expenses together totaled $185 ($85 for labor, $92 for the part, and $8 for tax).
My husband returned home and heard what I had been charged. He was very upset. He was sure that the part itself was relatively inexpensive, just by looking at it. I made a few phone calls to confirm this. The part itself was quoted by one company as costing $27.77 (part#3392519). It also turned out that the part he replaced was a "fuse", not the thermostat at all.
I decided to call around to find out what other companies would have charged me for the same service. For parts and labor combined, I was quoted anywhere from $90-$120 max.interestingly, I also called ARC & USA for a phone quote (anonymously), and they quoted me ($150-$170), which was less than what they had charged me.
My husband called the company on two different occasions to discuss the matter with the company. Each time he was told that they could charge him whatever they wanted, regardless of what parts they replaced or the cost of them once the estimate of $185 was agreed to.
What is most upsetting is that the quote was for a part they didn't install. Their quote was not accurate for the work they were going to do. They declined to charge only for the actual parts they did use and refused to make an adjustment on the invoice.
They went as far as to say "this country is a free enterprise and that we were not forced to use them and that calling them up for service was by our choice." As the conversation got heated they actually told us to call and complain to the Better Business Bureau because it was their right to make as much profit as they could.
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