I responded to an ad in a local senior newspaper for the complete inspection and cleaning of my heat pump for $59. The ad said it was limited to the Salem/Keizer service area.
The person scheduling the service said to show the ad to the service individual upon arrival which I did. He said to give it to him when he was through. When I gave him the ad again he said it did not apply because I was not in the Salem/Keizer service area and the charge is $115. Since I was in the Salem/Keizer service area when the company installed the heat pump in I should be in the Salem/Keizer service area for service on the unit. The distance from their office to the furthest part of Keizer is more than the distance one way from their office to my house.
In the company's reply to my complaint with the BBB, they stated With the $59 pricing of this promotion, Gagle's would lose money on each service call, if we were to add an 18 mile round trip or further to the City of Aumsville and/or other outlying cities. The individual who answered the phone and scheduled the appointment for Mr. Nathan was our secretary who works at the front desk. Christine, our secretary, stated to Mr. Nathan that; "she did not know what restrictions were in print on the coupon he was referencing, so she could not tell if it will be honored for what he is asking to be performed." Christine asked Mr. Nathan if he would still like to schedule the service & he replied, yes. Mr. Nathan's attempt to bolster his complaint by abusing the term "senior citizen" only limits his individual credibility.'
The secretary never said to me she was unfamiliar with the ad's terms. If she would have said that, I would have asked to speak to someone who was familiar with the terms. She is an employee of the company & is scheduling appointments &should know the ad's terms. Ads by other companies which limit service areas state Salem/Keizer residents or city limits.
I relied on her stating I should give the ad to the service & that the charge was the $59 stated in the ad. I am sure I am not the only person who answered to this ad. How many other seniors has this occurred to & just assumed they made a mistake & paid the company a higher amount?
No one schedules service without getting an estimate of how much the service would cost. If I had known I was not eligible for the ad, I would have used a heating company in Aumsville who would have charged much less than the $115 I was eventually charged.
The company employee who sent their reply to the BBB said on the phone he gets calls from areas much farther than the Aumsville & these individuals ask whether the ad applies to them. If they are confused about the ad & they are further than the 18 mile round trip he mentioned in his reply, then the ad is unclear.
I have not paid anything to the company yet. I was going to send a check to them for $59 & write on the check "Cashing this check constitutes full payment of the invoice." Should I pay the $59?
I intend to file a complaint with the Oregon Construction Contractor's Board and the Oregon Attorney General's Office. I will reply shortly to the company's response to my Better Business Bureau complaint. The company has had since its inception 5 complainants with the Oregon Construction Contractor's Board. I did find one complaint on one of the message boards about the company trying to change its billing practices.
The Company is not a member of either the Salem or Keizer Chambers of Commerce.
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