In early may, I contacted JBL to have my air ducts and dryer vent cleaned and my A/C units serviced. I had several coupons stating low prices for multiple services. With 2 A/C units, I anticipated spending under $250 for the services I needed. My original appointment was scheduled for 5/17/09.
The technician no sooner walked in my door than he said he couldn't clean my vents because I had pets, therefore he was positive that I have mold in my vents. He said if he cleaned the vents without first eliminating the mold, then everyone in the house would be very sick. He proceeded to tell me that people end up in the hospital because of mold in the air from the A/C vents. All this was before he even looked inside my A/C system! He then proceeded to tell me that the only way I could elminate the mold was to have some very expensive services performed.
I showed him the coupons, but was told that the coupons were for lesser services. Specifically, I was told that the coupon for $59 coil cleaning was only for water cleaning, not acid cleaning, and that the coupon for $249 for a U/V lamp was for an inferior quality lamp (question - why is a company advertising an inferior quality product?). I am a single older woman, and felt very intimidated by the sales/scare tactics. I ended up with a bill for $1815 because I let an unethical technician convince me that I needed these expensive services.
As for the quality of services performed, I was very disappointed. I supplied the trash bags, I supplied the ladder they needed, and I supplied a plastic pan that was used to capture the "acid" that drained from the coils (this plastic pan was the lid of a storage box in my garage, which was taken without my knowledge or consent). The vent cleaning was accomplished by punching a whole in the A/C unit and sucking air through the system, whereas the JBLDUCT.com web site says "JBL uses state-of-art equipment and the latest technology to thoroughly clean your home's ventilation system. We clean each duct individually from the register all the way to the main unit.". The floor in my house was left damp and dirty. The A/C unit in my garage is leaking cold air into my garage. No A/C checkup was performed. I had to literally argue with the technician to get the dryer vent cleaned, and he did not do a complete job because he didn't even move the dryer from the wall and clean behind it. The JBLDUCT.com web site says "We use equipment designed specifically for cleaning dryer vents. The inside of your dryer vent will be brushed and vacuumed from end to end. We also clean lint from inside your clothes dryer.". When I look at the coils on one of the A/C units, it still looks dirty (the onther one is in a closed system, and therefore difficult to look at so I don't know if it is clean or not).
I was told that the expensive U/V lamps that were installed as part of this service had a lifetime warranty on the light and the bulb. I later researched these U/V lamps, and it turns out that the bulbs need changing every year, and these bulbs can only be changed by a technician.
I have talked to Customer Service at JBL several times. They have twice scheduled a technician to come out to my house to resolve the incomplete work that was performed. The first reschedule date was 6/14. When I called in the morning of 6/14 to get a more exact time, I was told that the technician that was scheduled was the same technician that originally did my work. I told them that I needed a different technician, as was promised by customer service, and they said they would call me back. I waited around all day but never got a call back. I contacted Customer Service on 6/15, and was told that a different technician would be sent to my house on 6/21 between 10 and 2. I called JBL at 2:15 on 6/21 to get a status, and was told that a technician would be at my house by 4 pm. No one ever showed up and no one called. I contacted Customer Service on 6/22 and was told that someone would get back to me by the end of the day. It's 9 pm, and I was never contacted.
This company appears to advertise very cheap prices but then oversell the customer on much more expensive services, using scare tactics to make the customer believe that they must have these services. They do not perform the service as advertised on their web site. Once they get your money, their follow-up service is non-existent.
I should not have let a pushy sales person coerce me into spending that much money, but I felt very intimidated by his tactics. If I had any idea of the poor quality of service and of the overselling and not honoring of advertised prices, I would never had wasted my time with this company.
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