I am the female owner of a small business. Recently, the company's expensive ($450) color printer stopped working because it showed a paper jam that we could not find and clear and unfortunately, it is just a few months out of warranty. I was desperate to get it fixed because I had a client presentation within a couple of days.
Finally, I started searching for a printer repair company via the web and came across Affordable Copier Repair. Their internet ad said that they would give a $25 discount off the first service call. My call to them was answered by Thomas Farrell who said that he did fix our type of printer and could come out the next day before noon. He showed up the next day with another guy he introduced as his brother, Ben.
Ben proceeded to peer into the printer with a flashlight for a few minutes as Thomas began to chat me up about how expensive it is to fix printers and how it wasn't really even worth it to try. Ben started saying that it was going to be too expensive to fix it and then they began angling for me to let them take my existing printer (since it wasn't going to be worth it to fix it as they said - probably would cost $250) and mentioned that they could sell me a new high-end Canon printer for $595. I told them I wasn't interested in spending that kind of money until I understood more about the features of the printer, and I would not allow them to take my HP printer away. I told them I was going to at least contact HP to see what they would say. They made it clear that they were unhappy with my response and I felt a little intimidated with these two big guys in my home. Then, Thomas said he was sure they could find me a good used Canon printer. I told him I would be interested in that. Shortly after that, Thomas asked Ben if he 'wanted to try to fix the HP'. Ben flatly said 'No.'
So, I asked what I owed them and Thomas told me $95 (which I thought was a little much for them doing no work). I asked how to make out the check; Thomas hesitated and then said to just make it out to him, Thomas Farrell. I thought that was odd; why wouldn't he have me make it out to his Affordable Copier Repair?
I asked him about the $25 discount; he looked annoyed and said he would rather take it out of the cost of the used printer he was "absolutely sure" he could find me over the weekend, probably even the same day.
He didn't give me an invoice or any kind of receipt for my payment. I realized later how odd this all was but was feeling a little intimidated by that point with these two big men in my home.
Not surprisingly, I didn't hear anything from him that day or the next day. The third day, I called him and he answered. As soon as he heard my voice, he said, "Let me call you back in 10 minutes while I try one more time to get ahold of the guy I've been trying to get ahold of who has the printer I want to get for you." Right... I thought. Of course, he never called back and that has been 10 days ago. After all this happened, I started to put the pieces together and realized that they were trying to get me to give them my expensive printer to 'sell', he didn't follow standard business practices by having me make out the payment to his company, he didn't provide me with an invoice or receipt, he clearly had no intention of helping me find another printer, he didn't provide me with the $25 discount... And generally, I felt like their whole operation was a scam.
So, I stopped payment on the check. I figured it was worth paying $25 to the bank as a fee in order not to pay it to him. I would have been willing to pay him $70 instead, if he would have been willing to provide me with an invoice from his company, not him personally. I just discovered that instead of processing the check through the normal means of a bank, he cashed it through a 3rd party check cashing company. When the check didn't go through, the 3rd party called him to come in and repay the money. He promised them he would but still hasn't done so. I would highly recommend not doing business with this individual or his 'company'.
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