Don’t be seduced by repair firms’ online ads
You hire an appliance repair company after seeing its name pop up in an online search.
Alas, you find the service costs more than you expected and your appliance is still broken afterward. Moreover, you strike out when trying to complain or get a refund.
In 2014, I wrote about Appliance Repair Guys after a customer said he was charged $415 (plus HST) to fix his fridge, which still wasn’t working. He was offered $50 in compensation if he signed a waiver releasing the company against future claims.
I contacted the business owner, who refused to speak on the record. Later in our chat, he decided to take back his $50 compensation offer.
Since then, I’ve received regular complaints about this high-profile company and another one, Appliance Repair Man, with the same phone number, also based in Vaughan, Ont. “Wish I could help,” I tell readers. But my emails and phone calls go nowhere.
On Jan. 24, I sent a message to Appliance Repair Man on behalf of three readers. Here’s the response.
“Dear Ellen Roseman, Toronto Star, we received your message. If your message required a response, one of our team members will contact you shortly. Best regards, Customer Service, Appliance Repairman.” (The name seems to switch back and forth from Repair Man to Repairman.)
When I’d received no contact from team members, I checked with the customers who said they were no further ahead either.
If the media can’t help with your complaint, where should you go next? Let’s use Appliance Repair Man (ARM) as a test case to compare online complaint sites. Better Business Bureau. When you look up the company’s name, you find a pattern of complaints.
“Consumers have advised the company is unable to properly diagnose and repair appliances effectively; repairs that are completed do not solve the issue; there is a lack of follow-up and resolution to issues
and the cost of parts are grossly inflated.” ARM has an F rating (the worst) with 83 complaints closed in the past 12 months. HomeStars. The company, described as “formerly Appliance Repair Guys,” has an average customer rating of 0.6 out of 10. Among the 540 reviews, many have headlines such as these, posted in January, “Inflated repair fees. Repair NOT done. Lousy customer service.” And “Out almost $1,000. Do not use this company.” Trustpilot: There are 64 reviews at this site, many posted recently. Nearly all the headlines seem to warn people to save their money and stay away. Appliance Repairman (as spelled here) has a TrustScore rating of 0.8 out of 10, slightly better than at HomeStars, but still poor. Sitejabber: There are 20 reviews at this review site, all with a rating of one out of five stars. The most recent I found (Feb. 7) said: “The technician makes sure it’s not fixed properly so he could return as another sales call and the company charges you for two service calls, even though it’s the technician’s fault in the first place.” Sylvia Duckworth blog: As a teacher, Duckworth normally writes about education issues. But she took a break to cover her bad experience last September with the headline: “Appliancerepairman.ca scam: How to get your money back.”
She recommends filing a complaint with Consumer Protection Ontario and telling the company you will do it. Duckworth got a quick refund with just the threat of going to the government, but the tactic isn’t working anymore, judging by the complaints she and I get from readers. Resolver: A British company new to Canada, Resolver helps you become a better complainer by explaining your legal rights, giving tips on preparing your emails and creating a case file for you. It acts as a conduit, but does not get directly involved with the targets of your complaints. Nor does it post online reviews.
The company offers its services to both consumers and businesses at no cost, but hopes to sell data back to companies to help improve their complaint handling. What else can you do? Ask your credit card company to reverse the transaction. You can argue that you didn’t get the service you paid for (an appliance repair that works).
Sue the company in small claims court. This takes time and energy and usually requires hiring a technical expert to testify for you — all for a loss that typically ranges from $500 to $1,500.
Read online reviews and search for customer complaints. Don’t hire a company you don’t know before checking it out.
Start with the BBB, where you can often find an executive’s name to contact. But when I tried calling Chen Kochavi, listed as director of ARM, the customer service person said he was a private owner who didn’t get involved.
Don’t be seduced by online ads. Companies that look great online may be all smoke and mirrors. Make sure you deal with established firms that attract positive reviews by objective sources.