Consumer Alert (kinda)

Our heat is broken downstairs. Upstairs is fine, but downstairs is FREEZING. In the morning I have been feeding my kids breakfast in my room because it is too cold for them to be downstairs. The thermostat begins registering temperature at 50 degrees and the dial is well below that.

So - I called Monday morning for someone to come out and take a look. A very nice man came out and for $89 (& 10 minutes) told us we had a broken draft inducer motor. Fairly common and routine, but unfortunately his company doesn't stock parts for our brand of system. The last place in Charlotte had just sold out that day, so they were going to have to order it. I could choose between an overnight shipping fee of at least $100 or I could choose the two-day fee of about $30. Since we are sleeping very comfortably and the kids are gone most of the day, I was content to wait it out.

He had me go ahead and pay the $89, which of course does not get applied to the labor fee (why not since I am choosing for them to be the ones to fix it?), and told me it would cost $442 for the part and labor to fix it. I asked him how he knew how much labor would cost when he hadn't even done the work yet, and he told me that they had a book that set the labor prices according to the job. He said flat fees like that were standard around town.

I called Mike after he left and told him the problem. Within seconds he had googled the problem and found out that they were WAYYYY overcharging us. Based on his research he was able to determine that the part could be had for approximately $125 and labor for another $100 or so. He was determined to call this company back to tell them that he would not pay that price. He said if they wanted our business they would have to agree to do it for a more reasonable price, or he would go somewhere else since we now know the problem. They had already received almost $100 for a 10-minute diagnosis.

The ending of the story is not complete, as Mike has been unable to get back in touch with the company. Based on his busy schedule, I don't think he has tried too hard and since I am freezing and he is about to leave town, I imagine they will probably be the ones that come back to fix it since the part should be in tomorrow. I don't feel like this company is unethical, I just believe industries like this feel like they have us right where they want us and can charge whatever they want since most of us are clueless about these kinds of things. I write this to remind you that the internet is a powerful tool for research. I do not want to be unfair to a business trying to make it, but I also feel like consumers have rights to be treated fairly, too.

So - I'll keep you posted on what happens with the heating saga. In the meantime, I'll get off my soapbox and go upstairs where it is warm.

P.S. We think Hermie is dead. We should know tomorrow when it starts to smell.