OT : Beware of some repair companies

[john pearce]

I had a Maytag washer go up just out of warranty, called the # in the manual and they scheduled a company out of Crofton, MD called VIA services. Neither Maytag or Via told me what if any service charges would be charged. After 15 minutes, a cover removed and put back on and the repair man figuring the timer was bad based on what I described, I was charged $120.00. If I had been told that was the fee I would have just called a local repair man. Neither company wanted to help in the matter so I thought it would be best if I could inform people not to buy Maytag, not use Via Services or at the very least, if you are not told, ask what service charges apply if you have an appliance go up on you. Just beware.

[cujo]

Damn John, That sucks...Sounds like my home warranty company...Pay $ 100 deductable then tell me they won't cover it...

[skipperwork]

How are they supposded to tell you how much your gonna pay if they don't know what's wrong. Out of that 120 dollars some of it was the part, some get paids to the employee for time there and travel, vehicle, and the company has to make something to keep going. Not much when you split up 120 dollars.

[blue lou]

Better not buy Whirlpool, Amana, Jennair, Kitchenaid, or some Kenmores cause they're the same company.

[drewzim]

Charged you for OUT of warranty repair? What's this world coming?

Most service companies aren't charitable organizations last time I checked.

And this is fishing related how?

[carnold]

If you want a good repair shop call ABC appliance in edgewater

[NachoLibre]

99.999% of service companies charge you to get out to your location. It costs them money to send a paid employee in a company vehicle out to you. If it was under warranty, they would bill that to the manufacturer. Since it wasn't, they charged you. Nothing wrong with that. BTW, the service companies are usually independent of the manufacturers, so not buying a specific brand won't mean diddly to the service guys.

[LTF]

Yep. Pretty much all of them charge that, and even if it is under warranty still or insuraned, chances are the repair is something not covered and you will get stuck paying the entire cost of the visit, the parts, and the repair. I understand that they need to cover their costs and make a profit too, but also believe that what they charge is outrageous.

My buddy got had a gas issue at his home. A tech came out, bled the line and the gas started flowing. Took the guy all of 5 minutes and cost my friend $90. There is no way that it cost more than a fraction of that to cover travel and the technician's salary.



The only thing you can do is shop around and ask lots of questions. The pros hate it, but it is your money. If they are a decent company they will answer your questions professionaly and you might save a few bucks. For those in the industry, you might get some repeat business by giving a guy a bit of a break in instances like this.

This last bit is just a prediction based on my personal observations. If these companies aren't careful their skilled labor trades are going to go the way of the construction trades. More and more are going to opt for something, that though less reliable, is cheaper; low-wage immigrant labor. I'm not in favor of this by any means, but fear that is the direction that the industry is heading towards. Like the economy in general, any industry can crash if allowed to expand and charge beyond what the customers can or will support.

[rj]

Yep. Pretty much all of them charge that, and even if it is under warranty still or insuraned, chances are the repair is something not covered and you will get stuck paying the entire cost of the visit, the parts, and the repair. I understand that they need to cover their costs and make a profit too, but also believe that what they charge is outrageous.

My buddy got had a gas issue at his home. A tech came out, bled the line and the gas started flowing. Took the guy all of 5 minutes and cost my friend $90. There is no way that it cost more than a fraction of that to cover travel and the technician's salary.


So the cost of vehicles, insurance,training,tools,office rental,employees salries,benefits,utilities, taxes, etc. shouldn't be passed on to customers????
if a company is to stay in business, they need to cover much more than their employees wages

[blue lou]

Everyone is pro business, until the free market presents them a bill, can't have it both ways. Who needs their bicycle fixed?

[Slipsinker]

How are they supposded to tell you how much your gonna pay if they don't know what's wrong. Out of that 120 dollars some of it was the part, some get paids to the employee for time there and travel, vehicle, and the company has to make something to keep going. Not much when you split up 120 dollars.Yup, that's the way it is.

[Popster]

do a little troubleshooting, research problem online, order part from eBay, install part... Fixed

[goose70]

Everyone is pro business, until the free market presents them a bill, can't have it both ways. Who needs their bicycle fixed?

Don't need it fixed, but I wouldn't mind a free Hollogram crank and SRM powermeter as a show of appreciation for my Cannondale loyalty.

[HenryH]

I know that almost everyone charges a service charge and are entitled to make a buck; however, I've had a run-in with Via that makes me question if these guys know what they are doing and their practices. This summer, my 83 year old dad's refrigerator was not cooling properly so he called Lowes (where he bought it from) and they gave him Via's number. The guy came out and looked at the fridge and told my dad that it needed freon and that he needed to order "parts" and it would take about a week and handed him a $120 invoice and demanded payment. I understand if they come out and diagnosed the problem and you decline service but to demand the service fee when you didn't do anything and asked the client to wait a week without a working refrigerator is ridiculous. And what kind of AC repairman doesn't carry freon in his truck. Long story short, my dad called a local guy and it turned out that it was just the freezer icing over and blocking air flow. Thawed the refrigerator, plug it back in, and everything was fine for a $40 service call.

[blue lou]

Don't need it fixed, but I wouldn't mind a free Hollogram crank and SRM powermeter as a show of appreciation for my Cannondale loyalty.

That statement makes you in the industry parlance a "road weenie" sir. :)

[LTF]

So the cost of vehicles, insurance,training,tools,office rental,employees salries,benefits,utilities, taxes, etc. shouldn't be passed on to customers????
if a company is to stay in business, they need to cover much more than their employees wages

Don't exaggerate the cost of doing business and try to make it sound like I am not okay with a company making a profit. As I said, I understand that a company needs to make a profit. I still believe that the rates that are charged for visits like this are exorbitant.

[blue lou]

I think most business owners here will agree, the cost of doing business doesn't need to be exaggerated, they're plenty big on their own. I think the fees/charges made by most companies in similar sectors are comparable, what varies greatly is competence, and focus on satisfying the customer's expectations. I think informing customers of fees and charges ahead of time would help eliminate similar problems. We don't do many housecalls, but when we do everything gets spelled out.

[Jason9301]

US trades men drive around all day and give free advice on whats wrong ........ nothing is free although I think 120 is a tad high but not that bad gas insurances shops electric we get that all free cause we are the trades not to blow up but I would have to pay my guys pay fuel so guess I eat that


How are they supposded to tell you how much your gonna pay if they don't know what's wrong. Out of that 120 dollars some of it was the part, some get paids to the employee for time there and travel, vehicle, and the company has to make something to keep going. Not much when you split up 120 dollars.

[john pearce]

skipper - the $120.00 was just for the guy to come out and listen to me for 15 minutes, the part was another $90.00 and I put it in my self. I know companies charge for service calls but while working for an electrical company there is a minimun time and we fix the problem, in my eyes he could have picked up the part locally as the washer is only about 15 months old but he didn't even try to locate a part. One person at Maytag said I should have been told the charge and that it sometimes covers up to 4 hours of a service call, a manager said that they don't know the charges, VIA said that the companies do know their charges, so I still don't know why the guy didn't try to fix it other than the fact that he kept saying it was getting late and he wanted to get home. Still gonna go higher in Maytag.