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?