When one of your appliances breaks down, the first thing to do might be contacting customer service or checking whether the warranty is valid. However, there has been an increase in the number of scammers fooling customers in the name of the appliance repair service.
How Does this Happen?
When your appliance breaks, you search for a company providing appliance repair services online. When you find a suitable company, you’ll call them, explain to them your issue, and the company assures you that they will handle the problem.
What you need to do is to provide the company with your name, address, and debit or credit card information. Typically, the company will charge you a small ‘appointment’ fee, and promise you that a repair technician will come to sort out the issue the following day.
Unfortunately, the technician will not show up, and yet your credit card has been charged. But, when you call the phone number again, you won’t get an answer. Or, the representative might claim that they don’t have a record of you calling the company.
So, how do you make sure that your appliance repair service doesn’t fool you?
Do lots of research
Never choose an appliance repair service that you come across first—this can be a very costly mistake. Thus, it’s essential to take some time to research the company. Today, we have numerous online review websites, which makes it easier to find a reputable appliance repair service provider.
By researching past customer reviews and opinions, you will get a better idea of what to expect from the technician. When researching about the technician or company, ensure that there are no complaints from previous customers or the BBB (Better Business Bureau)—a reliable source for reputable businesses.
Communication is vital
Before hiring an appliance repair service, you must create a strong and reliable connection. The business needs to know your expectations as their client, and these expectations must be clearly stated in your contract.
Moreover, if you notice that the service isn’t up to what you expected from the already established contract, you must raise the concern to the provider. In case the company is not responding to your concerns, taking longer to respond, or there’s no open communication, it’s time to search for another appliance repair service. There’s always a reason for the silence, and it can be costly at the end.
Be extra cautious
You should be careful with appliance repair services that promise to give you the best deal for repairing or servicing your appliances. This is particularly essential for people who go door-to-door seeking clients. The best way to handle such companies is to take their business information and tell them you’ll give them a call if need-be.
Also, you should be careful of repair companies that push you to make a fast decision the moment you contact them for consultation. You should never trust such businesses. You need at least a day to think before deciding on the company that you need to hire to repair your appliances.
When doing an online search about the appliance repair service, ensure that the business has a physical address listed on the website. You should be wary of a business that claims to be mobile, as there’s a possibility that they are a scam. Moreover, once you’ve hired the contractor, ensure that you know the specific time and name of the person who shall be handling your appliances. You should let them handle your appliances if the information provided by the company lines up.
Be careful with your payments
At times, you will be asked to make a deposit before the repair work starts. Typically, the deposit ranges between 25% – 30% of the total cost for the entire service. This is the amount that you need to pay—and nothing else.
The rest of the money should be paid once the job is done, and you are satisfied with the results. Besides, always pay for appliance repair jobs with your credit card. Making such payments will ensure that you are well protected against appliance repair scammers.
You should never pay for appliance repair work with cash. Dishonest or scan technicians will ask you to pay in cash and upfront. Such technicians will then disappear before the job is finished. When you pay with your credit card, your credit card company can help you in solving any disputes that might arise with your charges.
Check the validity of the warranty
Experts from Hartman’s appliance repair in Tampa, Florida, advise people to let their appliance repair technician check the validity of the broken appliance with the manufacturer. Mostly, if the warranty is not yet expired, you can easily get the parts under the warrant at a discounted price, or for free. However, certain technicians ignore the fact that an item might be under warranty just to defraud their customers’ money.
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