Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/17/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My washing machine turns on but is not filling with water. I contacted Mr. Appliance repair and they explained it would be $120 service charge to come out, which I agreed to. When the technician arrived he spent some time diagnosing the problem with the washing machine and then stated the price of $391.92 to repair, and proceeded to run my credit card. Right before he left he stated "I hope it's not the motherboard, if it's the motherboard we have a bigger issue.". I was confused by that statement because I thought he already repaired the problem. When he left I checked my email and noticed the receipt said: "Water Inlet Valve Repair or Replace $391.92." There was no breakdown what the lump sum charge was for (i.e. service charge, labor, parts, etc) so I called the main office to request a breakdown of the charges. I was told by the receptionist "our system isn't set up to break anything down to show you what you're paying for." The receptionist also stated a part needed to be ordered and I had to pay up front cost for the part. It was that moment when I realized that the technician didn't even fix the washing machine, yet I still paid full price for the labor and repair in advance. I told them this was not acceptable business practice and I need a receipt to show a breakdown of what I'm being charged (which they refused to supply) or they needed to refund my card immediately. I was then told it takes 7 days to issue a refund but they cannot refund the service call fee. I did not give this company permission to charge me a lump sum in excess of the service call fee of $120.00. I do not see how this company can get away with surprise-charging customers without providing a break down of cost, or charging for parts and labor that hasn't even taken place yet. The customer service at this repair business is some of the worst I've experienced. I expect my refund within 7 days. You just can't pre-charge someone for something that hasn't been done and not explain details!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/20/2023

  I'm sorry the customer was not pleased with our procedures, but we stand by our practices. We do not engage in surprise or mystery charges. We are very clear with our $120 Trip & Diagnostic fee. We also provide a full quote to the customer for the necessary repair prior to performing any work, allowing them to make a decision as to whether they want to do the repair or not. This quote is shown to the customer on our iPad, which they sign on the screen if they agree to it. The customer agreed to pay the full cost of the repair at that time. The iPad also shows them the amount that will be charged. 

  When we do not have the part needed for the repair readily available that day (the part needs to be ordered), we do offer customers the option to pay half at this time, and the remainder when we return to install the ordered part. It seems, based on these comments, that there was confusion at the time that we would need to come back out because we did not have that part with us. As far as the detail of the repair quote, we price our repairs by the job, we do not itemize. When the customer called the office with their pricing questions we did provide the rough split between parts and labor, but they were insisting on us sharing our sources and costs for the parts, essentially wanting to know our margins. We do not share this information.

  But the customer did authorize us to charge their card for the cost of the repair. As far as the technician comment regarding the possible need for a board, this can happen sometimes. His testing indicated that only the component, the valve, was faulty. But it can happen sometimes where once the faulty component is replaced, it uncovers a secondary problem with the board. He was trying to ensure the customer had all of the information to make a fully informed decision. If nothing else, it sounds like we might need to speak with our technician about their communication to make sure that everything is crystal clear with the customer, though we have not had this issue in the past.

  The refund was processed yesterday.

  It is my opinion that this customer simply got confused or there was a miscommunication of some sort with the technician's explanation of the return process. But as I stated, there is nothing we do that is a "surprise".  And we do not provide itemized receipts.  If customers push for it, we will give them a rough breakdown, but we certainly will not provide our costs or margins.  We see 50-60 customers every day.  If we were doing something "wrong", he would not be the outlier that he is on this.  Our reviews would back us up on this as well.

  If you have any further concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you.