Have you ever been taken in by a smooth talker, promising the world to you but delivering nothing? And just to be clear, we’re not talking about your personal life. We’re talking about heating and air conditioning scams. This may not be as serious a thing as being had by a special someone in your life, but it can still make a person doubt who to pick when they need their central heating or cooling system repaired or replaced. GAMA Air has been talking about things to look out for when it comes picking a professional HVAC technician or installer in the Beverly Hills, Culver City, Mar Vista, Miracle Mile, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Bel Air, Westwood, Downtown Los Angeles, Vernon, Huntington Park, Sherman Oaks, Encino area. You can read Part 1 and Part 2 here. Let’s continue now with the next installment.
Pushy smooth-talk or high-pressure sales pitch
This is the next logical scam trick to talk about. Whether you are told of an expensive repair that is needed, or that you need to replace an entire indoor or outdoor unit, a common scam trick is to pressure you on the spot to make a decision that will have you signing a check or passing over your credit card for a high-dollar purchase. If you feel like you’re being smooth-talked or scared into something you’re not comfortable paying for then ‘Look Out!’
What can you do?
Get a second opinion. Do we sound like a broken record? Well, sorry. But we need to say it again. On one hand, there are dangerous operating conditions that a capable and trained HVAC tech will be on the lookout for. On the other hand, none of those conditions will put you and your family in immediate mortal danger or definitely result in catastrophic damage to your house or property. In every case simply turning off the power, or even closing a fuel valve, will be enough to remain safe. This is a tactic likened to ‘striking while the iron is hot’. In other words, they don’t want you to think you have time to get a second opinion.
The claim that your AC needs to be “Recharged” with freon.
The “recharging” scam is a dishonest technician’s way of easily billing you for refrigerant you may need without fixing the real problem. If your unit is truly low on freon or refrigerant, it means there is a leak somewhere in the system. The problem is not low refrigerant; the problem is the leak. Recharging without fixing the leak is an easy way to get money for a very short-term fix.
What can you do?
Think about it this way: If you have a flat tire, and the tire shop simply tells you that the tire ran out of air and needs to be “recharged” or filled with air again, Wouldn’t you be asking why is it flat, and what they are going to do to make sure it doesn’t go flat again? In a similar way, if you allow an HVAC technician to merely fill your unit (“recharge”) with refrigerant, he or she is sweeping the problem under the rug. They are hoping you will keep calling them back for repeat service calls, to keep billing you without actually fixing the problem. Know the language of scammers! Your home’s AC unit does not need “recharging” like it needs a cleaning. Ask why it needs to be recharged, and what they will do to ensure it won’t need to be recharged for years to come.
Do you have an urgent problem that needs immediate attention? Call GAMA Air at (310) 651-6936 or use our online form to schedule a visit at a time convenient to you for a service call. We have many happy customers in and around Beverly Hills, Culver City, Mar Vista, Miracle Mile, Hollywood, West Hollywood, Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Marina Del Rey, Pacific Palisades, Brentwood, Bel Air, Westwood, Downtown Los Angeles, Vernon, Huntington Park, Sherman Oaks, Encino and we want you to be one of them. Plus, we guarantee your satisfaction 100%.
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