What should I do?

[Kloubek]

So, the compressor on my fridge died on me. I figured I would give the "little guy" an opportunity to make some money, so I called little-known "Bob's Appliance Repair".

He came out that weekend, and took a look. Sure enough - it was the compressor. He said he could not fix it right away, as he left his torch at his other house out of town. (Should have been my first clue not to use him.) He said he would get his torch on the weekend, and come over Tuesday. He asked for a $50 down payment so he could buy the compressor. Sure - why not... seems to make sense. So I cut him a cheque.

Tuesday rolls around, and I don't hear from him. So I call. He forgot who I was, then apologized and said he forgot about getting the tools, and he would do so the next weekend. I reluctantly agreed.

The next weekend rolls around, and I call him on the Monday. He says something came up and he was not able to get his tools again.

I tell him I am very upset, as I have not had fresh food in nearly a month. He apologizes and says he understands, and suggests another company to deal with instead. I tell him that if that's what I have to do, then I will.

So I asked him if he can return my down payment.

"Down payment? Oh no... that was just for the service call."

"Uh... no.... you told me it was a down payment on the compressor, and that's what I wrote on the cheque".

"Sorry... nothing I can do about that. I performed the service".

After getting fairly angry, I started raising my voice and eventually hung up on him.

The service call is useless because anyone else who repairs the fridge will have their OWN service call charge. So in short, this guy stole my money.

What should I do about this? I'm open to both legal or otherwise advice.

Unfortunately, it is too late to cancel the cheque, as I have waited two weeks for this guy to get his "tools".

[nos_efx]

Would it be too late to cancel the check?

[Penis McNickels]

What kind of asshole does a service call without any tools?

This fucker came to rip you off...

If the service bill is large enough, which it probably isn't, take his ass to small claims court.... Otherwise, it looks like you are out of some cash...

[hampstor]

Did he give you a receipt for any service done? If not and it hasn't been more then a few days, call your bank and talk to them about canceling the cheque. :)

[Kloubek]

No, no receipt. Figured writing details on the cheque was sufficient. Plus, I believed he was a standup guy.

I can't seem to find the guy's address either. Any thoughts on how one might obtain such information? Here's his phone # if it helps: (403) 815-8917. It's a cell though, so reverse lookup, etc do not seem to work....

If I could get this info, I wouldn't be completely against laying the boots to him in exchange for my money.

EDIT: Hey, I think I found his address:
102-840 67 Avenue SW

Fucker lives in an apartment? Geesh. Though I am guessing he parks his truck outside... ;)

[jdmXSI]

This would be priceless, everyone on beyond should call this guy and give him a fake address and book a service call to completly waste this scumbags time so he can't actually make any money. Regardless, I think you should be able to stop payment on the cheque because he didn't live up to his end of the bargin for a "deposit" on the compressor.

[Kloubek]

It's been 2 weeks though, and I think if you cancel a cheque it has to be done right away before it gets processed.

If you guys want to help me out here and do as jdmXSI suggests, feel free! It's a free world! lol

I think I should call him one more time though - give him ample opportunity to do the right thing...

[malcolmk14]

sent him a text message calling him a loser.

[van]

Originally posted by malcolmk14
sent him a text message calling him a loser.

Should've sent a SMS with an address and name to perform a 'service call'.

[analbumcover]

1-800-784-2433

[A790]

Originally posted by malcolmk14
sent him a text message calling him a loser.
That'll learn him.

[Kloubek]

Originally posted by analbumcover
1-800-784-2433

1-800-Suicide. Awesome.

And yes, I should send him a txt message saying really mean things. I'm sure that will make him feel really bad and reconsider his position. lol

[analbumcover]

Originally posted by Kloubek


1-800-Suicide. Awesome.

And yes, I should send him a txt message saying really mean things. I'm sure that will make him feel really bad and reconsider his position. lol

haha nice edit, did you call the line and see?

haha sorry, i thought it was kinda funny

is this guy a member of the BBB? Call them and file a complaint, for $50 theres nothing else you can really do that wont cost you more

[Kloubek]

lol. I did edit it. Actually, I work with ~Leah~ who is on this board, and she did a google search and found out what it was for.

I doubt he's a member of the BBB. Though you can still lodge complaints even if someone is not a member.... not a bad thought actually, though I'm not sure leaving it to another entity would give me the retribution I so seek...

[malcolmk14]

maybe if we get everyone to send him text messages calling him a loser?

[Kloubek]

Update:

So my fridge woes are finally over. It's fixed.

After keeping to forget his welding equipment, he finally decided to pawn my job off on someone else he knew. That someone called me, but never returned my call after that despite 3 voicemails. I called Bob back, expressing that I was even more unimpressed. He directed me to Rundle Appliances. I called them up and scheduled an appointment for two weeks later.

They told me they would come in the afternoon, but they decided to come before noon, when I was at work. They told me I needed to schedule another appointment, but I dd not want to wait yet another 2 weeks for them to come.

So I called Bob back, because he already had my down payment anyway. A week later, he FINALLY came.

He installed the new compressor, but the new relay that came with it blew immediately. As such, I needed to wait another weekend for him to come back and put a new one on.

But finally, my fridge is fixed.

Bob was very apologetic, and told me that despite getting upset with him over the phone he felt I handled everything well. He explained he was a part-time pastor, and proceeded to try to convert me to his religion. Not likely. But it was interesting hearing his position on science, etc.

So in short - my review of Bob's Appliance Repair:

Friendliness: 4/5
Price: 4/5
Quality of work: 4/5
Speed of service: 0/5. Absolutely abysmal.

[QuasarCav]

Wow, must be a bit of a pushover if you give a rating like that.

[Kloubek]

You consider 0/5 for speed a good rating? I call it as it is... his work was good and he was a nice guy - can't fault him for the relay blowing. The only thing he messed up on is his speed.

Oh... and I forgot one important part of the rating:
Religion: 5/5

If you knew what I was GOING to do if he kept my down payment, you would understand I'm hardly a pushover.

[Xamim]

So over all, how long did it take you to get it fixed? Because it sounds like it was a long time. :banghead:

[msommers]

Originally posted by Kloubek
I'm open to both legal or otherwise advice.

Over 50 bucks? Chalk it up on the experience board. Plus I wouldn't oblige to making fake addresses and having him come and visit. When you said other side of town where his tools where, which side is that? Just means I have to make an address further out than yours.

[rinny]

Originally posted by QuasarCav
Wow, must be a bit of a pushover if you give a rating like that.

No doubt! How can you give him 4/5 for Quality when he screwed you around like that? Speed of service is generally included in quality of work. Put it this way, in a one rating system, how was the overall experience of getting this choch to fix your fridge?

Anything over 3/10 deems you a pushover and thus, you'll be converting to his religion any day now...

[Khyron]

Damn - my fridge/freezer died on a weekend and I was pissed no one could come within 24 hours. 48 hours or so later it was up and running and I still wouldn't call that 5/5.

A month+? Unbelievable. Some things aren't worth saving 20-50 bucks over.

[Kloubek]

Xamim: In total, over a month! But I can't attribute that totally to him. I let it sit for a week or two before I did anything due to lack of funds....

msommers: $50 or $500, it's the act of someone stealing from me. It's not just the money (which as one can surmise from the above statement is not in plentiful supply right now), but the fact someone might possibly screw me over. The amount merely dictates the severity of my actions. And his place was not just across town; I think it was in Saskatchewan actually.

Rinny: Overall, I'd say exactly that... maybe a 2.5.. a 3 if I was in a good mood. But on a scale of 0-5, there are no negatives. Otherwise it would be -3 for speed I'd say. Converting to his religion? Lol... nah... I'm die-hard athiest. (sp) But it was indeed amusing listening to him try to explain things. Entertaining, if nothing else.

Khyron: It wasn't just about saving $50. It was about giving him the opportunity of making it right before I took what most would consider drastic measures. I believe everyone deserves a second chance unless they repeatedly prove otherwise. And it's not like I didn't try to get if fixed by someone else.... it just didn't work out.

I find it amusing some here deem me as a pussy because I took the actions I did. Yet, most would likely deem me overboard if I opted to get my retribution. Guess you just can't win...

[TomcoPDR]

Oh you guys wanna talk about "service calls" and being ripped off?

Well, so someone spents years of their youth being decent at their trade/industry, they work for past boss' who makes good money off them (asshole or not, doesn't matter), they invest in tools required in the trade, then they finally calculated that it's worth a shot to open their own service (yes there are rewards, but lots of risks and shit to deal with)

Then these service call labours drive their trucks to HELP the customer in need, both parties agree on a price (or a trade for buyer's service), the service call guy spends his gas, time, labour, tools, knowledge, to take care of this "customer"

1. The service guy tries to get paid by customer
2. Customer drags issue on and on
3. Service guy can't take it no more for being ripped off BY customer
4. Service guy is now out his gas, tools/truck/biz expense (portion used to do job), TIME, his pride, etc...
5. Service guy makes thread on Beyond he got scammed
6. ?????????
7. Service guy does not profit
8. Customer still able to buy new toys after incident and live happily ever after



Sorry man, even for $50, not a bad deal for someone to tell you the problem with your fridge, even if you end up paying someone else.

[Kloubek]

Tom: Yeah, that really does suck for the service guy. I *could* have done the same thing to this guy if I so chose. He installed the compressor, and then the relay failed. I provided no signature or proof he installed the compressor.

But he went off, and came back on the Monday to install the relay. I could have told him to fuck off, and he would never have seen anything more than the $50. I could buy a relay for $20, and *poof* a running fridge. Easy way to save myself nearly half a grand!

It's unfortunate there are individuals in this world who have no qualms with preying off people by using loopholes, and just plain asshole judgement. I pride myself in not being one of those guys.

$50 for checking out what's wrong with it? Sure - that's a good deal. But anywhere I called said they wanted to do a service charge of their own to do the exact same test. Said they could not rely on the work of someone else.

So you would just prance around town happily paying multiple times because people can't do their job right? Well, good on you. You're clearly more understanding than I. But I expect the service I am told I am going to get without arbitrarily throwing money around like it grows on trees, wasting my time, and being without fresh food for so long. Each to their own.

[msommers]

Originally posted by Kloubek
msommers: $50 or $500, it's the act of someone stealing from me. It's not just the money (which as one can surmise from the above statement is not in plentiful supply right now), but the fact someone might possibly screw me over. The amount merely dictates the severity of my actions. And his place was not just across town; I think it was in Saskatchewan actually.

Hey dude, I don't blame ya. Principle is principle. But on the otherhand, how far do you want to take it to prove this guy is a scammer (maybe or he's just an idiot)? I've been in similar situations and unless you're willing to deal out the cash to "prove this guy is an asshat" I'd just let it go.

But from a legal point of view, what do you have as evidence that you can use against him? A cheque with something filled in the "memo" spot. Bit your tongue and try with a bigger company next time, despite you being the better man and trying to help the little guy.

[Khyron]

Originally posted by Kloubek
Khyron: It wasn't just about saving $50. It was about giving him the opportunity of making it right before I took what most would consider drastic measures.

I meant calling a garage mech in the first place. When mine went I called the 1800 in my manual and asked for their top recommened local repair outfit (thus would likely have parts on hand). Even if the hourly rate was a bit more. Just saying sometimes the hassle isn't worth the money (and sometimes it is).