Family warns of appliance repair company that misled and overcharged them

When a Waterloo couple called for help to fix an oven, they didn’t know they were about to experience a repair nightmare. CTV’s Jeff Pickel reports.

A family from Waterloo, Ont., is sending out a warning after dealing with an appliance repair call that turned into a nightmare.

When the Huegles’ oven broke, they called the store they bought it from, looking for a referral to help get their appliance back up and running.

Bob Huegle said they were encouraged to call Waterloo Appliance Service Ltd. The store employee searched for the company’s contact details online and gave the family a number to call.

But, as it turns out, the number they were given was not for Waterloo Appliance Services. Instead, it was for another repair company with a similar name that had purchased a sponsored Google ad.

“We thought we were dealing with a local company,” Huegle said.

The family paid $80 for a service call prior to a visit. Once the technician arrived, they were told an inspection would cost another $300.

Once the inspection was done, the technician said they needed a new bake igniter and a new gas valve. They were told each part would cost more than $1,200, for a total cost of more than $2,700.

Huegle felt like something was amiss, but he agreed to the work. Later, he looked online to find out what the prices of the parts should have been.

“I did some digging online to find out what the actual cost of the parts were. They were extremely overpriced by what they had quoted, probably three to four times more than the actual value of the parts,” he said.

Huegle said he learned the parts he paid $2,700 for only cost around $300.

To make matters worse, Huegle claimed the technician used the wrong bake igniter and the gas valve was never replaced.

Roughly a week after the repair was completed, the replacement part that had been installed broke, causing a loud bang and blowing one of the home’s breakers.

Huegle realized the company he was working with was not Waterloo Appliance Service Ltd. In order to get a refund, the Huegles signed a non-disclosure agreement and could not name the company they had mistakenly called.

Huegle called the real Waterloo Appliance Service Ltd and said they confirmed his suspicions that the wrong parts were used and the gas valve hadn’t been replaced.

Waterloo Appliance Service Ltd’s co-owner Jason Vale said they get calls about similar situations every day.

“They Google our name, they’ll get the top five or six sponsored ads, they’ll see a name that’s close to ours, that is in ours, and they’ll click on it,” he explained.

Vale said customers tell him the other company will quote an exorbitant repair cost so the customer will turn down the work and the technician can simply collect $300 for the visit.

He said other incidents mirror what happened to the Huegles.

“[The other company is] trying to lead the customer into either buying a new [appliance] or going ahead with repairs that are extremely overpriced,” Vale said.

Huegle also said he tried to get the name and Technical Safety Standards Authority (TSSA) information for the technician who came to his home. A TSSA certification is required to work on gas appliances.

Huegle said the company has refused to give him that information.

“You as a customer have every right to ask that technician for proof of their gas technician certificate as they walk in the door,” Vale said. “Every gas technician has to carry this certificate with them and produce it with the customer’s request.”

According to Vale there are several things a customer can do to prevent this situation from happening to them:

• Be wary of companies that don’t accept credit cards
• Be wary of companies that ask for payment prior to visiting your home
• Ask for the company’s physical location
• Be wary of a technician who shows up in an unmarked vehicle and not wearing a company logo on their clothes
• Look for the TSSA number on the vehicle - it is required to be visible by law
• Ask for the certificates or credentials