Finding a local handyman is often a challenge. It’s hard to know who to trust when you’re unsure of the exact problem in your home, and how much it should realistically cost to fix. How do you know you’re not being ripped off? Many people don’t – and far too many “professional tradespeople” get away with taking far more than they deserve from unsuspecting customers.
In an experiment to see if repairmen were giving a fair deal to their customers, Inside Edition arranged for two local technicians to visit a New Jersey home to clean their air vents.
After a while, air vents can build up dust, dirt and even mold, and cleaning them is important. When the air vents in the New Jersey home were examined by professionals, it was determined that they only needed a quick clean to remove some minor dust.
As it turned out, the two local technicians thought otherwise.
Video footage shows each of the technicians making their observations in the home. The first technician initially offers $29 to do the job – a fair price. Experts noted, though, that he was more interested in checking out the other furnishings in the room than the one item he was supposed to be looking at.
He then shone a flashlight in the air duct, told the Inside Edition team that there was dust already in the system, and upped his prices for $700 to “clean and sanitize” the system.
Even after the man had learned that he was being filmed, he stood by his prices, explaining that the system’s blower motor was dirty and needed cleaning. It was only when experts told him that they’d been watching him, and he hadn’t even looked at the blower motor, that he walked out of the house.
The second technician arrived not long after. When he gave his prices, again, he started off with a $29 deal – but raised it to $235.40. The team decided to let him do his job, and they weren’t impressed with his efforts.
He had a vacuum with him; a promising sign – except he didn’t turn it on. He didn’t do much at all until a member of the team of experts came to watch him.
After that, he put more effort in, removing the vents and switching on his vacuum. Certainly his service wasn’t worth more than $200.
Unsurprisingly, when the team revealed their cameras, the man was in no mood to stick around. He ducked his head down and said, “I know who you are,” then hurriedly walked to his car and reversed out of the driveway.
The secret recordings of these two tradesman carry an important message: if you’re quoted a a price that seems far too expensive for what you’re asking for, look elsewhere. Unfortunately, there will always be tradespeople who try to scam you out of your money, and the best way to avoid this is to arrange for multiple professional observations before deciding on a fair price.
There are also a couple of things you can do to determine whether a company is reputable before signing any contracts with them. Ask for proof of license and insurance, and ask for a system inspection from another company before hiring a contractor.
The video below shows the awkward moment that the two tradesmen were caught out trying to rip off the team of experts. Click the play button to watch it now.
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