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Subscribe to RSSA couple in Phoenix, AZ have loaned their house to "Dateline's" Chris Hansen to test how easily a homeowner can end up spending hundreds, even thousands of dollars on unnecessary home repairs. Equipped with hidden cameras from top to bottom, watch as repairmen are put to the test to see if they can make a fix quickly, honestly and efficiently.
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I am glad that Dateline is exposing these plumbers as the scams are unending not only with plumbers but with other contractors who do home repairs.
I fell prey to a scam involving a company called Blanton Brothers a number of years ago. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ran an article about it which you can read on jsonline.
WOW! What a fantastic segment by Chris Hansen exposing the criminal element known as "home repair contractors". I wish there was a televised series specifically dedicated to this, as I don't believe there is any accountability these days. Complaints filed with the board of contractors and the BBB are hardly sufficient in detouring these people from preying on the inccocent home owner. The problem is we can't expose them enough and without significant monetary persecution, there is nothing to prevent them from simply moving from one victim to the next. There used to be a show hosted by David Horrowitz called "fight back". I would like to see something like that ressurrected.
Regarding- Mark Weinberger/Hansen-This so called Monica is a man. How could any one not see that. I did not see all the interview and I am not going to watch the rest. This Monica kept a hat on in all the interviews except previous videos taken before this story. Please what crap. The announcer is a jerk for doing this interview. Monica---- No--------Mark yes.
Rubbish! How much did the greedy lawyer receive?
My side by side freezer/refrigerator stop to cool the refrigerator so I called for service and I paid them $460.00 to fix it, well still it is doing the same, I called them again and they told me that nothing they can do, that they fix what it was wrong, and if they come back I need to pay them only for come to my home again. It is very frustrating, I'm a widow and now unemployed, so I don't know to whom complain or what to do, and watching today program seems to me that they scam me, but as I said I don't know what to do.
Dear Mr. Hansen,
Your expose of repairmen in Arizona was interesting. It was disappointing to see that the repairman who was honest and able to diagnose the problems was not interviewed, thanked, and given any recompense for his honesty on National TV. Many of your viewers locally in Arizona would appreciate knowing of an honest repairman.
Elaine
McHenry, Illinois
I am a 65 year old single woman who was ripped off by a "plumber"..I paid him but he failed to pay the "subs"..Long story short--3 years in court with a judgement in my favor ($110,000)..then he claimed "bankruptcy...another year...even when you do things 'right" and they don't...the courts protect them...I am a retired college professwor/police inspector and I was 'taken". I would love you to do a follow-up story on the price the victims pay...A nightmare for anyone but at 65 I am amazed that the courts are so lenient towards the Bad guys and not the tax paying victim. I would love a story on the after effects a bad and dishonest contractor can cause on your "head"...I prosecuted criminals in criminal court and was amazed at the slow-paced process of the civil courts!...thanks, Lynne Atkinson (415)647-1312
I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and the stories I could tell about trying to get a small kitchen remodel done in my house would make you cringe. Women are the easy targets, no matter how much you try to follow correct procedures (checking license, complaints,) There really should be more prosecution of these criminal scam artists. They steal money just as a armed robber would and cause unmeasurable stress, inconvience and wasted time out of people's lives. What Hansen exposed was the mere tip, tho it was telling what one scammer plumber said that he was not a licensed plumber but was doing this cuz he needed money-- an easy way to scam people and get away with it. Open season on the consumers
I'm somewhat disappointed in this "journalism" for ratings. As Elaine mentioned above, "..the repairman who was honest... was not interviewed, thanked or given any recompense for his honesty on national TV." The reasoning behind that lack of full disclosure is that it would not be good for ratings. NBC, as far as ratings are concerned, is grasping at straws to compete with the likes of ABC and FOX and resorts to lazy, already-been-done, "I caught you" type specials. It is very easy to go after the low hanging fruit; blue-collar, working class people. Let's be honest, these are not murderers, rapists, or child molestors, they are (for the most part) hardworking middle class individuals who are trying to make a living and provide for their families. If it is NBC and Chris Hanson's position that these people are to be demonized, then let them demonize all of American society for it's "take-no-prisoners", "I dont care what happens to anyone else as long as I get mine," mentality. If Chris Hanson and dateline NBC want to expose greed, corruption, and dishonesty, maybe they should start with the company that clears their paychecks, GE...but I digress.
To get back to my point about this show painting blue collar service men/women as corrupt and sinister... I would challenge anyone who feels that the precluding statement is true to go to a local mall, car dealership, or even online, and count the number of times someone trys to sell you something that you don't need. If you find that number to be zero, then I will be the first to apoligize and admit that I am wrong. If not, I suggest you stop attacking easy targets. Let us also not forget that "sales," is a significant piece of commerce. This piece employs millions of people in the U.S. alone and some people make a living doing nothing but "selling" products or service. Is it ok for an insurance salesman to blatently rip off his customer because he wears a suit while doing it? I think not.
Full disclosure - I am a financial analyst for a fortune 500 company and am in no way affiliated with any company or individual presented on this show.
Kyle John - You can can hardly compare the dishonest service guys to those who try and sell you stuff in a mall. The dishonest service guys know you are relying on their "expertise" and are purposely taking advantage of your lack of knowledge on the subject. With regard to the people at the mall, you can simply say no to them and continue with your day with no further hang ups. Say no to the AC guy who says you need a new unit otherwise you will bake...that's a little different.
Being dishonest at the blue collar level or the white collar level is no different. For you to make it "ok" for blue collar workers to be dishonest because they are trying to provide for their families is just wrong. It is also ironic that you think people who were doing the right thing should have been commended. Commended because they were doing what was expected? Really? (The honest service guys' companies did get plugs on national TV). I think the fact that they weren't embarrassed on national TV for doing the wrong thing was enough. It is so sad that our country is coming to this: being lauded for being moral. You commend a kid for doing the right thing because he is learning. You shouldn't have to commend an adult for doing the same because THAT is what is expected of an adult.
Unfortunately, I had an experience with Precision Garage Door and realized that it is not the blue collar technician that is corrupt, but the corporate business model of this particular franchise that encourages such dishonesty and money-gouging tactics. It's a shame that the people who ring your doorbell are put in the position that they are in just to have a job. In the meantime, the people who design these money-gouging business models are not held accountable.
I wish the show would have given some statistics on how many repairmen were called, how many repairmen got the diagnoses correct and how many tried to take advantage of the consumer. If you have these stats it would be nice to publish. Because it does paint a broad picture of the service industry as a whole. I'm sure there were more good guys then bad guys?? Where can i find your stats??
Steve
Buyer beware and that goes for you all consuming a neatly edited "news" piece. In case you didn't know, their experts are also these guys' competitor. They got a great hour long commercial for themselves and dinged their competition nicely. More than that they hurt a lot of middle class families just trying to get by being handy men in a cruddy economy. Also its quite a leap from misdiagnosing a problem to scamming someone intentionally. When you intentionally sabotage an appliance the guy coming out fix it is going to think of the most obvious thing that could be causing your problem and go from there. Its called logic and process of elimination.
Any time DATELINE wants to contact me to do the same type of story in my state (not AZ), I would be more than obliged. I am suspicious of this all the time when it comes to service (auto, electric, etc.), knowing that they have the upper hand because they have more knowledge than I. Although, had I been Jenny's neighbor, I could have fixed her garage door for her, as I have fixed those same exact problems myself!
Thanks DATELINE for doing the show. Hopefully service companies across the nation watched and will keep the dishonesty to a minimum.
I live in Phoenix and I'm sooo happy you called Abode Air and exposed their scamming ways! They telemarket me constantly, and have for years, and I always file a DoNotCall.gov complaint against them, but it never stops. I tell them every single time they call that I need to be taken off their call list. They are obviously so dishonest... do they really think I would actually use them after the hundreds of times they have bothered me??
BTW they have an F rating on the BBB, and an injunction against them from the Attorney General for their telemarketing practices.
Low hanging fruit for Dateline? Maybe. But the bigger picture lesson is valuable. Get a 2nd opinion and check out the service providers you use.