I was out of town and my wife had to call an someone out to repair our A/C unit. I just got the bill in the mail and they charged $70.00 for a common generic capacitor that is $10.00ish at retail. I have no problem paying the $75.00 service call charge, but absolutely refuse to be ripped off like this! Do I have any legal options? She was never made aware of any charges before he left, nor signed anything.

Should I reply to the bill with a letter of some sort? Does it need to be registered? What should I say that would actually make them consider changing the bill?

6/19/2011 5:45:34 PM

Have you tried calling them yet? Is it possible there was 60 in labor? Like:

75 just to show up,
10 in parts
60 for an hours time in labor?

Or did the 75 include labor?

6/19/2011 6:03:45 PM

It was a $60 tax for dealing with a woman.

6/19/2011 6:11:12 PM

$150 for a capacitor change sounds like a standard rate to me.

6/19/2011 6:29:43 PM

I had the same deal happen when I got my A/C fixed. I knew how much it was because I had been thinking about doing the job on my own. They claimed it was the value for parts/labor they had in their book. Luckily, I argued with them about it before I authorized the fix after they gave me the quote. They knocked it down to like 30 or something.

I doubt you have any recourse now. Although I am surprised that they did the work and left without you paying. Every HVAC person I have worked with required payment as soon as the work was done.

6/19/2011 6:44:31 PM

No they charged me

$70.00 for a $10.00 capacitor
$75.00 labor
=for a total of $145.

How do I fight the outrageous markup of the capacitor?

6/19/2011 8:18:27 PM

You don't.

6/19/2011 8:32:41 PM

I highly doubt you can find a new capacitor that is the same as the one he installed for $10.00ish what they charged you sounds about right.

6/19/2011 9:31:13 PM

^why's that?

6/19/2011 9:41:52 PM

[Edited on June 19, 2011 at 9:45 PM. Reason : .]

6/19/2011 9:44:15 PM

ok so if i hear this right some one came out to your house and shut your wife up from bitching about it being hot as hell in the house for the sum of $145? and you are complaining about it? sounds like a smoking deal to me, does he do house calls for things other than A/C work?

6/19/2011 9:46:00 PM

Why are you even bitching about this? You didn't have the know how to fix it, so your wife called someone that did. Its the same reason a brake job is $texas at the dealership, but like $40 DIY. I bet if you call and complain to the place that fixed it, not only will you not get any money back, they will come out and break something else on your a/c unit.

6/19/2011 10:02:57 PM

^I am simply looking for a legal opinion, I don't rape my customers and I don't expect to be price gouged. I am a mechanic and I wouldn't charge my customers $1000.00 for a pair of brake pads when it is common knowledge that they could go to Advance and pay $100.00 for them.

6/19/2011 10:17:52 PM

Quote :

"$70.00 for a $10.00 capacitor $75.00 labor =for a total of $145."

don't forget the service call charge

6/19/2011 10:26:47 PM

Have you tried just calling them?

6/19/2011 11:16:44 PM

sorry guy, sounds pretty typical to me.

best option imo is to call them up, tell them you know you could have gotten a better deal with a competitor, and you'd be a happier customer if they could mark down the cost by $30-40 or something. you'll probably get better, quicker results this way than wasting your time and patience trying to go through the legal process. if they are sticklers, you can mention your wife was not made aware of they charges or signed anything to try and needle them into cutting you a deal.

[Edited on June 19, 2011 at 11:20 PM. Reason : .]

6/19/2011 11:18:44 PM

Quote :

"How do I fight the outrageous markup of the capacitor?"

A simple case of free enterprise.

Your wife was free to call around and price this service.

Why didn't your wife ask what the cost was going to be when she called?

6/19/2011 11:28:50 PM

You have no chance (read: 0.00 chance) as far as court/law goes. you could always call and complain to see if they change anything but as the users before me stated, $145 is average

[Edited on June 19, 2011 at 11:43 PM. Reason : welcome to 'murica, son]

6/19/2011 11:42:52 PM

Standard markup for HVAC service parts is 100%. The wholesale price on the capacitor was probably around $30-$40. $70 bucks sounds about right. BTW, you have zero legal recourse.

6/19/2011 11:59:18 PM

Sounds like a legit service bill to me.

6/20/2011 12:54:59 AM

1- call them like I said before, and a few others have said.
2- express that you're disappointed in their rates on parts and that you'll be shopping elsewhere if they don't charge you a more reasonable rate.


I'm still shaking my head at the fact that you're looking for legal options over 60 bucks. Just bad mouth them and never do business with them again.

6/20/2011 1:10:28 AM

^why bad mouth a business that seems to have charged him a legitimate price?

6/20/2011 2:52:45 AM

Quote :

"I am a mechanic and I wouldn't charge my customers $1000.00 for a pair of brake pads when it is common knowledge that they could go to Advance and pay $100.00 for them."

Haha are you fucking serious? A mechanic trying to get all ethical on another service business for trying to make a profit.

6/20/2011 7:21:22 AM

damn, thanks...

6/20/2011 9:49:29 AM

It is true. Capacitors only cost $10.


But the capacitor you need nobody will sell you. You have to have a license to even be considered to be sold a part. They won't even tell you the price of a part without having your HVAC license.

The market is rigged.

Your only safeguard is the internet. You could probably buy your part on the internet. But you better know what you're doing and you better know you're ordering the right part.

6/20/2011 2:52:23 PM

Quote :

"But the capacitor you need nobody will sell you. You have to have a license to even be considered to be sold a part. They won't even tell you the price of a part without having your HVAC license. The market is rigged. Your only safeguard is the internet. You could probably buy your part on the internet. But you better know what you're doing and you better know you're ordering the right part."

The sky is not falling.

When a transformer in my furnace blew I took it out, went to some place called "D&L" on Atlantic Ave., and bought a replacement for $28 or so. They did not care that I was not a professional. They only cared about my cash. Enough said. Quit spreading misinformation.

mech should probably get the specs off the capacitor and call them to see how much it would run him. Most of the industry people I know only mark up parts 10%-20%, so if it really is a $10 part I wouldn't hesitate to call them out on it. You might still have to pay the bill, but at least you'll know you tried.

[Edited on June 20, 2011 at 3:00 PM. Reason : s]

6/20/2011 2:58:16 PM

^I already called around. Price was 11, 15, and 15 at three different places. The place that serviced it doesn't sell anything otherwise I'd have gone over there too. Apparently it's a pretty generic part.

6/20/2011 7:32:14 PM