Afco Appliance Repair

Review: I am writing this complaint on behalf of my ill mother, who lives alone. Her oven door handle fell of and I had to order both the handle and screws from Afco in Lynbrook, NY totaling over $200. The handle was installed exactly as how the directions requested / required it to be, even having a fellow worker in the industry oversee this simple install. After TWO days of being installed on the oven door, the handle has fallen off. After it was put back on, it fell off again. I called Afco, requesting them to send one of their techs out to the house as I need to determine whether what they sold me was defective or not, which obviously is. Their response to this was that I would have to pay for a tech to come to the house. After telling them this was not an option as I am not paying more $ for a screw up on their end, they had the AUDACITY to tell me my mother could just open the oven door by pulling it down via the side and not use the handle. They refused to send a tech to the house and refused to order a new handle, telling me "you are stuck with what you have unless you want to order a new one". After telling them I was filing a complaint with the Revdex.com, they told me to go "[redacted]" before hanging up the phone.Desired Settlement: I want 1 of 2 things to happen here - I want a tech to come to the house and install a NEW handle or I want a new handle ordered and I will have someone else install it for me.

Business

Response:

Customer purchased a handle and screws for a stove on two separate occasions. Customer first bought the handle on 8/**/13 and only ordered the screws a month later on 9/**/13. Customer contacted us claiming the product we sold him was defective and demanded we send over a technician to examine the stove. We explained to the customer that there would be a service charge of $69.95+tax for the technician to check the stove. Customer then yelled at our representative demanding we send a technician out for free. Customer was told all part sales were final and no returns would be accepted - as clearly stated on the sales receipt. Moreover, the handle was purchased over a month before and was no longer under manufacturer warranty. Our representatives have excellent customer service and try to help our customers to the best of their abilities. Our representatives would never raise their voice or use inappropriate language towards a customer. Since customer ordered the handle and the screws within a month span the customer must have tried installing the handle and stripped it to a point where it was unusable. Customer then claimed we sold him a defective product - if so, why didn't he contact us immediately after it was purchased (8/**/13).

Customer also claims his purchase was over $200, however the both purchases were totaled $129.35. We would have been more than happy to have exchanged the part for the customer had it indeed been defective and within the 30 day manufacturer's warranty.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

[Your Answer Here]

What was just communicated by the business in response to my

complaint is utterly false and a lie. I can provide a sworn affidavit

from the repair man who installed the handle as to the exact dates that it was installed (once

with old screws and again with new screws). Their justification of the

handle being installed for over a month is simply not based on facts and is

false. The handle fell off after it was installed with the screws already

in the oven handle door (handle cracked in the middle, hence the need for a new

one), which held the old oven handle in place for over 8 years with not a

single issue. When purchasing the handle and installing it with the

current screws, the handle fell off.

We then placed a call into the business (I’ve spoken with

AT&T and can provide certified records from them displaying this call, as

well as the other calls referenced in this response) explaining that the handle

we just purchased fell off. They then argued with us that it must have

been installed incorrectly because it wouldn't just fall off. They then

told me that maybe the screws I had from prior handle aren't good (despite them

holding the prior handle in place for over 8 years) and that I should order new

screws, which I did. These did not come in right away and there was a

waiting period for them to be delivered. Once these came in, the same

repairmen attempted to install the handle, (which according to Afco, must have

been done incorrectly, despite a simple task of having to screw 2 screws into a

handle, which someone who has worked in construction for over 20 years is more

than, by New York standards, capable of handling) but to no avail, the handle

continued to fall off. AFCO's argument here is that the act of simply

screwing 2 screws into the back of a handle was done incorrectly, causing it to

strip. Why then did the screws from the prior handle hold it in place for

over 8 years, yet would not hold this "new" handle provided by AFCO,

nor would the new screws I had to order. The handle is defective and I

demand a new one be issued.

AFCO claims they have excellent customer service and would never

raise their voice to customers. This too is untrue. If the case,

then why does AFCO publicly cite a despicable letter to its customers and

residents of Lynbrook on its counter top about pets and the pet hair, directly

aimed at customers who have obviously complained? Good customer service?

I, among those that the letter was generated towards, disagree.

There was no approximate option when submitting this claim form,

hence the use of "~" when submitting the dollar value as an

approximate. I did not have the receipts on me when submitting, therefore

could not give a definitive dollar value. There was no claim that it was

over $200. This was an approximate, indicated by the use of

"~", since I did not have this information readily available.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

Customer purchased a handle on 8/**/13 with a sales receipt stating no returns or refunds on parts. If part were defective customer should have brought it back within a timely manner so we could have examined it and determine a proper course of action.

Customer failed to do so and demanded we send out a technician without proof of the item being defective and without trying to have it replaced if indeed it were defective.

Customer displayed rude behavior to our employees and even went as far as to make a completely false statement that one of our employees used inappropriate language towards him

Regarding the "despicable" letter, it is an obvious joke meant to entertain our customers as we don't have animals in our store; so surely no one ever complained about pet hair and such. We will gladly provide a copy of this "despicable" letter if required.

Sales of parts are non refundable or returnable and part sales do not include a service call.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by Afco Appliance Repair regarding complaint ID [redacted].

Sincerely,

Review: I opted to use AFCO for my fridge service because I wanted to help out a local business. Even after a less than great experience over the summer when I brought my AC in for a repair. At that time I had to pay $40 for them to check out the AC with the consolation that if it was unrepairable I could put the $40 toward the purchase of a new one. I ended up losing my $40 because their pricing for the exact same AC was $90 more than PC Richards or Lowes. But I thought maybe the was out of their control so I gave them a second chance. But now I realize that they are jacking up their prices in the hopes that once someone has already spent the $40 they won't bother to price check so they'll get the $40 plus the extra for the the new unit.

I placed a service call for my fridge. The repairman (who I think was the owner) who came told me it would be 4 days to order a new timer from Albany but he had one on the truck he could adjust to fit. It would be $239. I asked if he would do better on the price for a jerry-rigged part. He said no the right part would be even more expensive. So I said go ahead because I was already 2 days without a fridge and it was Saturday. I went out for the day after restocking the "repaired" fridge with food. I came back about 8 hours later and the fridge was dead again. Now it was late Saturday night and I couldn't get in touch with anyone until Monday. So I took a look at the part to see if there was anything I could do and what he did was not only criminal but also a fire hazard.

It's a piece that looks like a plug with 4 prongs and he trimmed the prongs to make them narrower to fit the connector. But it didn't fit because the spacing between the prongs was off and the prongs were longer than on the original part so the prongs were sticking out about 1/4". Then to secure it he taped it together with electrical tape. I found the part online and even with a $30 expedited shipping fee was only $90 and the part came the next day. Therefore when adding the $70 labor charge (fee charged for a home service call) the job shouldn't have cost more than $160. When I spoke to him on Monday he was so casual (after a second fridge full of food was spoiled) telling me he would order me the correct part. I told him no I didn't want him to order the part that he could have his part back and return my check. He agreed to do this and I ordered the part myself.

Tuesday when I got home from work I had the new part and repaired the fridge in about 2 minutes. He had not picked up the altered part or returned my check. So 8:30 Wednesday morning I called the office asked for a call back with the status. At 2:30 I still hadn't received a call so I called the office again and the woman who answered the phone refused to call him to follow up. She said she didn't know me and wasn't putting her job on the line to interrupt him while he was working. I explained that it would be OK because he took 2 phone calls while he was at my house for all of 15 minutes. I put a stop payment on the check for a $30 fee. And even with that it will still only cost me $110 rather than $239!!! This man is as shady as they come.Desired Settlement: I should be asking for him to pay for the spoiled food but I just want to be done with him. Luckily it was a minor enough repair that I could take care of it myself. But other people need to be aware of their less than ethical business practices..