File a complaint with the state licensing board.

Thanks for the comment Joseph. Can you tell me a bit more like what the complaint should be about? Can it just be overpriced services?

I wonder where and how they found the duct work to even do the job. This may be why they charge what they charge, I don't know.

I was just in a supply house a few days ago... no ducts except for 4" & 5" flex duct.

I'll take pictures & video if I ever come across a duct system that only has 4 & 5 inch flex installed. Ya, just never know these days.

You should have gotten additional estimates to make comparisons. Although because flex duct is extremely hard to find there probably wouldn't be many willing to quote a job like that currently.

Dani too bad, you didn't come here before this happened to you. The only thing you can do now is not using them again, they've "legitimately ripped you off".

There are a few companies like that around here, they give you a speech, they will scare you a little that something is not done right and you will have issues if this is not fixed then make you enter into a contract and do work that any other reputable company will do for half the price and do a much better job.

You simply fell for the sales tactics they use, entered into a contract, and at this point not much you can really do.

Most don't hire companies like that, especially people with tight budgets, most customers who have money or don't know any better use these services... in many cases, they offer long-term financing or no payments for 6 months, or interest-free for a year, best one if you sign a contract now you get $500 discount, in the meantime, you already been charged 10 times more than what it should cost.

All that is done to keep your mind off the number you be on the hook for in the long run.

Next time get a few estimates and compare apples to apples.

Good luck.

You have a variety of options including filing a complaint with your state's contractor licensing board and the Better Business Bureau. You can also post a google review to share your experience.

Dani before you start filing complaints and wasting time, read your contract... if they did something other than what is stated in your contract in regards to the scope of work or payment schedule, or if they defraud you in any way then you would have a case to file.

What they told you as words go it's meaningless, it's basically "he said, she said"... what matters is the terms you agreed to, so check your contract.

Places like that and you said it yourself they been in business for a long time with excellent reviews, this is just their sales tactic and this is an old salesman's playbook on how to sell jobs and make money, there are "dime a dozen" of businesses who do this every day and it's all legit. So before doing anything get all the facts before you end up in "a slander case"

Good luck

When a contractor comes to your house do not tell them all of your business. He could see that you were a novice in home renovations, so he knew he had you.

Red flags:

He kept saying that he wants to be honest and don’t want me to spend extra money.

He then talked me into joining their membership program for an annual AC tune-up, so that if the AC fails on me, I’ll know in advance.

The same guy showed up. He did the AC tune-up, and while inspecting the thermostat he told me to replace it with the smart thermostat I got would be expensive like $400. He again started stating how he’s trying to be open and honest about the pricing. He then told me if I let them redo the duct work, the installation of air filtration and smart thermostat can be included. He knew I was on a budget and told me he can let me use his employee’s discount. He started

He didn’t tell me more details as he was constantly making calls to his supervisor and coming back with sentences like “it’s really the lowest price I’ve seen”. So I said yes.

-----

Any work I get done, I ask about the price before they even hit the front door.

When they start using the 'honest' word, I tread very lightly. They are trying to make you think they are not the bad guy.

What contractor offers a client they just met their employee discount

PU-LEEZE!

Educate yourself and hopefully you can recoup some of the money. Good Luck!

You might try calling them and explaining how you've been overcharged and that you are going to give them bad reviews if they don't try to make it right.

This may not work but if not you should follow through and post your experience in yelp and google reviews, wherever you read their good reviews. A lot of business really care about these reviews.

Do you have a real scope of work of what you were paying for? I suspect thy completed the things you could see - i.e. the thermostat, but... if these guys are that shady - I would be worried if they did what they were contracted to do...

LIcensed contractors generally have a state licensing board that has a complaints / investigations unit. I'd start there after determining IF they completed the work.

Generally speaking, you can charge what you want for your services... it doesn't have to be fair or reasonable.

However, a contractor has a duty of due care, so while they can charge anything they want for their services, they can't be deceptive or mislead you. I suspect you are better off investigating whether or not they were honest about the benefits of the duct replacement.

If you find that they misrepresented the importance of various work, then I would advise contacting your state's attorney general's office for consumer affairs. In my state, the attorney general's office doesn't typically investigate a single complaint but will send a letter to the business informing them that there has been a complaint of fraud and list the possible penalties if they decide to pursue charges after an investigation. They urge the business to seek a private settlement. It is a rather heavy handed way to nudge businesses towards fair practices, because few want to risk the possibility of penalties.

It appears that auto dealer tactics have filtered down verbatim to the HVAC world. I know it already exists in vinyl siding and in the insurance hail damage fields. It's a ruthless way of doing business, but it's been present since before snake oil and it's up to the consumer to be vigilant in anything concerning their money.

Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like there will be recourse for this. But it might be worth a call/email to your district attorney or sheriff's office. For instance, in your state, there may be a clause required in the contract for a period of review. There may be other statutes regarding taking advantage of the elderly. If for some reason the events that occurred or the contract you signed might teeter the line on those and other statutes, there may be a case for something.

And FWIW a call to the BBB or online reviews mean nothing to businesses that perform in this manner.

Thanks to everyone for your reply. To answer some of the questions, they did finish all the work they promised. The AC was working fine and all the problem that the old duct was gonna cause was just that one guy’s envision (or expectation). Maybe it was beginner’s luck, all the major renovation projects except the AC duct were finished pretty smoothly. I’ve talked to so many genuine people and worked with various contractors and they all went pretty well. That’s why when the words were coming from a well-reputed company, I didn’t suspect too much. That’s one big miss.
I had too much on my plate and also due to my chronic sleep problem I pulled many all-nighters during that time, that’s why it’s not until recently that I started to sense things were strange. Thinking back to the whole process, they didn’t, in fact, provide any info regarding the payment plan before letting me sign the contract. That’s why when I asked the supervisor if I could pay by credit card, I meant to pay the monthly payment plan by credit card, and he thought I was saying I’m gonna pay in full by credit card. Nobody told me that the plan is handled by a bank and one needs to be approved in order to use the payment plan. They only let me file for approval after the job is done and didn’t tell me anything about the requirements for getting approved. I had no problem approving Chase credit cards but didn’t get approved for that payment plan. That’s when the supervisor started to showing a straight face and telling me if I don’t pay them in full they’ll put a lien on my house (he was petting my cats and making jokes and looked all nice and easy).
I was scared and told him I could ask help from my family but it’s gonna take about 2 weeks. He made a call to the office and informed them to mark the date that’s two weeks from the day and told them I’ll pay by that day because “she has a rich dad”.
Although they’ve finished the job, the whole experience was the worst. The whole time they treated me like someone who’s trying to ditch the payment and made me feel bad.

Soooo....Did you sign a contract for 11k or not? Did you sign any papers saying you would pay them 11k?

Before moving in, I wanted to install a central air filtration system since I have pets and sensitivity to VOCs. I saw this one system was recommended so I went on the brand website and located nearby dealers. I picked one that appears to be the most well-reputed based on their reviews and years in business. They sent their guy to take a look at the house and gave an estimate. The guy kept telling me there’s no point to add a new filtration system for one or two thousand dollars as the duct job was done so badly. He showed me some photos and pointed out how the pipes were zip tied and would limit the air flow.

This is how they get you. Alot of these air filtration systems come about because of the pandemic. Make claims to kill covid etc. Then the con is revolving around exactly what they use in your case -- you come this far you might as well replace the whole system.

I see it all the time. It starts from an inquiry - they use every tactic they can to get their foot in the door. It's a free estimate, they have sales people dressed like Techs. They are trained to sell. They have to do that because often times they have high and large advertising budgets. So if a companies over head is so large there isn't any thing that would prevent them from charging whatever. What's fair when you figure in all other possiblities like hard access, no materials (the haves and the have nots) -- when the haves -- have all the materials? They can charge whatever they want with impunity.

I just completed a job yesterday that was something similar except the home owner got additional quotes to compare. They called me for a quote to replace everything. However when I get out there and start looking at things I questioned the why would they do this with what they got and what their plans are for this house. If you don't open up and provide those answers the honest guy can provide solutions as to what you want. So it goes both ways.

So I asked what they really want and they opened up and told me. From there I laid out their options. Some of the other companies that they called were flat out lying. Telling the home owner they had freon leaks, the unit was old R22 freon etc. When in fact it was R410a and only 11 years old. They hadn't owned the house that long, the house was previously a rental house so maintenance was neglected.

They use things like code violations and such. Yet in my case I told the home owner you just bought the house without having the previous owner to fix this code violation? (The house was built in the 80's so name a house that doesn't have a code violation compared to today's building code.)

It's used as something to motivate you and part you from your money.

There are limitations: the risk was for the home owner that the repair I was offering would fix all concerns. So I gave them additional choices for that within reason --- meaning not quoting a whole system replacement just because.

They chose the repair and in their case the situation has been remedied, until the machine breaks again. Now because I took the time and energy to do what I did --- it goes against the grain of these companies who come in and say you need to replace everything.

Sometimes replacing everything *might* be in your best interest. The big companies didn't get big by quoting repairs focusing on smaller less costly options.

Delving into VOC's I think it's an impossible task when you build a home using things that emit VOC's. Then trying to put a HVAC system in to remove the VOC's with questionable tactics to suggest they really work.

There is a price to education, so I think you just chalk it up as that. It doesn't sound like they didn't do what they quoted you. Charging more for something is argumentative doesn't go anywhere.