A small mercy: The air-conditioning guy returned to the downtown house to fix the rattle in the motor he’d installed in the swamp cooler. As you may recall, they clipped us to the tune of $500 for that job, something that frosted my cookies because the guy showed up when neither of us was there (the roommate was in the offing) and they didn’t bother to call and let us know how much it was going to be.
Although a swamp cooler is vastly cheaper to operate than refrigeration, $500 is way, way more than the cooler will save on electric bills this summer. If M’hijito had known how much they intended to charge, he would have told them not to do it.
Then about three days after the work was done, the thing developed a rattle. So I called and bellyached. They said they’d send him back to fix it, free of charge. Last I heard, the thing was working OK.
Sooo… Friday evening along comes a bill in the mail: $85.
Ever notice how announcements that agitate you always arrive on Friday, about an hour after the close of business hours?
In-freaking-furiating! The main reason I’m $94 in the hole right now is that the dentist and the air-conditioning guy joined forces to clean out my checking account last month.
So I called and pointed out that they didn’t leave me with enough cash to pay this bill, and besides, they said they’d get the job done right without charging us for it.
She said, “Just void it!”
Done!
Whenever you have a question about a bill or—let’s be frank—get even a whiff of a possibility that you can work a better deal for yourself, A$K! Merchants do want to keep your business, and they often will try to give you a break if you have a good argument for it.
Frugal Scholar reminded me this morning that everyone has been urging me to take the unfortunate progressive glasses back to Costco and ask for a refund. Since I paid for them last November, I kinda doubt they’re going to do anything for me. But at her urging, I’ve decided to try it.
What can they do? Throw me out of the place? I doubt it.
The worst that will happen is they’ll tell me “no,” and then I’ll wander off to the cooler room and buy the bottle of orange juice I need.
You should have bargained that first $500 bill too. We’ve done that with landscapers who way overcharged. If an unexpectedly high repair bill happens again, don’t be afraid to pick up the phone right away.
Good luck at Costco!
@ Nicole: I did, actually. I got them to come down $120, since they charged an annual service contract to that address. The contract on the downtown house starts in the fall; the contract on mine starts in the spring. They probably were trying to get me to pay for mine before he showed up at my house.
If so, they shot themselves in the proverbial foot. I’ve found a guy who will do both spring and fall inspections in a single trip, for about half what this outfit has been charging for an annual “contract” locking the customer into two service trips.
On the a/c bill – be sure the company ALSO voided the bill. We’ve been told that in similar situations in the past, only to keep getting bills. Now what we usually do is write on the bill “void per (their employee’s name) in phone call on xxx date”, make a copy, keep one & go ahead & mail them the other. And then if you get another bill, just repeat.
By the way, is that swamp cooler in a really inaccessible place? We have one & I’ve had them in the past at other homes, & never paid someone else for the maintenance. Either I, or now my DH, handle all the care. From installing new pumps to replacing pads to fall shut down & spring start-up. And actually replacing the entire swamp cooler several years ago.