Call A Pro

Called Call a Pro to have dishwasher repaired. They asked for zip code and transferred me to what I assumed was a local company.

They said their name was Appliance Repair. Apparently, I have since found out, they don't do repairs themselves but farm the work out to someone else which I was not aware of. I was quoted a price of 120 dollars for service call. Tech came next day, pulled the dishwasher out, pushed a couple buttons and said nothing was wrong with dishwasher and that my water coming in under sink was not working and we needed a plumber.

This was after less than 5 mins of looking at dishwasher. He had no business card which was a red flag and I should have asked for that before I let him in, so shame on me. He couldn't take a credit card for payment, only cash or check, which was another red flag. I wasn't giving him cash so wrote out a check.

He said to make out the check to Appliance Repair for $150. I stated that I was quoted $120 for the service call the day before so he added tax to that and charged me $132. Didn't give me a receipt. I asked for his name and number should I need to call him back.

He gave me his first name and number which I'm not sure was legit. He left. A couple of days later my husband finally had time to check the water supply which was absolutely ok. I tried to call him back but I could not find the info I has written down.

So I retraced my steps to the Call a Pro number. They asked for zip code and transferredd me to some guy who said he was with Appliance Repair. I gave him the information about what had happened and "alas" he could not find any information about the guy who came out ev en with my address and phone number which they should have had on file. Appliance Repair said they don't actually do the work so sounds like they farm the work off to some tech outside company but don't keep any records?

So initially Call a Pro sends me to Appliance Repair which sends out a third party and noone is accountable to tell me who this tech was who was in my home or if they are reputable, lic ensed, insured or anything. I left a message for the manager at Call a Pro to make them aware of this, but somehow I doubt I will get a call back. It all seems shady.

I will report it to BBB. I'd give both companies a rating of zero if it allowed me to.

Call-A-Pro.Com is a 'lead generation service' and just like everyone I have found so far most source their leads from the free site Craigslist. This has been going on for a few years now.

Home Advisor did it. Networx did it. Terminix did it. Mr.

Rooter did it. Franchises paying big fees and getting handed junk CL leads. Home Advisor charged people $100 a piece for CL ads. Call A Pro is active right now in about 100 cities.

All they do is spam Craigslist then blindly serve you leads from people dumb enough to call their fake local numbers. They will state ahead of time that their contractors are licensed, insured and bonded but don't check so if you show up to a job and the customer asks to see something you don't have you can get in serious legal trouble.

This big fat scam deserves to be spread far and wide.