I scheduled a pre-season service call for $29.95 for each for my two AC units. During the inspection I was told that two of four capacitors needed to be replaced, one for $333.78 and the other for $398.00. I trusted that the parts prices were reasonable as the units were already apart (less than a 5 minute job) and the replacement parts only required being plugged in (less than one minute work). \r
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I should not have trusted and feel foolish. I checked on line for the replacement parts costs and both were less than $20.00. Actually I paid $731.78 for about $33 in parts. I did call the main office to check to see if there was a mistake and received a return call from the service man that acknowledged the two thousand + percent mark up, but said that was standard among all HVAC companies. He told me he did not set the prices but what I had been charged was correct. In my opinion that kind of mark up is fraudulent.\r
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As an aside when discussing the life expectancy of an AC unit I
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