Scam artists pure and simple. I had an A/C that was making noise. The person at ARS said they could fix it but that the repair would cost $750. My wife said she was going to call around but she was told that the 5 minute visit from ARS would cost $80. Fearing that another company would charge close to $750, she didn't want to pay that plus an $80 penalty so she agreed to have it repaired. The repair took 30 minutes as all they had to replace was a fan motor (a $100 part).
The technician also tried to tell my wife that our AC units probably had no more than a year or two left on them and that new units run $10,000. This is about twice what a new unit would cost me.
Turns out that $750 is more than twice as much as most A/C repair companies in town charge. I called to ask why a $100 part and 30 minutes of labor cost $750. I was told that there was only one customer service person and was put into her voice mail. I left several messages and never received a return call. I only heard back from them after I disputed the charge on my credit card.
Michelle at ARS told me that they charge flat pricing and they charge for 4 hours of labor so that I wouldn't be charged extra if the job took up to 4 hours. She actually had the gall to try to sell me on the idea that being billed for 4 hours of labor when only half an hour was performed was for my benefit!
Their basic scam is to come out to determine the problem and then to charge a ridiculously high amount for a 5 minutes service call so that you feel pressure into using them to fix it.
These guys are slimy and I'm telling you to stay far away from them. I got taken but hopefully you'll avoid being taken as well.
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