We need to start charging these people with fraud.

so after watching this I literally went online looked up the appliance repair team and called every number they had, and all numbers are now out of Service, Thank you once again CBC marketplace, these owners of Omega need to be locked up!!

Don't click on google results that are ads.

"Its actually 300$, not 80$." "Oh, you can leave then."

A friend asked me if I could look at their furnace. They had a technician out who told them it was the mainboard and since it was an older furnace recommended they replace it at a cost of $4000. The did not have that kind of money. He gave them a $200 dollar service charge fee for coming out. So I said I would take a look and within less than a minute, pressed the reset button and the furnace worked perfectly. That was 3 years ago. Their furnace is still working today.

The Omega repairman that called and told the lady that she made 2 appointments sounds exactly like the repairman that came to her house to make the repair.

I used to do appliance repairs. This is crazy. I felt that industry was honest. It is in my neck of the woods anyways.

I always look forward to an episode of Marketplace! Much love from the United States!

FINALLY!!! I got ripped off by these guys a few years ago when they were called Appliance Repair Guys. They have several companies and they are all over the internet. They said my stove needed a $600 part so I said no. They still charged $280 for his "service" even though they didn't fix anything. My husband bought the part needed (which wasn't at all what he said we needed) for less than $50 and fixed it himself in a half hour! It has been working fine since then. Glad these jerks are finally getting called out for all the people they have scammed!!

As an appliance technician since 1984 I’m glad to see something like this. It makes me angry when a customer tells me they just paid $500 for repairs last month and the appliance never worked right after the repair person left and haven’t been able to get them back. I can’t count how many times I’ll find the problem was minor, plus, the part they said they replaced was never replaced. Rip off repair companies give us all a bad name. It’s about time they are held accountable.

They are back, I love watching this, please make more and more.

Honest repair guy. Respect to the guy who pulled the sock out. He's like i know its bullshif

Those hidden cameras are huge!

Are we even disappointed with dishonesty, selfishness or corruption anymore? I’m more surprised by the honesty. I’m so glad my dad has taught me general maintenance with just about everything.

"cause I don't know who you are" "Whatever, you want me to take a look?" OH WOW!!! 😁

These kind of companies make it bad for all the honest techs. I hope all of them get exposed.

This is why I am doing everything myself because of these crooks. If I can’t do it, I would educate myself before calling the contractors so they can’t BS me

It's crazy how Utube doesn't let videos like this get the attention they deserve!

I wish they’d call out the scammers before they “repair” and get paid

I love that this woman is doing such a good job at her job as a reporter / investigative journalist so much that people are scared of her like she's a cop 😂

Well done cbc. Another solid investigation. Just wished we didn't have to do these kind of investigations, public mistrust and shoddy people in the first place.

Make sure you share this video with EVERYONE, let's expose these crooks! Thank you CBC Marketplace!

Shameful people in the world man, horrible.

As a tradesman I do stand behind dispatch fees. It can cost the company upwards of $100 just to get a tech out to the call. However we are upfront that our dispatch fee is the initial charge just to send someone out.

I had a company scam me once and I was so upset and they denied that they came to my house. Thanks for doing this to help us 👍🏾👍🏾

This is why I get extended warranty on every thing I buy

Also, always look on street view, sometimes the store front, or lack thereof, can tell you alot about the company

well, now i know where my socks disappear to 😅😂

Why wouldn't you just buy a new unit for a $700 repair ?! Think of it like a car, if your car is only worth like $1,500, would you really pay someone $700 to fix it ?!

Hey CBC, I know this isnt in Toronto, but out here in Halifax I had a similar issue of getting re directed to the same company. I did find an excellent repairman locally, Keating Appliance Services. I thought after watching your story, its always good to share good and reputable technicians as well.

Great job Marketplace team!! This was an amazing episode, and it's something that we should be aware of.

I really appreciate what you guys have done exposing the fraud in these companies. The only thing I had a problem with is the part about charging 3 times the cost of a part ordered online. In a real situation were the part is defective and needs to be replaced, the 3 times up charge is not just for the part itself. It includes the diagnostic and labor. If a part is defective, the customer calls a company out because they don’t know how to fix it themselves so they wouldn’t know to order that specific part online let alone know how to replace it. In my trade, I went to school to learn how to fix things and that cost money.

Keep up the great reporting Marketplace!! Definitely sounds like they're making new company names to try to cover the poorly reviewed ones of theirs

I would never ever rent an appliance. I certainly would never rent one from a third-party retailer.

Imagine in five years when these videos come back into my recommended. Im going to have covid ptsd

I don't live in Canada nor have I been there but I love watching this kind of content watching scammers and hackers and fraudsters and so on getting exposed and whatnot.

I hate they are in my industry

Good luck trying to remove a posting on google maps. I tired to remove a listing from mine house and it has been a month and still trying.

Keep up the great work, CBC! The best journalism I have seen.

Drainage/AC/furnace/roof repairs and moving companies...ripoffs.

Why did that lady have him repair the washing machine anyways? He probably just put a used pump in there

“This is the money shot” MY MAN 🤣

Never call any company to repair a Washer machine or dryer. Better to do it yourself or buy a new one. Sears charge $100 for coming and $600 for repairs. A new washer cost $400-$800

My father was a master electrician for over 50 years. When he charged you for a service call, the first hour of labour was included in that fee. If the parts required were less than a couple of dollars, he didn't charge any extra for that. It doesn't make any sense to me that even the most basic appliance repair costs more than half of the replacement cost of the entire unit.

I don't know whose worst... repairmen, plumber, auto mechanic, car salesmen?? There are certainly alot of dishonest people everywhere.

Thank you for unmasking those thieves. We need to bring honesty to the market place... I started learning how to repair appliances, a repair could cost almost the same as a new lower line appliance. New machines tend to break just past the expiration of the warranty.

thank you all for your hard and brave work, another well done video. Happy new year, take care.

This google algorithm is getting insane. Amazing and exactly my niche. Local journalism looking out for people. Hats off to the reporting team

One thing I noticed is the “good guys” they interview sure have a lot of personal opinions on peoples business methods. Scamming is bad. But if you’re a small company trying to break into the market you don’t diagnose over the phone because tire kickers will drain your marketing budget for the month in a week.

Seriously, who is downvoting these videos??? Beautiful work here (as always). Cheers from California!

I love this program!! Thank you guys for this hard work.

I actually legit thought people losing socks in the wash was a myth. Never happened to me before

I'm one of the lucky ones that have the skills to DIY my own appliance repairs. I hate hearing about the crooks that take advantage of hard working folks. It's bad enough to have to pay the outrageous prices for replacement parts. Keep up the good work Marketplace. We've got nothing like this show in the states.

CBC News should just make these I could binge watch these all day

THANK YOU GUYS FOR DOING THIS SERVICE FOR US THE CONSUMER.

i was a repairer the problem is what do you expect? i didnt overcharge and i didnt even charge anything if i coudnt fix it, but the only way to make it in this trade is to scam people. i coudnt afford a big truck or a secretary, because i was going this by the book and not being a scammer. if you see people with a storefront and big notebook coming to your door be ready to get ripped off. your washer is worth what? 500-1000$? just buy another one and ditch the old one on Kijiji.

I do HVAC and I'm very proud of our service technicians.

5:41 I love how they try to represent that they "" are having distance for pandemy purposes" and just 10 sec later they are almost hugging...

I just want to say thank you to the marketplace. We now live in digital world. I always look at the reviews and the 5 stars. I should know better now after watching this.

I've been an appliance repair man since 2004 and have seen pretty much everything there is to see in this business, except for charging 700 dollars to replace a drain pump on a 600 dollar washer. That is something else, or an element for 400 bucks on a stove that costs 300! Why would the home owner agree to pay that much. Ok here is how it works, one appliance repair company will open several company's and advertise them as different entities, when you call the number you are calling a call center, which in turn is actually the same company. Retail appliance repair belongs to who ever can pay the most for advertising. Here's the flip side to the whole thing, if a tech give a super high estimate and the home owner agrees to it and pays the tech, no wrong doing has occurred. The home owner is under no obligation to agree to the repair. $700 is way too much to replace a drain pump but the responsibility falls to the home owner to recognize when they are being ripped off. Several company's I've worked for have gone to court for this reason and the home owner has lost every single time. The other thing I really want to say, no good appliance repair company will ever give an estimate or even a ball park over the phone, that is just bad practice. No one, no tech or dispatcher can accurately predict what needs to be repaired and how much it can cost. If the home owner says her washer is making a loud noise when spinning it could be a 15 dollar cam or 1000 dollars worth of tubs. Its just not done, in fact it is taboo in the business to give estimates over the phone. Sam, the tech stuffing the sock in the drain hose is full of crap. I've been around techs like him before... he too honest to be any good, if that makes any kind of sense.

The only thing I don’t get is how do the socks 🧦 go in the drain hose when it’s in the close cylinder???

So I should use a zippered mesh wash bag for socks and under garments and ties / scarves

Thank you CBC Market Place!!👍

These guys are all over Canada, most likely the same owners.

Thanks again Marketplace for looking out for us Canadians. :)

Y'all be giving so much money to companies that don't deserve it whatsoever. I love the fact that you're telling us the truth about these companies.

my mouth fell open so hard when you said waterloo, ontario. Never hear about my town

Would love to see a less Ontario centric marketplace season when covid is over, maybe here in Vancouver. But keep up the good work!

"Whatever, you want me to take a look?" Damn rude much?

CBC market place is the best journalism

100s of bad reviews and this person is still working unbelievable

I am currently stuck with Fridgeair fridge I bought in early August from Home depot and received delivery at the end of August. Home depot failed to change door hinge despite charging us for it. We had to wait two weeks for Home depot to send us repair guy to change door hinge. However, when the door was changed, we noticed that the door doesn't seal properly. I called Home depot 9 times and Fridgeair repair 5 times to fix the issue, and they sent repair man three times, but all of them declared that it is defect and we should contact Home depot to get it replaced. Unfortunately, Home depot is pointing finger at Fridgeair that they need to give them green light so they can replace the defect fridge while Fridgeair is deflecting their responsibility because we didn't contact them within 48 hours of delivery. How on earth can you call them within 48 hours when they themselves took 2 weeks to adjust the door hinge that revealed defect??

I was born and raised in a world when we still could sleep with our doors unlocked, houses and cars. It's so sad this is the new normal.

I am a retired appliance repair company owner. We would Never perform a repair on any appliance that wasn't necessary. Shame on those that do, sounds like some people need to spend some time behind Bars.

so many scams in Canada. This is not what I was expecting when moving here

Learn to fix it yourself. There are some fairly good KZfaq videos on appliance repair.

when someone use google search, he/she should past by the list of the adds and go to the results. As for google map face address, isn't there a site equivalent to the old local business phonebook in your region? just look there, or at least compare

I would say there needs to be a specific "application" process to get your business marked on google maps and then have google send out a representative or something to the listed address but that's probably easier said than done.

This reporter is awesome. A true investigative journalist, the type which has just about disappeared in the US. Hardworking, intelligent, daring, and digs for the truth. Bravo.

Have they changed the company name again? When I search "Appliance repair" on Google, I don't see this company in the search result.

CBC. as an owner operator of an appliance store with over 10 years experience with servicing appliances. Good job. However Strongly disagree with the statement that a service company can give a "guesstimate" over the phone. take a washer for example, a washer that doesn't drain could be caused by many things, yes some scenarios occur more often than others. but in the real world quoting a job without looking at it first is dishonest,. yes it could be a $100 pump. but depending on make. model. and age. it could be a $250 pump, or a $400 control board. or just a sock. pre quoting sets an expectation for the customer that you may not be able to meet and is poor practice. as for the first guy in your story, that pricing is outrageous, but what did you pay the last time you went to the dentist? or the lawyers, or bought groceries. we charge nothing close to that at my company for that same repair. but there is something missing from the story. the customer called the repair guy, he said it needed a pump. Your tech said the pump was fine. so what was the original issue with the washer?

As kids we are always taught that cheaters never win but the real world tells us otherwise. Cheaters absolutely win and usually pay no consequences.

Thanks for exposing this story! We have used an appliance repair company owned by a guy who is so great, name given by someone knew. The whole street uses him!

They should do semi mechanics next at the big truck stops. Would be interesting

I have washer and dryer from the 80's never any problems with them

Your marketplace needs a KZfaq channel!!!!

Thank you, CBC Market Place. Emma

Number one rule when googling, scroll down past the ads.

Never click on google ads, more like google scams.

LOL, you call those hidden cameras? How did they not see them?! Those things are enormous.

You guys should do a report on BAD and corrupt and just all around BAD CONDO MANAGEMENT COMPANIES. they also engage in giving contracts and such to certain repairman, repair companies . as well as generally being really bad at their job, not listening to residents, keeping cool on too long, building too hot in winter, etc etc.

Why blur out the faces of these disgusting criminals??

Within 10 years bodycams are mandatory for every home visiting service provider.

Why do I have the feeling they’ve checked prices from the US and not Canada. Most of the parts would cost 2x to 3x the price here in Canada. Main controller board can be found around 120$ and in Canada the same can be found for 300-400$

Marketplace Canada, you are doing a great job. I wish we had something like you here in New Zealand.

Ya, they also think women know nothing about appliances as well so they are more likely to try passing a fast one IMO. IF it was a man calling in and staying around when being repaired watching I'm sure they would think twice before trying to scam them!

Using the Internet to seek out a service based on ads and SEO placement is like jumping into a pack of great white sharks while covered in pig offal. No one actually screens the people that buy ads, and there is no standard for honesty. Do deep investigations before you pick a repair service.

This is literally the first good video CBC has made this year.

Amazing job you guys are doing

Everywhere these days you get scammed...at the dentist, mechanic, veterinary, car buying 😀 Like they say there’s always another sucker bent over ready to take it 😅