A-Johnston Appliance Repair, Inc. Overcharge for "service call , unwilling to resolve dispute Orland Park, Illinois

STAY AWAY!!

On 14 July 2001, my wife contacted A-Johnston to repair our Sub Zero refrigerator, which was no longer properly cooling. She described this problem to the company representative, and upon telling them we had a Sub Zero product, she was told there would be an extra charge for the service call, to which we agreed.

A technician arrived and ultimately diagnosed that there problem was with the compressor/freon system. the tech informed my wife that thier company did not perform this type of repair, but we were still required to pay the full amount for the service call - $118 ($138 less a $20 coupon that we had), because he had "diagnosed" our problem.

When my wife asked the technician what we were supposed to do now that he could not fix the problem, he provided a the first name of someone that might be of assistance (no last name, no company name), and actually suggested that we could "get some dry ice" to save our food. My wife found this extremely insulting, as we were being asked to pay $118 for a vague problem description, a name not associated with a reputable business, and an insulting suggestion that would at best serve as a stop gap.  Subesquently, we were forced to find another repair company, which cost another $375 to fix the problem.

When I called A-Johnston to complain about this lack of service, I was informed that the fee was only for "diagnosing" my problem, and that they did not engage in the type of repair that our appliance needed. I told them that while I understood that they were not able to repair our product, I was extremely unhappy with the fact that we had to overpay $118 for a generic problem description, and what we felt were extremely unprofessional suggestions from their technician. I was ultimately told someone would return my call.

I then had to call back two additional times, and finally had to inform the receptionist that I would place a stop payment on the check, to finally speak with the owner, Ms. Johnston. I stated that I did not feel that we should have to pay the full service fee for the "lack of" service performed. She maintained that the diagnosis justified the full service fee and refused to acknowledge my concerns or my request for reconcilation.

We received a letter a couple of weeks later that accused us of fraud for now paying the bill in full.  I then sent a response letter to respond to the allegation of fraud. After explaining my position clearly, I offered a compromise and included a check for $85, which represented more than half of the original $118.

In response to my offer to compromise, I received a letter in reponse that mainaited that we still owed $73, along with a threat to place a workman's lien on my property! AVOID doing business with this company at all cost!