Zalmen Pollak Hundreds of Faked Appliance Repair Firms May Be Part of Nationwide Scheme

Better Business Bureau (BBB) is warning consumers of a national appliance repair scheme involving what appear to be hundreds of businesses with bogus names and addresses, including dozens in the Rockland county and Bergen county

All of the questionable businesses seem to be tied to The Appliance Repair , which also uses the name The Appliance . The Appliance Repair  is a four-year-old company with headquarters in Tempe, Ariz. and  from the Tempe-Phoenix area are listed as company owners.

The deceptive repair businesses are listed in community phone directories and on the Internet. The Appliance Repair  apparently created the companies using local phone numbers, fake names and fake addresses in an effort to make it appear that they have offices in local neighborhoods. The addresses for repair businesses checked by BBB, in fact, are usually the addresses of established restaurants and other businesses. The local telephone numbers for the businesses all are directed to a call center run by The Appliance Repair Men.

The Appliance Repair  has an “F” rating with BBB in Phoenix, and also in new york as a result of several unanswered complaints.

Last month, a homeowner from Park Ridge NJ said he was stunned to learn the business he called to repair his gas range ”“ Park Ridge Appliance Repair ”“ was not a real company, but rather a business created by The Appliance Repair . And then called Appliance medic they are local appliance repasir

He said he assumed the business was local when he found it listed in the most recent Bergen County Yellow Pages directory with a local phone number and local address.

The homeowner said “things started smelling a little fishy” when he got a phone call from an unidentified, out-of-state phone number confirming his repair appointment.

The homeowner said he became increasingly suspicious when he drove to 122 E. park ave, the address listed in the directory for Park Ridge Appliance Repair, and instead found a pizza restaurant at the location. He said he immediately canceled the appointment.

Michelle Corey, BBB president and CEO, condemned apparent efforts by The Appliance Repair  to deceive the public.

“For a company to claim fake business names and addresses in St. Louis and make them look like local appliance repair shops just to collect finders’ fees, is  unethical,” Corey said. “If a company wants to run an appliance referral business, it should be upfront about it.” She said consumers who reach the dispatch service have no way of knowing exactly who will be coming to their homes.

Complaints tied to The Appliance Repair  have come from across the whole region.

A landlord from Montvale Nj  said one of her tenants contacted Montvale  Appliance Repair last fall to repair a washing machine. The landlord said she and the tenant thought the business was local because it listed a local phone number and a street address in Montvale NJ ”“ 1151 S. Duchesne Dr. The landlord said she spoke to a technician and asked him not to make any repairs until she had approved the work.  The landlord said the technician ignored her request and billed the consumer $116 for unnecessary work, then refused to refund the money. The invoice, from The Appliance Repairmen, included only a toll-free phone number and no address.

The S. Duchesne address listed for St. Montvale Appliance Repair actually is a Mexican restaurant that has been at the location for several years.

A consumer from Saddle river Nj, said she called a listing for Saddle river Appliance Repair, believing the business was local. Workers who came to her home not only failed to fix her washing machine, but disappeared with a $200 payment they said they needed to order a part. The woman later learned she actually called The Appliance Repair Men, who dispatched a repair crew to her home.  She discovered the address listed for Montvale Appliance Repair, like the address of St. Montvale Appliance Repair, also is a Mexican restaurant. “It is absolutely very deceptive and misleading,” she said.

Consumers outside the Bergen county  area recount similar experiences.Make sure to call a local Appliance repair