Bad Actor and How to Avoid Case Study: Action Plumbing, Heating, Air, & Electric
The Case Study
If you’re familiar with Action Man and Action Dog you may have heard they’ve landed in hot water recently. A number of exposes were ran regarding Action Plumbing, Heating, Air, & Electric and their nefarious business practices after enough complaints were brought to the attention of DOPL (Division of Professional Licensing) and the DCP (Division Consumer Protections).
Just to give you an idea as to how big a deal this is, DOPL is the governing body to which all plumbers and contractors must be licensed- think of it like the DMV for running a trades based business.
These allegations, published by reliable sources like KUTV, local Fox News 13, and KSL have all run stories about Action’s business practices. But even before then there were signs. Wildly swinging 1 and 5 star reviews on Google and Yelp and high pressure sales techniques were all tell-tale signs that it was only a matter of time until they were caught. It’s even likely that there are more instances of these dishonest business practices than what’s been reported.
The tricky part is discerning who is and who is not a company that works in good faith. Both kinds of companies have access to the same marketing tools and techniques. In fact, Action kept a score of 4 stars or higher on Google and Yelp. But there were warning signs even from the start and this post will help you better identify what those signs are and avoid financial stress working with companies that are let into your home.
In one of the instances mentioned in the lawsuit, an HVAC technician quoted the homeowner over $10,000 and claimed the unit was “Beyond repairing”. While instances of unsavory business practices exist everywhere*, there technically is not anything illegal about overestimating the price for a job.
But it brings us to the first of two tips we have regarding how to protect yourself from these tactics.
Get a second opinion – Most, if not all, of the Utah base of HVAC and Plumbing Businesses offer a free second opinion. Take them up on that. It’s not bad manners to turn a sales person down and explain that you would like to get another opinion from another trusted source, in fact it is your right as a consumer and the protector of your home to do so.
*Hello markdown items whose prices were raised just before the markdown so they’re still sold at full price, a tactic we all know and hate!
Allegedly Fraudulent Behavior
But as for outright illegal business practices, the third district court has alleged that an employee of Action took a check out of a customer’s checkbook, filled it in, and asked the elderly woman with dementia to sign it…for $50,000.
Another instance, also mentioned in the same lawsuit, alleges that another elderly woman with dementia was charged over $20,000 for about $50 worth of decorative switches.
This is fraudulent behavior that preys on the more vulnerable members of society, and quite frankly it is sick. What’s worse is that this behavior was allegedly rewarded within the company over completing work safely and competently for their customers. Which itself also led to a few instances of shoddy work that put lives at risk.
We may be focused on Action right now but that’s due to the company’s well documented, egregious, and systematic abuse of their customers. Don’t mistake us, there are more companies out there that utilize the same tactics, including paying employees for upselling and commissioned work. Our tactics are applicable to any company you work for. While they may not cover every single tactic that’s being used right now, they can go a long way towards protecting yourself and your home.
As we mentioned before, getting a second opinion on any amount of work being done on your home is a good idea. If the first company you called is honest and believes in their work, they know a second opinion by another similarly honest company will back up their estimate. Many companies in and around Utah employ a “Free Second Opinion” Special for this exact reason, so don’t be afraid to shop around.
Online Research – Conducting online research for a company can be difficult. Chances are, if you’re reading this article, you’ve gone to google and typed in “good plumbers near me” and selected one of the first results that popped up- also known as how search engines work. But as we all know, sometimes those results can be cooked. Likewise…
Reviews online can be similarly deceiving. Technically speaking, Action Plumbing has a 4.5 star rating on Google with over 5,000 reviews. On its face, that’s a really good rating, not too good that you suspect them of really cooking their reviews, certainly must be a mark of good quality. But take a closer look next time. Look at the discrepancy between 5 and 1 star. Are there reviews between the two? Or is it just one or the other? That can be indicative of the experiences you could experience, beware.
Remember, there are some companies that exist to siphon as much money as possible from their customers. A few ways to avoid this is by doing additional research into the company via DOPL and their Reviews, and don’t forget to cash in on the ever present “Free Second Opinion” coupon that exists.
Skip the Nonsense!
It can be difficult to differentiate between the great companies and the poor ones, especially when you search on google. Just because someone is better at marketing does not mean that they are a better company to work with; even crap rises to the top.
Take the guesswork out of the search and use UtahPlumbing.org.
Simply filter by service and search using your address or zip code, and you’ll instantly be given hundreds of vetted plumbing and hvac companies to work with that adhere to our strict code of conduct.
Use UtahPlumbing.org to find the plumber your mother would hire.