I paid Capital Appliance Repair $1255.55 to fix the fan on my downdraft grill and they didn't fix it. The fan was very weak, only one setting worked and it did not draw any smoke in. They ordered and installed a new motor. When that did not fix the problem they ordered and installed a new motherboard for the stove. After that the fan did not run any differently than it did when I called for service which leads me to doubt those new parts were ever required. The smoke from the grill did not draw in as it is supposed to and my house filled with smoke and my smoke alarms went off when I used it. They also misdiagnosed two problems with my ice maker/water dispenser. My ice maker kept icing over and the water only dribbled out of the water dispenser. The technician told me that there was nothing wrong with the ice maker, I only had to defrost it and it would be fine. I defrosted it and it kept icing over; requiring defrosting every four days. The technician said that he was "100% sure" that the dribbling water dispenser was cause by a faulty valve and he would order a new one. I told him that I had just changed the filter and said that perhaps that was the problem. The technician, still insisted it was the valve He installed the new valve and it made no difference. I told him to remove the new valve. He did and told me that he would charge me "only $100" for it. I did not object at this point because I was still hopeful that he could fix my downdraft fan. I purchased a new filter, installed it and the problem was solved. In reviewing their inability to fix my downdraft fan Capital Appliance Repair first blamed Jenn Air, saying it did not make the same motor anymore (they did). I told them I doubted that Jenn Air would make a motor that did not draw any smoke in. If so, I assume that Jenn Air has been inundated with lawsuits. Then Capital Appliance Repair started blaming me saying that I approved everything they did. Yes I did approve it because I believed that Capital Appliance Repair could repair appliances and when they told me that this was necessary I believed them. They also said that they showed me that the fan sounded different when listened to under the floor in the basement. I agreed that it did sound different downstairs but that it was barely discernible upstairs, there was no difference between high and low settings and it still did not draw any smoke in when the grill was being used. The technician moved the motor upstairs under the stove but it still did not draw,and there was no difference between the high and low settings. The technician then, without any input from me, elected to put the motor back under the floor, told me that he could not fix it and that perhaps I could get the money I paid for the new motor back ($303) and washed his hands of it. When I contacted the business owner or manager he offered to refund the $100 I paid for the unnecessary refrigerator valve I never needed. I pointed out that that still left him with $1155.55 of my money for accomplishing nothing. In our e-mail exchange he then resorted to falsehoods, saying in one e-mail that he had sent his technician to my house twice with no charge and then in a subsequent e-mail he said he had sent his technician to my house five times without charge. Actually, it was just the last visit, when the technician told me that he could not fix it and wouldn't try anymore, that was without charge. The manger acted as if he made a grand gesture by not charging me more for accomplishing nothing. I subsequently hired another appliance repairman who was able to fix everything in two visits. He ordered and installed the correct motor, he replaced the tube vents with rigid ones and re-positioned the motor directly under the vent. Once the correct motor was installed and working he noted that the high and low settings on the display were reversed; high displayed as low and low displayed as high. He re-installed the motherboard correctly and I can finally use my grill again. He replaced the ice maker that the technician from Capital Appliance Repair said was working just fine despite the fact that it kept icing over. It now works perfectly too. I paid the second technician $872.93 on top of the $1255.55 I paid Capital Appliance Repair for accomplishing nothing. The Capital Appliance Repair owner/manager has not ever actually claimed that they fixed anything because they didn't and his technician verified that by saying it did not work, he could not fix it and I might be able to get $303 back for the motor. The owner/manager refuses to refund any of my money saying that he stands behind his work. So, if you want a company that can not correctly diagnose or repair appliances, misdiagnoses problems, orders and installs the wrong parts, installs the parts incorrectly, blames you for their ineptitude, blames the appliance company, makes up alternative facts and leaves you with an appliance that still does not work Capital Appliance Repair is the company for you!
- Approximate cost of services:
- $1,255.55
- Company Response
Hello Elizabeth,
The case in which you are referring to was open on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, and they ruled in our favour. We have included our responses to the case below:1st response:
“Hello Elizabeth,
We’re sorry for the inconveniences that arose in the repairs for your grill and refrigerator ice maker. Whenever a customer is experiencing continued issues with their appliances, we always ensure that we are responsive to the customer’s needs through email, phone and repeat visits; and that we work to solve the issue with no additional cost to the customer. This is why we visited your home 5 times to work on your appliances, with no extra charge to you. It is also why we agreed to refund you $100 for the fridge labour and $300 + HST for the blower motor.We cannot, however, offer a full refund for the work, as our technicians took the proper steps to repair your appliances. At Capital Appliance Repair, it is our policy to order the original manufacturer parts when it is necessary to replace a broken part, which is what we did for your downdraft motor. Relying on after market parts for appliance repairs is not how we work. Also, when our technicians installed the new control board, they had noted at the time that it was installed properly and working just fine. Furthermore, it was discussed with you that replacing the previous control board was necessary because it did not change the speeds of the motor. Our technicians performed the proper diagnostics, and we stand behind their work and professionalism.”
2nd response:
“Hello Elizabeth,
During our visit, our technician noted a difference in the fan speed, which they tested with you. The technician switched speeds from the top floor while you were listening for the changes from the basement. You had confirmed to them that the speed had in fact changed. This also indicates that the motherboard was installed correctly by us in the first place, or else it would not have worked at all.As for the refund of $100, it was for the fridge labour, and we did not charge you for the refrigerator valve. Also, all of the parts that we installed were original Jenn Air parts, which means we couldn’t have installed the wrong motor, as it was the original factory part.”