Jim in Honolulu

Wow, I've never felt like so many reviews echoed my experience with this company! Normally I research a company before engaging them, however I felt that this company was legit because they claimed on their website to repair my make of washer. When I called them they were responsive, sounded professional, and were available at that very moment I called (in hindsight I should've seen this as a red flag). The lady on the phone explained that the service call would cost $80 and that because the scheduled appoinment was within 24 hours that I could no longer cancel that fee. I agreed. Having deal with so many service calls from other companies (reputable as well as mom/pop businesses) for other appliances (eg. furnace, a/c, hot water tank, stove, fridge, ....), I thought that this fee was for the diagnostic. When the guy arrived he wasn't very friendly, but that didn't bother me as I just wanted my washer working again. He explained to me that I needed to pay $280 + tax ($316.40) before he began to "work" to: "service the shocks, service the rotational system, and perform an alignment". He also said that this cost included labour to install the any parts if any were needed, so that I wouldn't pay for labour twice. He proceeded to tell me that in the worst case scenario I'd need new parts, and in the best case scenario he'd be able to fix my washer without the need for parts. In the event that I needed new parts, those would be extra. I accepted it, so he waived the $80. 10 minutes later he was finished with his "diagnosis" and quoted me $998 for a new inner/outer drum with spider. I told him that I didn't want to proceed as that would cost me ~$1300 (including his "service" cost) and that for that price I might as well buy a new washer. He went on to tell me that old washers are better than new ones because they're more reliable, .... I refused and asked if I get some partial refund because I didn't accept his labour to replace the part. He laughed at me and said that he already did the work so no refund would be given. I asked him what work he had done to a broken drum. He said he had serviced it. I asked him what did he mean by "serviced it". He said that he inspected the broken part. Since when does a diagnosis imply a service? From my experiences I know service to be a maintenance of some sort. I told him, "so I paid you $316 to diagnose my issue", and he replied, "and to service it". I pointed at my front door and asked him to leave. It's these kinds of businesses that make you weary of having anything serviced (your car, furnace, a/c, stove, .......). This company is outright DISHONEST. I hope others stay away. It can't possibly be an unlucky chance that several dozen people had a bad experience with this company.