I bought a new home, and the builder outsourced the wiring of cable, ethernet, and alarm systems to this company. We had the option of upgrading the work, to avoid wiring after drywall had gone in.
My first visit was with Ricky, their salesperson. He sold me on HDMI extenders and recessed outlets in both the Master Bedroom and Family Room; it would allow for a sleek look and the TV to be mounted closed to the wall. In addition I order some other services.
18 months later I closed on my new home and they came out to my place on a Wednesday. They spent hours here doing the work, so I thought. When they left I saw they had not installed the Skybell (based on reviews I dodged a bullet with that one), although they added a wire for it, which I was charged $100 for (more on this wire further down).
In addition the HDMI extenders weren't working, the TV would go blank every minute or so. On the Friday I called them. I spoke with Paul, who promised someone would call me on Tuesday following the August long weekend. Nobody called me. I emailed Ricky, as he was the only contact email I had. He never responded.
After me calling and emailing multiple times, I was told I can get a credit for over $1000 they owe me, due to their faulty equipment, which for a month they didn't make an effort to fix. Rob the owner said Ricky advised I wouldn't let them come; this was not true, I have the email where I asked them to come.
When I asked Rob for prices and models of their Nest Door Lock and Nest Hello, I had to follow up twice before someone sent me the info. I was told there would be a charge of $499 and $599 respectively; those 2 items are available at Best Buy for $359.99 and $299.99, respectively. I was told the huge markup was installation. I advised I can install it, how much for the product, Paul advised the price cannot be reduced without installation, as then they can't warranty the product.
Since they weren't willing to work with me, I advised Paul to advise Rob (the owner) that we will have a judge decide. I have all my emails and phone records to prove I chased them, and had a lack of response and therefore no attempt from them to resolve the issue.
Paul called me back. Said they would give me a full refund less $100 for restocking. I agreed.
Someone showed up at my home to pick up the equipment. He didn't bring the cheque to the door. He took the equipment to the car and came back with a cheque $300 short...very sneaky.
When I called, Paul advised it was the charge when they installed the faulty equipment. So they told me one thing, which our deal was based on, and then did something different.
Rob obviously needs the money more than me, a single mother. So at that point with a 3 month old and elderly parents to care for, taking a person like this to court was not worth my time.
Note: it took me 15 minutes to install the door lock (they wanted to tack on $140 to the Best Buy price for install).
I will install the Hello Doorbell next, which can be installed where the existing doorbell is; I don't need the wire they charged me $100 for. These are many ways they take advantage of people.
My advice. If your builder is using them, do the bare minimum. Anything you can do after is likely cheaper and hopefully another company will give you better service by responding to your issues with their faulty equipment.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $4,300.00