Burlington consumer warns of shady garage repair work – NBC Connecticut

A Burlington woman was overcharged for garage door repair.

When his garage door wouldn’t open, he searched the internet for help.

“I went on Google and found the first business at the top that said Farmington location,” Lori Chadwick said, and then she searched for “ASAP Garage Door Repair.”

“I found it a little odd that there wasn’t a website or address,” Chadwick said.

But he says he feels pretty good about it, thanks to hundreds of 5-star reviews and the company’s “Google Guarantee.”

A repairman was on the scene immediately and told her that her door needed two new springs, which were expensive and out of stock.

“He showed me a screenshot that showed each spring was over $700, so I was in a pickle,” Chadwick said.

He said that these springs were not easily available but he told him that he would check his truck.

In fact, he found two.

“Now I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, do whatever you gotta do. I’m lucky you have them right now,'” he said.

It was the first of many high-pressure tactics he endured, Chadwick told NBC CT Responds.

“After he fixed them, he told me I needed a new garage door opener,” Chadwick said.

In the end, the worker said, he was charged more than $3,700 for repairs, which had to be paid by check.

“So I said, ‘Wait,’ I called corporate,” she said, and someone from corporate said, ‘Oh yeah, that’s our policy, no problem.’

Once his car was freed from the garage, Chadwick was able to get the situation under control and drive around to get more estimates.

“I was overcharged by well over $2,000,” he said.

A local garage expert interviewed by NBC CT Responds agreed.

“Not knowing how much it was going to cost and having all those reviews and Google Guaranteed raised those red flags for me,” Chadwick said.

NBC CT Responds tracked down phone numbers associated with ASAP Garage Door Repair and inquired about the exorbitant pricing. We even got a call back from an out-of-state number.

We were constantly stalled and never got a clear answer on where the company stood.

The International Door Association said that such scams are increasingly being heard of.

“They’ve set up call centers, they have local numbers now… but who knows where you’re going to call a call center,” said Wesley Perry, president of the International Door Association, which represents garage door dealers and manufacturers.

“There are a lot of different arrangements within these groups,” Perry said.

“Normally you have a parent company that buys a lot of Google ads, a lot of web pages,” he continued.

Someone at the call center will then call a local contact to perform the service, Perry said.

He recommends consumers research companies by asking lots of questions, such as where their offices are located.

“You can usually tell by the way they answer because they’re putting off the question because they don’t have a place where they can physically come,” Perry said.

Consumers can also use the IDA’s website for guidance.

Google told NBC CT Responds that it has permanently suspended ASAP Garage Door Repair from advertising in its local services section and that it has tools in place to detect fake reviews and is “continuously reviewing them.”

“We are sorry to hear about Lori Chadwick’s experience. To use the Google Guarantee badge, advertisers must complete appropriate background checks and have the appropriate licenses and insurance,” the company said in a statement.

Google told NBC CT Responds that it could not grant the business license the company provided, but did refund Chadwick some of the money.

Backed by the Google Guarantee badge, consumers who are unhappy with the quality of the work can get a refund of up to $2,000.

NBC CT Responds received an email from Chadwick as he was packing up his belongings to leave his home following the interview.

“I heard from Google that they’re refunding me $2,000 for the overcharged scam I endured. So I’m happy. Thank you Caitlin, thank you NBC,” she said.