We all want great service at a low price, but when the price is too low, your scam detector should start beeping.
"You know a deal to clean your air ducts for 50 or 60 dollars might not be what you expect. Typically air duct cleaning costs about 300 dollars and takes two to four hours to complete," said Angie's List founder, Angie Hicks.
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"It's simply a bait-and-switch. They get into the house and I can tell you exactly what they're going to tell you: they're going to find mold and the price is going to go from $59 to $800 immediately," added Dave Adams, a professional air duct cleaner.
Mold scams are common. Unscrupulous contractors may even show you evidence they actually brought in themselves. Some come extra prepared.
"They'll say it's not safe to stay in the home. I've even seen it where they actually carry coupons for hotels so that they tell them to leave the house. Very, very rarely, if ever, does a family need to leave the house if there is a little bit of mold found inside the air ducts," Adams said.
Hicks says to avoid anyone who pressures you into immediate action and to look for someone certified by the National Air Duct Cleaners Association. A good contractor will be happy to show you the completed work, even what's been removed. That's visual evidence you can trust.
"If someone tries to scare you, then please ask them to leave," advised Adams. "What I tell people is, 'There's enough mold in this world for me to make a living. I don't need to scare anyone and I don't need to lie to anyone.'"
Hicks recommends having your ducts cleaned every three to five years if you're in a smoke-free, pet-free home. Allergy sufferers should consider a cleaning every one to three years. If you're having remodeling work done, make sure your contractor properly protects the duct work so the dust and debris doesn't get sucked in and spread throughout your home.
6 Signs You're Being Scammed:
3 Air Duct Cleaning Scams To Watch Out For:
1. Bait and switch
You are offered an amazing coupon deal over the phone and schedule for them to come to your house. But, once in your home, they will perform minimal work and continue to offer you upgrades to the service for additional fees. Unfortunately, even if you give in to their schemes and buy all the upsells, you are still not going to get a good job done.
2. Quick and dirty
Companies offering cheap coupons will schedule service to too many homes a day in order to make up for their cheap prices. The operation consists of pretending to clean the air ducts for a brief while and then quickly move on to the next appointment, only cleaning what you can see. There is no deep cleaning and so conditions will be left worse than before because they pushed the dust further back to the hard to reach areas of your system, which will then remain unclean and recirculate dust and microbes in the air you breathe.
3. Mold Inspection
You see a great coupon offer. You call, they confirm the offer and you schedule a visit. But once in your house, they will "inspect" for mold, and they always find it. Now, the job will cost hundreds more because of it! From the start they had no intentions of actually cleaning any air ducts for that low price as they wouldn't survive as a company on those fees. So they always find mold, even if you don't have any so they can up the price. They will even bring it with them or use fake tests to convince you.
Bottom line, Angie's List says real air duct cleaning is not as cheap as you may see in some coupon offers. The reputable companies sound more expensive at first, but they are providing an honest price for honest work. The cheap coupons become the most expensive at the end and no matter how much you spend on them, you still won't get a good job done. So it is always worth it to do your homework when hiring a duct cleaning professional. Do not hire a company that hides its address and make sure they are NADCA certified.