Inside Edition rented a home in New Jersey as part of a hidden camera investigation.
Around 90% of all households in the United States are using air conditioning, and with the intense summer heat millions across the country are facing, it is likely that they are set to full blast. But if you have a problem with your A/C in this record heat, can you always trust the repairman you hire? Inside Edition rented a home in New Jersey as part of a hidden camera investigation.
Michael Iarrapino of Edison Heating and Cooling and Michael Blouin of Petri Plumbing, Heating, Cooling and Drain Cleaning, who together have over 70 years of experience in the heating and cooling business, examined the A/C unit in the New Jersey home. Inside Edition had them create a simple problem where none previously existed.
"All I did was disconnect the low voltage circuit so when the thermostat calls for air conditioning the outside unit won't come on," Iarrapino says.
To fix it, Iarrapino and Blouin say all that needs to be done is to reattach contact wires and the unit would power back on.
"A technician should recognize this within five minutes, a very, very simple fix," Iarrapino says.
Inside Edition set up hidden cameras in the home and booked appointments with four A/C companies in the area.
From a control room in the garage, Inside Edition could monitor the repairmen.
Three of the technicians from the following New Jersey companies: A.J. Perri, Weltman Home Services and Binksy Home Services – all made the simple fixes and only charged a service fee. The technician from Binsky Home Service identified the loose wire right away and charged just a $150 service fee, the cheapest of the technicians that visited Inside Edition's undercover home.
However, one technician from a company called Gold Medal Service examined the unit and returned with bad news. "It's not cooling efficiently," the technician said. "There's a leak in the system," the technician said.
His price to fix the non-existent leak was approximately $1,700.
When Inside Edition came forward to ask him about the non-existent leak, the technician packed up his gear and drove off.
Inside Edition reached out to Gold Medal Service several times for comment but did not hear back.
