We've all heard the story of someone's grandma wiring money to a scammer claiming to be her grandchild in an emergency situation. But that's an older person, you think. It would never happen to me.
While it's reasonable to expect that none of us would send funds to a Nigerian prince at this point (though CNBC reported that the racket was still raking in $700,000 a year in 2019), scams are only becoming more sophisticated as technology improves and time goes on — each con artist learning and adapting from the one who came before them, like a mutating virus that makes you cough up credit card numbers.
Did you hear about the financial columnist who handed a shoe box filled with $50,000 cash to a stranger in the middle of the street? How about the Ontario woman who thought she was depositing $86,000 into a Bitcoin machine to help the Canada Revenue Agency with an investigation?
An Ipos poll from 2023 suggests that nearly half (43%) of all Canadians have knowingly been victimized by fraud or scams in their lifetimes. Surprisingly, the figure is even higher (63%) for Canadians aged 18 to 34 — although this could be because this age group is more likely to discover and admit to being victims of these types of crimes than older generations.
But even bearing in mind the impressive intricacy of some of these schemes, it's still hard to believe that so many people are falling for this crap, isn't it? How do young, tech-savvy, intelligent folks wind up getting hustled? Well, I'll tell you how... because it happened to me.
These are all the things I wish I'd known before I got scammed by a Montreal company.
Reviews can be misleading
Of course, like any millennial, I checked the reviews before hiring Appliance Repair Expert (sometimes called Appliance Repair Experts) to fix my dryer. However, like any millennial living in this busy, tech-addled world, where we're bombarded with screens and notifications and work and friends and taxes and a list of a million other things to do, I probably didn't check them very closely. This was my first mistake. Especially since, as I said earlier, scammers are growing smarter.
Appliance Repair Expert is listed on Google Maps at least four times. One of the listing names has been changed to "Scam Company," but I should mention that it wasn't like that when this was all happening in November 2023. One listing has no reviews, one has a five-star rating, one has a four-star rating and the one deemed "Scam Company" has a 2.7-star rating.
I may have quickly scanned one of the five- or four-star listings and focused on the positive reviews, rather than the more accurate 2.7-star listing, which details scam after scam — all of which sound extremely similar to my own experience.
Update: Between the time this piece was written and the time it was published, the 2.7-star listing titled "Scam Company" was removed from Google Maps. It is pertinent to note that Appliance Repair Expert was contacted by MTL Blog for comment during this period, and was made aware of the fact that an article exposing its scams was in the process of being written.
How are there some positive reviews amongst the negative ones? It's possible that the company has created fake accounts or encouraged people they know to leave inaccurate reviews. It's also possible that there were some instances in which a scam wasn't possible because the job didn't require ordering parts and some simple tinkering on the part of the technician was enough to fix the problem. Since this is a Canadawide company, headquartered in Ontario, it's also possible people confused branches, or that I was looking at reviews for branches that are more legit. I'm honestly not sure.
All I know is that among the positive reviews are also countless negative ones detailing a pattern that matches what happened to me:
- The technician says they need to order a part but gives a reason as to why you need to pay in full in advance.
- Time passes and the part never arrives.
- The company is suddenly unreachable.
Takeaway: Read company reviews thoroughly, and if there is more than one of the same listing, go with the one that has the most reviews. Never rely on the reviews shared on the company website, as they typically select only the best ones to display (or may even invent them entirely).
Patience makes all the difference
My next mistake was being a homeowner who doesn't know a whole lot about owning a home. This is my first time owning a home, and I've only been at it for a couple of years.
So, perhaps instead of paying attention to important things (Is there some sort of official appliance-repair-person certificate I should be looking out for? Somebody help!) I focus on the things that are front of mind for me personally as, I'll say it again, a busy millennial. And one of those things is: "How quickly can I get this over with?"
When I called, and the guy on the other end of the phone told me he could send a technician the next day, I was overjoyed. And that was pretty much enough to seal the deal for me even though, obviously, it shouldn't have been.
Takeaway: Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Take your time doing research, getting quotes from different companies and asking friends or family for recommendations before doing anything drastic — whether that's booking an appointment, withdrawing money from the ATM, wiring funds or revealing personally identifiable information to someone.
It helps to know what you're talking about (or have someone more experienced on hand)
As I said, I don't know that much about home upkeep or repair, and I'm not particularly experienced with it. This sense of insecurity automatically creates a power dynamic in which I rely on the "experts" I've hired to tell me what's best, causing me to invest more trust in them than I should.
I'm sure Sir Francis Bacon wasn't talking about dryer repair when he coined the term "knowledge is power," but his words still ring true here. Knowledge is power because it allows you to be skeptical and to listen more carefully to your own gut.
The guy on the phone told me I'd be charged for the initial service call, but the fee would be deducted from the total cost of fixing my dryer. I asked, "What happens if you guys can't fix it?"
When he paused, and said, "We can always fix it," the tone of his voice gave me a sinking feeling in my stomach — and it seems all the more sinister in hindsight. But that extra dose of trust in the company, combined with a lack of trust in my own knowledge plus my own impatience, pushed me to keep going.
When the technician showed up in a personal car rather than a professional, company vehicle, this also caused me to raise an eyebrow. But I thought to myself, Maybe that's normal. I've never hired an appliance repair company before, again ignoring my instincts. And when the technician told me that I had to pay in full in advance because customers had stiffed the company before, I believed him.
These things aren't necessarily red flags, and legitimate companies do have some of these same practices. Just as it's important to reflect on what you could have done better to prevent a problem, it's equally important to recognize when things are simply out of your control and not your fault.
But, still, I'll always wonder: Could I have asked to pay a percentage instead of paying in full? Should I have demanded a more elaborate contract? Was the price he quoted me even market value for the part being ordered? Why didn't I listen to those gut feelings?
I bet I'll get better at all of the above in time, as I gain more experience. Until then, I'll be inviting my dad over any time a repair person comes to give me an estimate. To me, the cost of a little embarrassment for not appearing "grown up enough" is less than the cost of losing actual money to a scam.
Takeaway: Learn as much as you can about the areas of your life that are vulnerable to scams, whether that's how home repair works or the fact that most companies and government agencies will never ask you for banking information by text. Of course, it takes time and experience to become knowledgeable about anything. In the meantime, don't be afraid to lean on the people in your life who can help, and always trust your instincts.
Your credit card company may only investigate your fraud claim once
After the technician's visit, I waited for the part to arrive. More weeks passed than he had promised. Growing curious, I tried calling Appliance Repair Expert numerous times. Each time, the call would either ring and ring, and no one would pick up, or if the call was picked up, it would get disconnected at some point in the process — especially after I explained that I had already been seen by a technician and was now waiting for a prepaid part.
At this point, my level of concern increased and I went online to do more digging, which is when I found all those horrible reviews I mentioned earlier, confirming my fear that I had been scammed.
Since I had paid by credit card, I disputed the credit card transaction with my bank online to see if they would reverse the charge.
However, it can take months for credit card companies to process dispute claims.
In dispute limbo, I kept trying to get in contact with the company and eventually got through to someone who gave me my technician's personal phone number. He actually came by and appeared to try to replace the part, but told me that the warehouse had sent the wrong part so we'd have to wait until he got the right one.
One day, while waiting for the new part, I got a text from the technician that read, "Hey, the company just told me you filed for a refund? When I left there I assumed everything was OK since we had to order the piece again, it's just on backorder that's why they sent us the wrong one."
After a reassuring conversation, I told him I'd cancel the credit card dispute and I did. Another mistake. The replacement part never came. And eventually, the technician ghosted me.
When I called the credit card company to let them know that I had in fact been scammed, they told me they could only investigate a transaction one time. This case was closed and they couldn't reopen it. There was nothing more they could do.
Takeaway: It's a good idea to pay by credit card in these types of situations because credit cards offer more fraud liability protection than cash (which offers no protection) and debit cards (which offer less protection, and require a more complicated refund process). But keep in mind that you may only be able to dispute a particular charge one time. Once the credit card company closes a case, they may not be willing to reopen it, so be extra certain of the decisions you make.
The Better Business Bureau can't actually do anything
Since the nice lady at my bank couldn't help me, she suggested that my next step should be contacting the Better Business Bureau (BBB). In case you're not familiar with it (I wasn't), BBB is a nonprofit that describes its mission as "advancing marketplace trust" in Canada and the U.S. In part, it does this through a complaint system.
After filing a complaint, which eventually becomes part of the public database, BBB contacts the business you complained about and asks for a response within 14 days. If the business doesn't respond, BBB sends a follow-up letter. After 30 days, BBB closes the file, marking it on a scale from resolved (meaning the business rectified the issue with the complainant) to unanswered (meaning the business didn't respond) or unpursuable (meaning BBB couldn't locate the business).
Beyond that, BBB has no judicial or enforcement power. After all, it's a nonprofit — not a government agency.
In my case, Appliance Repair Expert did not respond to my complaint, and it looks like I'm not the only one. The company is rated F on BBB, the lowest possible grade, with close to 200 complaints across its various branches in the past three years.
Takeaway: BBB is a valuable organization, and it's worthwhile to file a complaint. But ultimately, there's not much action they can take for you. That said, it's a good idea to read BBB complaints and check BBB ratings in addition to Google reviews before working with a company.
It happens more often than you'd think (but you can learn from other people's mistakes)
Once I accepted that there was nothing left to do, I started to put this whole ordeal behind me — although, I'll admit, a bit of shame remained. Then, just a few months later, my aunt told me that she had been the victim of a very similar scam from a different repair company when trying to get her dishwasher fixed. We couldn't help but laugh.
Yes, it feels ridiculous to get swindled. We all like to think we're above it. We like to think that scams are for suckers, chumps, patsies and fools... not for us. "Snake oil? For a broken ankle? No, thank you, sir. Take your little vial and go because you are a charlatan," we surely would have said to a snake oil salesman in the 1800s. But I'm realizing I would've lined my shelves with the stuff if they'd promised me it would dry my damn clothes.
All in all, I'm lucky that I only lost around $370. Sure, that's a few tanks of gas or a couple weeks of groceries out the window, but it could have been a lot worse. Plus, I'm about to make up the difference in spades. I have, like, $300,000 coming my way thanks to an advance I sent to a Nigerian prince. Kidding, guys... just kidding.
Takeaway: With artificial intelligence and deepfakes evolving at a rapid pace, it's more crucial than ever to be vigilant, because scams can happen to anyone — young, old, smart or foolish. Be cautious and learn from your mistakes as well as the mistakes of others (like me), but forgive yourself if you do get conned. It happens to the best of us.
MTL Blog reached out to Appliance Repair Expert Montreal for comment and did not receive a response. This story will be updated accordingly if we hear back.
The technician told MTL Blog he left Appliance Repair Expert when he "found out what they were actually doing." He says he is no longer affiliated with the company.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
