DO NOT HIRE CENTRAL MINNESOTA APPLIANCE…
DO NOT HIRE CENTRAL MINNESOTA APPLIANCE REPAIR.
This was one of the most aggressive, unprofessional, and disturbing contractor experiences I have ever had.
I hired this company only to diagnose a commercial walk-in cooler. During the visit, they took equipment apart and attempted to leave it that way until I insisted that everything be put back together and properly sealed.
Afterward, I received repair figures through text messages instead of a professional, itemized estimate. I was told that repairs could cost approximately $1,673, more than $3,200, or possibly $15,000. The technician admitted that the proposed $1,673 repair might not fix the problem but demanded my card information for the full amount so he could purchase nonreturnable parts.
I did not authorize any repair or purchase of parts. Nevertheless, the company sent me Invoice #325 demanding $1,890.08. It included $1,673.33 for repair work that was never authorized or performed, charged the $200 diagnostic fee again, and failed to credit the $200 I had already paid.
They later issued a separate and correct $16.75 invoice identifying that amount as the “Last payment.” I did not dispute that balance and stated in writing that it would be paid.
Their response was outrageous. I received written threats that they would:
* Place a lien on my entire property over $16.75;
* Make me pay 20 times that amount to obtain a lien release;
* Take the property to court;
* Have the sheriff sell my building; and
* Publicly tell people that I “rip local businesses off.”
The technician called me a “scumbag,” continued contacting me through different and unidentified telephone numbers after being told to stop, and gave me approximately 30 minutes to pay before he claimed he would file the lien.
After this dispute began, I received a new receipt that changed the diagnostic fee from $200 to $400 and changed the service date from August 17 to August 23. There was no second diagnostic visit, and I never agreed to a $400 diagnostic charge.
I contacted Hennepin County directly. The County confirmed that no lien had been recorded against the property and explained the actual lien process to me.
Meanwhile, another contractor came out, correctly diagnosed the cooler, and repaired it the same day for $700.
Every invoice, email, text message, payment record, and telephone record has been preserved and is being provided to my attorney.
Based on the unauthorized billing, changing financial records, personal insults, repeated unwanted contact, and extreme threats against my property over $16.75, I strongly recommend that customers and business owners avoid this company.
