Scammers target vulnerable people with downed ACs during dangerous heatwave

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- During the summer, your AC unit has to work harder to cool your home. With this extended heatwave HVACS are breaking down at higher rates than usual.

This creating a swamped market and making it easier for vulnerable residents to be taken advantage of.

Across the board, AC companies in the Central Valley are overbooked.

This extended heatwave, so strong, HVACS are breaking down at skyrocketing rates not seen in several years.

"The systems are designed to work at a about 95 outside and anything over that is stressing them out," says Richard Bueno, Comfort Pro Heating and Cooling.

With waitlists growing, it can be difficult to get an appointment.

Thats when, Tobbie Biglione, CEO of Valley Air, says bad guys are stepping in and feeding off urgent need.

"This year I've had more technicians walking into my office, disturbed by their findings. For example, they find a loose wire and tell the homeowner it's just a loose wire we serviced it for you. It's back up and running, and they share that the previous technician has told them things like your compressor is going out and overamping, your motor is overamping and going out. says Tobbie Biglione, Valley Air Conditioning & Repair.

Biglione says her team has seen several examples of scamming so far this summer. Such as, contractors giving inflated repair costs in an effort to entice the buyer to replace their entire unit instead. And even, instances of tampering with units to mislead homeowners of their HVAC's existing condition.

Conly is a technician at Valley Air, he tells Action News, he's seen these scams for himself in the field.

"I've seen a handful of times this summer where companies out there are shutting gas off and saying it's not safe to be in the house and it's in the middle of the summertime 104 or 105 outside. We have companies shutting gas off, nothing to do with the AC side, just telling the customer it's unsafe and they need to replace all their equipment which is criminal," says Conly Biglione, Valley Air Conditioning & Repair.

Commission often the driving factor enticing scammers.

"If they see someone, they don't care, they just need it fixed. They just wanted it tomorrow. They want it today. That is the time that they take most advantage," says Tobbie Biglione.

Experts say, protect yourself by doing your research, have a backup plan like staying at a family members or at a hotel to buy time to get a second opinion.

And you can take steps to avoid an AC breakdown. Get routine maintenance in the early season and turn it down before you leave the house, just don't turn it off, completely.

"If you turn the unit off all day and you come home and it's 95 in your house. It's going to take 6 to 8 hours for that thing to cool back down to a temperature you want. So, it's going to overwork your system even more, which will also cause it to break even faster," says Bueno.

If you did forget to get maintenance done before these summer months, experts say it's okay, you could still get it done get it done now to make it easier on the system.

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