Air Duct Cleaning Scams to Be Aware Of

There are several scams that are common to the air duct cleaning industry and if you are looking to find a trusted air duct cleaning company you need to know what to watch for.

1. The Coupon Scams. This is one of the most common scams out there used by air duct cleaning companies.  A company will use coupons send in the mail to entice someone to call to get a deal on a certain cost per vent.  The fine print will tell you that returns are extra and some even add wording about sanitizing being extra.  They are hoping you only see “$6.95 per vent” and count your 10 vents, and assume you are going to get the job done for $70. Trust me, that won’t happen.  The goal of an unethical air duct cleaning company scam is to just to get in the door to try and upsell you.

2. The Charge for Work Not Done Scam. Dateline NBC did a story on an unethical air duct cleaning company that charged someone to do work and they had a video camera set up showing that they did not do any work.  This simply comes down to integrity, so it is critical that you find an air duct company has has high ethical standards.

3. The Sell Work Not Needed Scam. In another undercover video and company tried to sell a homeowner “mold removal” services on a home that had no mold (it had been inspected prior to the sting operation).  They wanted several hundred dollars for the work, after getting into the home with a teaser rate of about $80.

The best way to find an ethical air duct cleaning company is to ask those you know for referrals. Often HVAC companies and real estate agents have good referral sources.  Also, check the Better Business Bureau for complaints against any company you are considering. Please know that not being listed in the BBB is not a negative sign, it just means the company did not want to pay the BBB for a listing (many don’t realize that the BBB charges companies to be listed which is why some question the integrity of BBB information.)