{"id":2656,"date":"2021-07-20T11:48:49","date_gmt":"2021-07-20T11:48:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jacklehr.com\/?p=2656"},"modified":"2025-09-23T03:18:46","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T07:18:46","slug":"popular-hvac-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jacklehr.com\/blog\/heating-service\/popular-hvac-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch Out for These Popular HVAC Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"

HVAC scams are nothing new, but as the weather warms up they are taking on residential areas in full force. Online review and consumer protection programs like the Better Business Bureau<\/a> and Angie\u2019s List<\/a> have made these scams easier to spot and avoid, but some homeowners still fall victim every year. Below are a few of the more common scams popping up this year that technicians have reported to Air Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration News.<\/p>\n

Afraid you\u2019ve fallen victim to a scam? Get a second opinion! <\/em>Contact Jack Lehr<\/em><\/a> for a free consultation in the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re in the neighborhood\u201d<\/h2>\n

This common scam begins with a telemarketing call offering a discounted rate because the service technician is \u201cin the neighborhood.\u201d After gaining entry to your home, the scammers find various problems with the components of your HVAC system, including anything from outdated parts to toxic mold.<\/p>\n

The best way to avoid this scam is to schedule regular maintenance checkups with a reputable company like Jack Lehr, and not fall for the dangling discount carrot. Saving $50 today isn\u2019t worth paying $300 tomorrow to fix what the shoddy discount service either missed or broke.\u00a0 You rely on your HVAC system to heat and cool your home, and improper care can cause you big bucks in the future. Doing your research on PA and NJ heating and cooling companies and scheduling a consultation may be more time-consuming than letting the technician \u201cin the neighborhood\u201d into your home, but it will assure better servicing and will usually save you more money in the long run.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s time for your free inspection\u201d<\/h2>\n

ACHR reported that a popular scam this season is using the free inspection tactic to get inside the home and then condemning perfectly good equipment. A scammer will call your home insisting they are with XYZ Company and that it\u2019s time for your \u201cfree\u201d inspection. They will then perform a short inspection of your equipment, throw a bunch of HVAC technical lingo at you, and insist you get a replacement right away because repairs will cost you more money.<\/p>\n

Many of these companies can get your personal information like telephone number and address through typical telemarketing tactics, so you shouldn\u2019t assume that since you\u2019re being contacted you must have given them your phone number at some point. Unless you\u2019re signed up for a maintenance program like Jack Lehr\u2019s Maintenance Plan<\/a>, you shouldn\u2019t be getting told it\u2019s time for your free inspection.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need a replacement\u201d<\/h2>\n

This is one of the more common scams. The scammer uses technical HVAC lingo to overwhelm the homeowner, and then insists that a full-on replacement is the only way to go. In most of these cases, a simple repair is the solution, but the scammer relies on the homeowner not being familiar with their HVAC system. One popular version is to tell the homeowner the heat exchanger is cracked and will die shortly.<\/p>\n

Jack Lehr: An Allentown, PA HVAC Company You Can Trust<\/h2>\n

You can always avoid a scam by trusting the honest experts at Jack Lehr. With every visit, you\u2019ll get a comprehensive diagnostic and a written estimate for the work to be done, as well as second opinions if need be. If you\u2019re afraid you\u2019re being scammed, give us a call and we\u2019ll come on out for a free consultation. Contact us today<\/a> to learn more about our services and maintenance plans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HVAC scams are nothing new, but as the weather warms up they are taking on residential areas in full force. Online review and consumer protection programs like the Better Business Bureau and Angie\u2019s List have made these scams easier to spot and avoid, but some homeowners still fall victim every year. Below are a few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[13,6,99],"class_list":["post-2656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-heating-service","tag-air-conditioning","tag-heating","tag-our-maintenance-plan"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jacklehr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jacklehr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jacklehr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jacklehr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jacklehr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2656"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jacklehr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5615,"href":"https:\/\/www.jacklehr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2656\/revisions\/5615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jacklehr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jacklehr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jacklehr.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}