Consumer complaint received 2026-03-29 00:00:00
Product: Credit card — General-purpose credit card or charge card
Issue: Problem with a purchase shown on your statement — Credit card company isn't resolving a dispute about a purchase on your statement
Company: AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY
State: OH

Complaint narrative:
American Express Dispute XXXX XXXX. XXXX On XX/XX/XXXX, I paid {$2600.00} for garage door repairs : two torsion springs, one cable drum, and labor. The parts alone were billed at {$2000.00}. Those same parts retail for under {$120.00} total. This submission explains the overcharge and the XXXX law violations that accompanied it. Factual Background : I found the company through what appeared to be a XXXX listing for a local garage-door service. It was late at night and cold, so we needed an immediate fix. A technician named XXXX arrived and examined my garage door. He told me the springs needed replacing and mentioned they would cost about {$350.00} each. He provide no written estimate or a form to choose between written and oral estimates, and he failed to disclose my rights under XXXX law. When the work was done, XXXX presented the bill : {$750.00} per spring ( not {$350.00} ), plus {$550.00} for a drum, plus {$370.00} labor, plus a {$75.00} card fee. Total : {$2500.00} before tip. I paid because I needed my garage door to function and felt I had no practical alternative at that point. It was late at night, he was a bit intimidating, and I wanted him out of my house. XXXX left me a box for one of the torsion springs.There was no paperwork whatsoeverno specifications, no warranty, nothing. And my internet research has failed to identify the manufacturer. This is a generic product, probably inferior, and XXXX misrepresented it as top of the line. The Overcharge : The invoice describes the springs as " New American springs '' with electrophoretic coating. On XXXX, a pair of electrophoresis-coated torsion springs with XXXX cycle ratingsincluding winding barssells for {$40.00} to {$80.00} ; the merchant charged {$1500.00} for the pair. The drum is simpler. XXXX XXXX sells garage door cable drums for about {$8.00}. XXXX prices are similar. XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, a professional repair company, advertises complete drum replacementparts and laborfor {$200.00} to {$300.00} ( see XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX ). But the merchant charged me {$550.00} for the part alone.Adding reasonable labor ( {$300000.00} ) to fair parts pricing ( {$75000.00} ), this repair should have cost {$400.00} to {$550.00}. I paid {$2500.00}. Violations of XXXX Law : The XXXX Consumer Sales Practices Act, R.C. 1345.01, et seq. ( the CSPA ), requires suppliers in these circumstances to do two pertinent things that the vendor here did not do : ( 1 ) provide a written estimate ( or obtain a written waiver of that right ) ; and ( 2 ) refrain from unreasonably overcharging. Failure to do these things warrants rescission of the transaction and a full refund of the funds paid, plus treble economic damages and attorney fees. In addition, the vendor provided fraudulent and deceptive information about the supposed warranty on the parts. 1. Failure to Provide Proper ( and Accurate ) Estimate : XXXX Administrative Code 109:4-3-05 is one of the regulations that implements the CSPA for home repairs costing more than {$25.00}. It requires the repair company to do two things at the initial face-to-face contact, before starting any work : ( 1 ) orally inform the consumer of the right to receive a written or oral estimate, and ( 2 ) provide a form allowing the consumer to choose. XXXX did neither. He did not inform me of any rights. He did not provide any form. He started working and presented the price afterward. I understand the merchant may argue that an oral estimate was given. Two problems with that. First, no form was provided for me to elect an oral estimatethe regulation requires the form regardless of which type of estimate the consumer chooses. Second, even if XXXX 's casual mention of " about {$350.00} '' qualified as an oral estimate, the final charge of {$750.00} per spring exceeded it by 114 %. Under OAC 109:4-3-05, the final bill can not exceed the estimate by more than 10 % without prior approval. I gave no such approval. 2. Overcharges : R.C. 1345.03 ( B ) ( 2 ) makes it a deceptive act or practice to charge a price substantially in excess of the price at which similar property or services were readily obtainable in similar consumer transactions by like consumer. The enormous discrepancy between the market prices and the prices I was charged for the torsion springs and drum speaks for itself. XXXX. Fake Warranty : The invoice states 20 years of warranty. The merchant 's own Terms & Conditions, accessible via link on the receipt, limit the warranty to 30 days on labor onlyno parts coverage. But the warranty is obviously useless, because I have no way to identify, much less contact, either the manufacturer or ( at this point ) the vendor. The Scam Pattern : This company fits the profile of a well-documented national fraud. In XX/XX/XXXX, the XXXX Serving XXXX XXXX warned consumers about garage-door-repair scams after a XXXX, XXXX, resident reported a nearly identical experience : a company found via XXXX sponsored ads, no physical address, an XXXX number that changes every time you look it up, and inflated charges for parts.1 The merchant here has no physical addressnone appears on the invoice or receipt. The contact email is a XXXX account ( XXXX ). The phone number is an XXXX toll-free line. Payment was processed through XXXX XXXX in XXXX XXXX, XXXX third-party processor commonly used in these operations. The company name, XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX, is generic and does not appear to be a registered business. News investigations from XXXX XXXX XXXX and the XXXX XXXX describe the same pattern : fake XXXX XXXX listings with stolen photos, calls routed to out-of-state call centers, unlicensed technicians dispatched as gig workers, no estimates provided, and parts marked up by 1,000 % or more. ( XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX XXXX ) Contact History : After I disputed the charge, the merchant contacted me twice : once by text and once by voice call. On XX/XX/XXXX, someone named XXXX sent a text message asking if I had concerns. I responded the same day with a clear explanation of the problem : You violated XXXX law by not providing an accurate written estimate before the work was done and then you overcharged me significantly for parts that are not even name-brand. The phone call followed and was aggressive and unproductive. I had already submitted the dispute to American Express by this time, so for my comfort and security I blocked the number. Its unreasonable to anticipate that a business that would engage in this sort of fraud and deception would then come to the negotiating table in good faith. And, indeed, in recent days I have tried calling the number again from a different phone ( so the merchant would not see it was me ) ; the phone number no longer connected to a garage-door-repair service but instead has a generic message of unavailability. What the Merchant Should Be Able to Produce : If the merchant 's position is legitimate, it should be able to produce three things. First, invoices from its supplier showing what it actually paid for the springs and drum. If those parts cost anywhere near {$2000.00}, the invoices will show it. Second, a signed form in which I elected an oral estimate and waived my right to a written oneas required by OAC 109:4-3-05. Third, documentation of the 20 years of warranty advertised on the invoice, which should exist as a written warranty document rather than a contradiction buried in online terms and conditions. And I want the name and contact information for the manufacturer. I expect the merchant can produce none of these. Summary : I was charged {$2000.00} for parts worth approximately {$100.00}. The company violated XXXX XXXX estimate disclosure requirements. The final bill exceeded even the informal oral quote by more than 100 %. The merchant operates without a physical address, uses a XXXX account and third-party payment processor, and matches the documented profile of garage door repair fraud. I have photographs and screenshots to support many of the statements above, but this field did not permit me to paste them.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation