Response from A1 Accurate Garage Door Co
This was not a "bait and switch" scare tactic! As far as we could tell the garage door that we were told to work on did not have the correct springs installed and had a dangerous set up. A full refund was issued for the $99 Garage door tune-up with roller replacement. The service call was March 14, 2012 and the review was received October 27, 2012 - 7 months later! The person who purchased the Angie's List roller deal had us do the work at another person's house. They said they purchased the deal for a friend or relative. Because this was seven months ago I do not recall the exact details of the people involved or all of the issues for this particular garage door and whether it had extension springs or torsion springs. The work order states garage "door drops like a rock at the open position and lifts by itself in the closed position" it also states "we can not work on this garage door until proper springs are installed" and the "garage door has a dangerous set up - homeowner advised". There was no signature on the work order making me believe that there was nobody home and we were supposed to do work to this garage door that we believed had many issues. Since there was nobody there or a person that could make any decisions we issued a full refund. There are many circumstances involved in the wrong spring set up. Once we replace the rollers, we become liable.This garage door was a risk without the proper repairs. Maybe before accusing somebody of trying to rip you off, you should do little more research and determine whether or not this contractor of yours knows what he's doing. Complications occur when an unqualified person changes garage door springs. If you pay a person to work on your garage door that does not have the proper insurance, and there's damage to property or an injury, your homeowner's insurance will not cover any injuries or damage. Somebody will be liable. If this was a "bait and switch", why would I drive away without collecting any money? Wouldn't I have another line or tactic to make sure I didn't lose money? For a decision-maker not to be there during inspection, and considering all the issues with this garage door, your review is is ridiculous. You chose to spend $50 to have the rollers replaced and you still have a dangerous situation. Before any service can be performed on a garage door, it must be evaluated. When testing a garage door the rule of thumb is to release the door from the opener and manually lift it up and down. When released at 4' above the ground; the door should stay in its position. This garage door dropped like a rock when released and in the closed position it wanted to lift by itself. It was obvious the wrong springs were installed for this door as they were too strong. The IPPTs (inch per pound turn) is too high. If more tension is put on the spring the door would not stay closed and be difficult to pull down. During a power outage the door would have no locking mechanism as the opener would not keep it closed and secure. Injuries can occur when garage doors are forced down; people tend to injure their fingers by grabbing between the sections. If no tension was put on the springs, when the door was released from the opener, it would come down with too much force and damage property or injure somebody. This door had only two adjustment possibilities - too strong at the closed position and open position - the door would fly open possibly damaging the opener. Or almost balanced at the closed position and very heavy at the open position. No balance possible! We have been in business for almost a decade and have never had a liability claim on our company. There are state and federal regulations concerning the safety of garage doors and the related systems. All safety procedures are followed and warning stickers are attached upon completion. Records are kept of all service calls whether we were paid to work on the garage door or not. We have built an honest reputation and do not use "bait and switch" tactics, or use mileage surcharges. Our employees are trained to honestly evaluate and repair garage doors.