Classic bait & switch. Pete promised a free estimate when he came out to us. When he got here he said he couldn't give an estimate because he wasn't sure exactly was wrong. So he started playing around the machine and said he would give us the estimate once he 'got more information.'



I imagine we are not the first ones to hear those words. Anyways, after about an hour of tinkering with the machine he still had not given us the 'free estimate.' We finally asked him what the estimate was and he said it was going to be $150. We said no, which is when he said we owed him a $75 diagnostic fee.



This was pure Bull. If you tell someone it's a free estimate that's exactly what it should be. Don't start fixing it and try to jam the customer with a ridiculous bill for work they never agreed to. Had I known it was going to be a $75 diagnostic fee, instead of the free estimate promised, I would've taken it to any number of shops that charge $25 for a diagnostic fee which goes towards fixing the item.