The $800 bathroom fan that should have cost me $150

I hired a guy who came highly rated on one of those review sites to swap out a bathroom vent fan. He quoted me $800 because he said the old wiring was a hazard and needed a whole new circuit. Sounded legit so I paid it. Took him two days and my wife said it hummed weird but we figured it was normal. Six months later the fan dies and my buddy who does electrical work looks at it for free. Turns out the wiring was fine, he just used a $150 fart fan and charged me like it was gold. The kicker is his reviews are still glowing because people don't post until something breaks. I should have asked for the old unit back or checked the brand on the box he left. Has anyone else had a contractor talk up a simple job into a whole project just to pad the bill? What do you all do to verify before you hand over the cash?

1 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

1 Comment

abbyd361mo ago

That line about "people don't post until something breaks" really stuck with me... because it's true but it cuts the other way too. The real trick is to check the guy's OLD reviews, like from two or three years ago, not the recent ones. People who got burned tend to wait a while then pile on later, and the review sites bury those older ones under all the fresh happy talk. Also, next time ask for the old part back no matter what, even if they say it's trash. If they hesitate or make excuses, that's your red flag right there. And honestly, taking a quick photo of the new unit's serial number before they leave costs you nothing and gives you something to look up later if things feel off. The whole "needs a new circuit" thing is a classic upsell, basic wiring on a fan swap rarely needs that unless the house is ancient.

5