The Maryland attorney general has ordered an appliance repairman to stop his business due to several violations, including taking money for services that weren't performed and telling customers they needed costly repairs that weren't necessary.

The Attorney General's Office's issued a final order Thursday against David Lee Mansel Jr., of Pasadena, who worked under the company name Maryland Appliance Repair.

Officials said Mansel violated the Maryland Consumer Protection Act by taking customers' money for services that weren't performed, and some of which weren't even necessary. Officials said Mansel also didn't have the required license to do some of the work he offered and performed.

The final order requires Mansel to pay back at least $100,000 in restitution to all the customers whose work he either didn't complete or did unnecessarily, as well as for every unlicensed heating or air conditioning service he sold. Mansel will also have to pay a civil penalty of $166,000.

The Attorney General's Office said Mansel often told consumers that they needed to replace expensive parts and then demanded hundreds of dollars in down-payments so he could order them. Officials said he would often cash the checks and then never turned up to do the repairs, sometimes scheduling several no-show appointments.

Officials said one victim was told by Mansel that she would need a new $436 control board for her washing machine. After she gave him a $300 deposit and he didn't do the work, another contractor was able to fix it by removing a quarter that was stuck in its pump. Mansel never gave the woman back her money, officials said.

"To avoid being taken advantage of, consumers should check the license status and complaint history of their contractors and repair workers before hiring them," Attorney General Doug Gansler said.

Officials said Mansel also did business using the names Maryland Appliance Service, Maryland Refrigerator Repair Service, 24 Hour Appliance Repair, In Home Appliance Repair, Appliance Repair Wizard, Appliance Repair Co., Affordable Appliance Repair and Appliance Repair Wiz.

Anyone who dealt with Mansel or any of his businesses can call the Consumer Protection Division at 410-576-6569 to make a complaint.

More here:
Repairman to pay customers for bad, unfinished work

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October 31, 2014 at 6:00 am by Mr HomeBuilder
Category: Appliance Repair