Two weeks ago, I called the HVAC company.
I knew I needed to get some help with my furnace, but I wasn’t sure how much it was going to cost.
The HVAC technician came to the house and gave me an estimate about how much it would cost if I needed a new furnace, and one for if it was just a repair. I thought the price he gave me was a little over inflated to account for anything he had forgotten, so I let it go. I liked the estimate for repairs much better. When the HVAC technician arrived two weeks later, he told me I was going to need a new furnace. I grimaced when I looked at the estimate, and swallowed hard. I wasn’t sure how I was going to pay the price, but I couldn’t go through the winter without a furnace. I told him to do the work, and we would take care of the payment when it was done. A week later, the estimate became a bill and it was almost 20% higher. I asked if he was sure that was the right price? He told me he double checked the numbers and it was right. I asked him what happened to the over inflated estimate he gave me two weeks earlier. He told me that was just an estimate and not a quote. If I wanted a quote, I should have asked for one. He showed me everything that was different between the bill and the estimate, and asked if I needed help paying.