*Update: Hours after this story aired on FOX4, the repairman showed up at the man’s home and returned his money.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — When one KCK man tried to find someone to repair his broken refrigerator, the company he hired turned out to be a disaster.
William Wilson recently pulled his refrigerator out from the wall to help explain how he got cheated out of nearly $300.
“That little white thing is the overload (relay) switch,” said Wilson, pointing to small white device in the back of the refrigerator.
It was a bad overload relay switch that was apparently causing problems with Wilson’s refrigerator.
“The temperature inside the refrigerator was 59 degrees,” Wilson recalled.
In need of help fast, Wilson called Appliance HD, an appliance repair company he found on the internet. According to its website, Appliance HD promises “professional technicians that can repair your appliance right away.”
Appliance HD charged Wilson $60 for a service call and then sent a technician to his home. It was repairman Izack Wincapaw who diagnosed that bad overload relay switch.
Wincapaw ordered a replacement part, or so he told Wilson, while he was still standing in Wilson’s kitchen. The part was supposedly being mailed to Wilson’s home. Wincapaw told Wilson he would install it as soon as it arrived the following week.
This is where it gets strange.
Wincapaw wanted Wilson to pay him for the entire repair job upfront and in cash $225. Wilson had to drive to an ATM near his home while Wincapaw waited outside.
“Yeah, I found it very odd,” Wilson said.
After Wilson paid Wincapaw — you guessed it — that’s the last time Wilson saw him.
“He would never return my calls,” Wilson said.
Plus, the part that Wincapaw said he had ordered never came.
Wilson complained to Appliance HD, asking them for his money back.
Appliance HD told him there was nothing it could do. Wilson would have to get his money back from Wincapaw, an independent contractor.
It’s tough to get a refund from someone who bailed on the job and won’t return your phone calls. That’s why Wilson called FOX4 Problem Solvers.
We also tried calling Wincapaw, but his phone didn’t accept messages. We then paid a visit to his home in Kansas City’s historic Northeast neighborhood. But no one came to the door.
However later that day, Wincapaw texted us.
“We are not crooks,” he informed us.
He said he’d lost Wilson’s contact information, but Wincapaw said he would be happy to refund his money.
“I can drop it off at his residence,” he volunteered.
We were hopeful this problem would be solved that day — until we got this text: “I was given advise (sic) from a legal representative to not go to his residence.”
Wincapaw told FOX4 he had decided instead to mail the money order to Wilson. We asked to see a receipt to prove he’d actually purchased one.
“No problem… will do,” he texted us.
But he never did. That was six days ago. The money order has never arrived. That’s just one of the reasons why Wincapaw is now an official member of the FOX4 Problem Solver Hall of Shame.
Problem Solvers also called Appliance HD for help. But the customer service agent who answered said she couldn’t talk to us, but would have a company owner return our call.
She wouldn’t give us his name or even the address of where the company is located. No one from Appliance HD ever called us.
The only good news in this entire mess is that repairman Wincapaw diagnosed the refrigerator’s problem correctly. It was the relay overload switch.
We know this because Wilson ordered one online for $25 and then watched a You Tube video to figure out how to install it. His refrigerator is now working fine.
Note: Since Wincapaw returned the money, he is no longer a member of the FOX4 Problem Solver Hall of Shame.
