Fridge repair fight splits Volgograd opinions

A conflict between a resident of the Krasnoarmeysky district and a refrigerator repairman, which escalated into a brawl, has sparked a debate among Volgograd residents. Some residents turned against the woman and sided with the repairman, while others reminded themselves and each other of the importance of hiring trusted professionals to avoid encountering scammers.

Recall that Anna, a resident of the Krasnoarmeysky district, told V1.RU how calling a refrigerator repairman started with oddities: she dealt with two people who called themselves «partners,» and a completely different person eventually arrived. According to the woman, the repairman«s actions seemed strange, and she began recording him on video, which displeased the man: he knocked the phone from her hands, pushed her against the wall, and was about to leave the apartment.

«I slam the door, lock it, say I won»t let him out, and we literally start fighting,« Anna recounted. »He says, «Are you crazy, woman, have you lost your mind?» He hits my arm and leg, forces his way out of the apartment, I fall onto the landing, and he runs off. Do you think that«s acceptable? Coming into an apartment, shoving and grabbing, beating a woman? I have a bruise on my arm. This is outrageous! He also completely broke my fridge. I»d have been better off buying a new one…«

«She»s to blame herself, and I feel sorry for the repairman«

Those residents who sided with the repairman either simply do not believe the story is true or say the woman should have fixed the fridge herself instead of calling a repairman for 300 rubles ($5).

«Well, I read the comments, and no one even thought about whether she»s telling the truth at all. I«m a repairman with 21 years of experience in household appliances, including repairing refrigerators on-site. No matter how correctly I explain pricing and step-by-step repair procedures to such ladies, I still get one or two incidents a month from such unstable female clients. You always get problems out of nowhere with them, and when I see a conflict is inevitable, I quickly pack up and leave amid screams and shouts about what a jerk I am. The scandal usually starts with the video recording on the phone turned on—that»s the main red flag to run.«

«Mixed emotions from this article. I feel sorry for both the woman and the »repairman.« The price is a joke; essentially, it»s a «call-a-husband» service—let«s call a spade a spade. This is a man trying to make a living and scrape together some money. He»s not doing his job, but he needs to bring something home; you can«t explain to the kids that dad has no money. Over time, he»ll either return to his trade or get trained and move to another company to work with professionals for good pay. Also, modern appliances are mostly non-repairable. Don«t waste your time; buy a new fridge.»

«Turn on the voice recorder and sign a contract»

Among V1.RU readers, there were also those who decided to offer advice to both Anna and other residents who want to call a repairman. Here«s what they suggest.

«Almost all repairmen from ads are scammers who know nothing about appliances. If you don»t want to buy a new one, look for a repairman recommended by people you know well.«

«And if an unknown repairman comes, at least turn on a voice recorder. Once, it helped me reason with a »repairman« who started the repair and then abandoned it mid-assembly, demanding an outrageous fee. Only the audio recording put him in his place. You can present it to his company, the consumer protection society, and so on.»

«That»s why you should draw up a contract right before starting the work. When ordering by phone, ask for the repairman to arrive with an official contract that you«ll fill out after diagnosing the appliance damage—with terms, guarantees, and payment specified. If there»s no contract, look for someone else. A decent repairman will never refuse official paperwork.«

«Lurked outside the house, forced to delete the review»

However, despite the opinion that the story might not be true, many Volgograd residents had encountered similar situations when calling a repairman or had heard such stories from acquaintances.

«We had a guy come to repair a washing machine. He didn»t even look at it. We only heard him arguing with his wife on the phone, as he was in the middle of a divorce. He said the machine needed to be taken to a workshop and quoted a repair cost. It was more than 50% of the price of a new machine. We refused. Then he said we had to pay for the call-out (which was advertised as free). But it turned out «if you don»t come to us, you pay.« The amount was also hefty, and it was frustrating that he didn»t even look at the machine, just chatted on the phone. We called the company back, and they said the call-out was free. The repairman left. But in the morning, we found he had glued the lock on our front door shut. So, outrageous behavior in this field is 99 out of 100 cases.«

«I also dealt with »specialists« offering services via ads on a free classifieds site who acted much like in this case. One person answers the call, then another calls back and says they»ll be there in an hour, but they don«t show up, then explains their car broke down and they can only come in the evening. Then in the evening, a different voice calls and says they»ll arrive by 8 PM. Such service scenarios raise suspicion, and you should refuse them. It seems the service sector is overrun with scammers. In this specific case, the «repairman» also started a fight and damaged someone«s property, so there»s grounds to contact the police.«

«They deceive pensioners like that and rip them off for huge sums. Their ads are plastered on entrance doors; it»s a whole network of scammers with a call center. On Eliseeva Street in the Voroshilovsky district, they have an office.«

«Not long ago, I called a repairman to replace a water heater; they said the call-out was free, and the price started from 1,500 rubles ($8). In the end, the price from the doorstep was 5,000 rubles ($27). Naturally, I refused, and then they charged 300 rubles ($2) for the refusal. I told them to go back where they came from and left a review on the classifieds site. That»s when it got interesting: demands and requests to delete the review, and they lurked outside my house for three days… Eventually, I suggested they transfer 5,000 rubles ($27) to a fund for sick children and I«d delete the review! And that»s what we agreed on. So, liars and boors became philanthropists!«

«It»s very hard to find a good refrigerator repairman. These repairmen write that the call-out costs 300 rubles ($5) and the repair is cheap. It«s all lies. About two years ago, there was such a case, and the repairman replaced a part in the fridge that cost 2,500 rubles ($14). But he demanded 18,000 rubles ($98) from me, and a year later, the fridge broke again. This year, a new repairman did a diagnosis and said the repair would cost 15,000 rubles ($82), and after an hour and a half of work, he asked for 20,000 rubles ($109). All these private guys are extortionists and liars. Even in workshops, there are no decent repairmen either, and some pose as repairmen but are scammers, and even real repairmen are no better.»