SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Commerce is taking legal action against Action Plumbing, Heating, Air and Electric and 12 of the electricians and plumbers associated with the company, seeking substantial fines, consumer remedies and revocation of professional licenses.
A statement from the ministry accuses the company and 12 of its electricians and plumbers of “systemic lack of supervision and deceptive business practices” and says the ministry’s actions stem from “repeated allegations that owners deceive and exploit vulnerable adults “.
In fact, a joint investigation by the Utah Divisions of Professional Licensing and the Utah Department of Consumer Protection found a “disturbing” pattern of elder abuse.
“Action continually used deceptive scare tactics to pressure landlords into unnecessary and costly services, even when they knew some of their customers were vulnerable adults,” the statement said.
The complaint filed in 3rd District Court alleges: “An Action employee even asked an elderly woman suffering from dementia to sign checks – which had been taken from her but written by him – for more than $50,000. The victim did not need the services offered and was unable to later I remember having already accepted or signed the checks written by the employee.
The complaint says these actions were brought to Action’s attention months ago by state agencies, but asserts that the company never disciplined the employee “and its practices did not never been corrected.
In another incident, the same electrician indicated he was dealing with another elderly person with dementia and was “hoping to sell more,” according to the Utah Department of Commerce.
Action Plumbing, Heating, Air and Electric did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted Friday by KSL.com.
The complaint states that many of the company’s employees are paid exclusively under a commission structure that “rewards high sales over competent work.” Action employees engage in door-to-door sales and unrecorded cold calling to generate leads and close deals. And Action management trains its employees to “upsell” consumers and close 100% of their transactions. »
Other alleged incidents include employees exaggerating or outright lying to homeowners about fire safety risks related to their home’s electrical systems to sell services. However, after getting a second opinion, the homeowners found that the proposed work was unnecessary and their electrical systems were completely safe, according to the Commerce Department.
The complaint filed by the Utah Attorney General’s Office says Action employees use “scaremongering” and “misleading” communications to convince homeowners to purchase expensive and unnecessary services.
“They tell consumers that extremely expensive electrical, plumbing or HVAC services are necessary to keep their home running – or even to keep their children safe. A consumer with a perfectly functioning boiler is being told that it needs to be replaced for tens of thousands of years “A homeowner whose electrical panel only needs an inexpensive switch replacement is told that the entire unit needs to be upgraded or else. his house will catch fire,” the complaint states.
“To push the deals even further, Action represents (telling) consumers that its prices are the ‘fairest’ in town,” but in reality “far exceed other plumbers, electricians and HVAC technicians in the state, often double, triple, or even more.” “.
The complaint alleges that Action charged an elderly woman with dementia $22,120 to replace 50 “Decora-style switches,” even though the actual cost of those switches was only $1 each.
“The alleged deceptive business practices of Action Plumbing, Heating, Air and Electric are reprehensible,” Margaret Woolley Busse, executive director of the Utah Department of Commerce, said in the release. “Targeting and exploiting vulnerable Utahns, especially the elderly and people with dementia, is unconscionable. These predatory business practices have no place in our state and we will hold those responsible accountable. We are putting all potential exploiters of vulnerable adults on notice: We will come after you. »
Additionally, the complaint details allegations that Action prioritized sales over quality work, raising new consumer protection concerns.
“Of the estimated 120 employees, only five held a primary license. The remaining employees were underqualified and were not properly supervised for the work they performed,” the statement said. “This lack of qualifications, which the company often misrepresented to consumers, resulted in numerous complaints about unsafe and substandard work, exposing homeowners to risks such as flooding, electrical fires and carbon monoxide poisoning.”
The Utah Division of Occupational Licensing is seeking to revoke Action’s licenses and the professional licenses of a dozen plumbers and electricians employed by the company. The complaint requests a jury trial and seeks consumer damages, civil fines and penalties, and attorney’s fees.
The complaint seeks action against Connectionz Acquisition LLC and Connectionz Funnel LLC dba Action Plumbling, Heating, Air & Electric and other names, including 24 Hour Rooter Connectionz Plumbing & Drain Cleaning; Electric Action; Rooter connection 24 hours a day; Action Man Root; Rooterman 24 hours a day; Connectionz Plumbing; Connect Plumbing Heating and Air; AAA Action Rooter; and ReScope emptying aid.
People can file a complaint with the Division of Consumer Protection at dcp.utah.gov.
The key takeaways from this article were generated with the help of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article itself is solely written by humans.