Did I get scammed? And how do I fix my stupid fridge?

Post date: 2020-11-22 13:56:42

Tried to get my fridge fixed but now I feel like I'm being scammed. What do I do?

UGH this is so stupid and I'm so mad at myself.

I recently bought a house that I am renting out to tenants. The fridge broke and I had a really difficult time finding a company to repair it, since it's a Samsung and apparently no one around me works on Samsungs.

ANYWAY, I was in a panic because the fridge was leaking onto my hardwood floors and I needed to get it fixed asap. I found a company online and they sent a guy out to diagnose it. He called me and said I need a part and he could order it from me, but I had to pay up front. $550 total. In cash. I KNOW, I KNOW. I wasnt thinking clearly. My life is a mess lately (like everyone in 2020) and I just wanted it fixed.

So I gave him the $550 in cash. That was six weeks ago....and the part never came and he never fixed it and my fridge is still leaking and I'm freaking out. Heres the weird part. He still answers my phone calls and txts. He says his partner got Covid and he's working all by himself and he's so sorry and the company sent the wrong part, so he had to send it back and is waiting for the new part and he'll call me as soon as it comes in etc etc. We speak maybe once a week and he swears up and down that he's not ripping me off - he's at the mercy of the supplier.

NOW if it was a scam, why would this guy answer me with more and more excuses? Wouldnt he just ghost? But either way, I need my fridge fixed or my money back. What should I do? If I had paid by credit card, I would stop the payment and move on to another repair company. But I dont see how I could possibly get my money back from him. $550 is a lot of money to me. But on the other hand, my floors are definitely getting damaged. And on the THIRD hand.... I cant find any other repair company to fix samsungs. So I'd possibly have to buy a whole new fridge for at least $1000.

Sorry so rambly. I guess my questions are A. does this sound like a scam, or just a terrible mess? B. How can I stop the bleeding and do something constructive about it?

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