SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Department of Commerce is taking legal action against Action Plumbing, Heating, Air and Electric and 12 of the company’s affiliated electricians and plumbers, seeking substantial fines, consumer damages and revocation of professional licenses.
A statement from the department accuses the company and 12 of its electricians and plumbers of “systematic lack of oversight and deceptive business practices” and says the department’s actions stem from “repeated allegations of defrauding homeowners and exploiting vulnerable adults “.
In fact, a joint investigation by the Utah Divisions of Professional Licensing and the Utah Department of Consumer Protection uncovered a “disturbing” pattern of elder abuse.
“The agency repeatedly used deceptive scare tactics to push homeowners into unnecessary and expensive 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 had an elderly woman with insanity checks — taken by her but written by him — for over $50,000. The victim didn’t need for the services rendered and later she could not recall ever agreeing to them or signing the checks written by the employee.”
The complaint says these actions were brought to Action’s attention months ago by state agencies, but says the company never disciplined the employee “and his practices were never corrected.”
In a separate incident, the same electrician noted that he was dealing with another elderly person with dementia and that he would “hopefully sell,” 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 says many of the company’s employees are compensated exclusively by a commission structure that “rewards high-dollar sales over competent work. Action employees engage in door-to-door sales and off-the-record cold calling to generate leads and close deals.” . And Action’s management trains its employees to ‘sell’ services to customers and close 100% of their deals.”
Other alleged incidents include employees overstating or outright lying to homeowners about fire safety hazards with their homes’ electrical systems to sell services. However, after getting a second opinion, the homeowners discovered that the quoted 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 “intimidating” and “deceptive communication” to convince homeowners to purchase expensive and unnecessary services.
“They tell consumers that extremely expensive electrical, plumbing or HVAC services are necessary for the operation of their homes — or even the safety of their children. A consumer with a perfectly working furnace is told it needs to be replaced for tens of thousands of dollars A homeowner with an electrical panel that only needs an inexpensive switch replacement is told the entire unit must be upgraded or their house will catch on fire,” the complaint states.
“To drive the deals even further, Action represents (tells) consumers that its prices are the ‘fairest’ in town,” but in fact “far exceed the 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-type switches” even though the actual cost of those switches is 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 statement. “Targeting and exploiting vulnerable Utahns, especially seniors and individuals with dementia, is unconscionable. These predatory business practices have no place in our state and we will hold those responsible accountable. We warn any exploiters of potential vulnerable adults: We’ll come after you.”
Additionally, the complaint details the Action’s allegations that it prioritizes sales over quality of workmanship, raising further consumer protection concerns.
“Of the 120 employees evaluated, only five had master’s licenses. The remaining employees were underqualified and not properly supervised for the work they performed,” the statement said. “This lack of qualifications, which the company often misrepresented to consumers, has resulted in numerous complaints of unsafe and substandard work, putting homeowners at risk of hazards such as flooding, electrical fires and carbon monoxide poisoning. “
The Utah Division of Professional Licensing is seeking to revoke Action’s professional licenses and licenses for a dozen plumbers and electricians employed by the company. The complaint seeks a jury trial and seeks consumer damages, civil penalties and fines, and attorneys’ fees.
The complaint seeks action against Connectionz Acquisition LLC and Connectionz Funnel LLC dba Action Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electric and other names, including 24 Hour Rooter Connectionz Plumbing & Drain Cleaning; Action Electric; 24 HR Rooter Connectionz; Action Man Rooter; Rooterman 24 hours; Connectionz Plumbing; Connectionz Plumbing Heating and Air; AAA-Action Rooter; and ReScope Drain Aid.
People can file a complaint with the Division of Consumer Protection at dcp.utah.gov.
The key relationships for this article were created with the help of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article itself is written only by man.
