We’ve all been ripped off by someone at one point or another in our lives…and, unfortunately, there are a lot of shady contractors out there who think they can charge an arm and a leg for an easy fix.

The guy who wrote this story isn’t happy about how much his contractor charged him for a job and he won’t pay him.

Check out what he had to say in the story below.

AITA for not paying a contractor for work I didn’t authorize?

“After moving in with my then-girlfriend, now wife, I started renting out my old house to college kids (it abuts campus). I live ~2 hours away, but have good friends and family nearby the house.

Last fall, I got a call from one of my tenants that they turned on the heat and nothing happened. For most things, I’ll take a weekend and drive over to fix an issue and see people. Heat though needs to be solved ASAP.

I found a local HVAC company that could come out the next day (for a roll truck fee) and see what was up. I told them it was a rental, and they said they were used to that, and that no work would be done without my authorization.

The next day, I get a text from my renter that the guy came out, that the thermostat was wired wrong (previous renter had put on a Nest, and I didn’t test heat when he moved out, just AC. My mistake), and that he fixed it.

Cool. Sounds like 5 minutes of work, so I guess it was included in the diagnostic.

Huh?

Then I get a credit card charge for $270. I call to see what’s up, and the office thought the tech had called me and I authorized the work.

Nope. I never would have paid $270 for fixing the wiring on a thermostat. I could have had a friend pop over for a 6-pack of beer.

They were playing hardball.

The office puts me on with the tech, and he gives me two choices, pay the fee, or he’s going back and unwiring the thermostat.

I tell him, no. I didn’t authorize the repair, the charge is ridiculous, and he’s not allowed back in my house. (I can’t trust him not to make things worse).

After some back and forth, we come to an agreement. He’ll refund the charge, but they’ll never work for me again.

No problem!

Cool with me, as I don’t want to work with extortionists.

I call the office to close the loop and let them know what their tech did, and find out he’s the owner of the company. Jeez.

AITA for not paying the fee or letting him back in to undo what he did?’

Reddit users spoke up.

This person said they’re NTA.

Another reader agreed.

This individual shared their thoughts.

Another person had a lot to say.

And this Reddit user said they’re NTA.

I think we can go ahead and call this job a total rip-off.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.