I-Team investigates annoying robo-calls that won't stop
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The ABC11 I-Team is investigating a harassing sales pitch that could cost you.
We're talking about automated "robo-calls" that target homes all over our area. Viewers tell us they can't get them to stop. The calls want you to agree to air duct cleaning.
I went undercover to expose the problem, and what's being done about it.
"We've had about 40 calls," said Don Coey. "We've hit the number 2 [to be removed] and it doesn't seem to work."
Keith Hill agreed to the offer just so he could confront the company behind them.
"Twenty times I've tried to get 'em to remove my name off the list," said Hill in a YouTube video.
"Really... Another customer! I'm just a technician. I'll tell the company," said a contractor in the YouTube video.
However, the calls offering to clean your air ducts keep coming, and no one really knows who's responsible or where they're calling from. So we set up an appointment, and a house to get the ducts cleaned.
Two guys showed up in the unmarked van said they could clean our ducts for just $54.95
"We have big machine, big vacuum. Very small machine," said the technician.
After lowering cameras into some vents, they said we definitely needed it.
ABC11: "What do you see?"
Technician: "A lot of dust."
So they set up to start cleaning. As our I-Team producer tried to find out more about them. They gave us a contract with the company's name, Indoor Air Quality.
ABC11: "Are you from here? From Raleigh?"
Technician: "Yeah, we are from here. The location we actually work mobile-y [sic]. The office is in California."
Ventura, California he says. We asked if that's where all those annoying robo-calls come from.
Technician: "Yeah, sometimes it make a problem. The customers don't like it."
Technician: "What can I do? I am just a technician."
Then our questions seemed to spook the workers, or maybe they spotted one of the many hidden cameras around the house. Whatever it was, they started grabbing their gear, and heading for the door.
ABC11: "Why don't you want to keep going?"
That's when I came out of hiding. Ready to finally get some answers -- even in the pouring rain!
Diane: "You guys annoy viewers here, harass people, continue to call and call. So, where is your company based out of? Do you have some office in Raleigh?"
Technician: "Yeah."
Diane: "Where is it at?"
Technician: "Call the phone number."
Diane: "I don't want a phone number. We can't get in touch with anyone. I want an address. We need to go get some answers why you guys continue to robo-call people here."
Technician: "Charlotte."
They now say the people in charge are in Charlotte, not California.
Diane: "Okay, so who sends you out here. How do they find you?"
Technician: "Miss, I don't want to talk about it. You have a problem, talk about it with the company."
Diane: "Well you're the company. You showed up."
Technician: "I work. I'm just a technician. Talk to the company -- the boss in the office."
So they leave, and I call the 800-number on the contract they gave us. There's only a recorded message asking us to leave a message.
Then, we try the local number that shows up on Caller ID with all the robo-calls.
Woman's voice: "Indoor Air Quality."
I tell her who I am and why I'm calling.
Diane: "We have dozens of viewer complaints about your robo-calls. They hung up on me."
So, I checked the website on the contract. It calls itself Charlotte Air Duct Cleaning. It has an A rating with the Better Business Bureau, and is nationally certified.
But, according to the BBB, a company called Indoor Air Quality is actually based in California. It has an F rating, and is not certified with a national trade association.
On top of that, the North Carolina attorney general is now investigating the company behind the robo-calls after getting more than 340 complaints.
But still, the calls keep coming.
We were never able to get any official comment from the company -- not from that local 919 number, or Charlotte, or California. We don't know if the workers we encountered are anything more than subcontractors.
What we do know is that the robo-calls continue, and so will our investigation.
If you're getting these robo-calls that you can't stop, make sure you add your number to the Do Not Call Registry and also report them to the North Carolina Attorney General's office at 1-877-5-NO SCAM, or file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
Contact Troubleshooter Diane Wilson
