Dateline NBC – Duct Cleaning Scams Exposed

Busted! Air Duct Cleaning Scammers Exposed

We’ve all seen the coupons and advertisements promoting “whole neighborhood air duct cleaning for $49.95,” and heard the horror stories from consumers who got taken by these companies. Now the national media is taking notice.

NADCA worked with Dateline NBC over the past six months to expose a scam operation and the company’s unethical business practices. Tune in to NBC this Sunday, January 30th 2011 at 7 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) for a special two-hour Dateline as reporter Chris Hansen exposes these frauds and helps educate the general public about the HVAC cleaning industry. (Please note that the segment on air duct cleaning will be at the end of the second hour.)

NADCA president Buck Sheppard served as the industry expert and will be featured in this report. This Dateline episode will show “hidden camera” scenes uncovering instances of brazen scam artists preying on uninformed consumers.

NBC has agreed to provide a link to the NADCA Web site once the episode has aired. It is NADCA’s hope that after this episode airs, consumers will be better informed about how to spot these scams. Please alert your personnel that this episode will be airing so they can be prepared to respond to questions from your customers. Suggestions for addressing customers’ concerns include:

 
• Air Duct Cleaning Videos: Visit www.NADCA.com, where you can quickly get educated by reviewing air duct cleaning videos, such as the NADCA Guide to Proper Air Duct Cleaning.
• Read NADCA’s brochure, “What You Need to Know About Air Duct Cleaning,” located at http://www.nadca.com/download/Residential_Brochure_060507.pdf
• If you are going to have the HVAC system cleaned, the EPA recommends that the service provider follow NADCA standards.  (If you have not reviewed it recently, the EPA document “Should You Have the Air Ducts in Your Home Cleaned?” has been updated as of January 4, 2011.You may want to review this document, at: http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/airduct.html.)