New Orleans women say they were victims of air conditioner scam

NEW ORLEANS (InvestigateTV) - Two New Orleans women thought they were signing up for a free program meant to save them money on their electric bills. Instead, they say an Arizona-based company scammed them and billed them for thousands of dollars.

Inside Kim Joseph’s Hollygrove home, a piece of plywood is propped up between the floor and attic door.

Joseph says a work crew left her attic door and stairs broken after they installed a new air-conditioning unit.

But she says this is the least of her worries.

“I’m furious. I have just been down in a slump ever since,” Joseph explained.

Her story begins in August, when she says she received an email with a promising offer.

“They had a program for energy-efficient people and they were strictly working with the elderly to help lower your electric bill,” Joseph said. “I put my name, the address, my telephone number.”

She says a salesman showed up at her door two days later.

“He said he was working for Entergy, Entergy New Orleans,” Joseph said.

But Entergy New Orleans tells us its employees never go door-to-door selling anything. Joseph said she believed the man, and when he promised to install a new A/C unit in her home to help lower her electric bill, she believed that, too.

“It wasn’t costing us nothing,” Joseph said she was told. She understood the program to be free.

When two men arrived that week with her new air-conditioning unit, Joseph said she noticed, “The truck that he came in was a Home Depot, rent-by-the-hour (vehicle).”

Once the new unit was installed, Joseph said, it didn’t work.

“My dad is 95 years old. Both of us have heart problems,” she said. “We don’t have no business being in here without any air conditioning.”

For 20 days, Joseph says they lived in sweltering heat, without A/C until she finally paid another company to come fix the unit. Then, the bills started arriving for what she thought was a new unit provided by Entergy New Orleans.

“Nobody told me nothing about no $15,000. Because if they would’ve told me $15,000, I wouldn’t be right here talking to you,” Joseph said.

Joseph received bills from Synchrony Bank. They contained a credit card with a balance of $15,000. The credit card is in her name and under it, the words “Vantage Home.”

Again, Joseph thought the A/C unit was from Entergy New Orleans, so she was confused when she saw Vantage Home.

Our investigators discovered Vantage Home is based in Mesa, Ariz. According to its website, it also operates in Louisiana. The website says the company sells HVAC systems to homeowners and performs a range of services from generator installations to emergency A/C repairs.

The company’s general manager, Collin Cardwell, told our investigators by phone that Joseph signed a contract, agreeing to pay an installment loan for the new unit. Joseph disputes Cardwell’s claim.

“I ain’t signed no contract,” she said. “I don’t have a contract to give you.”

She’s not alone. Joseph referred her friend to the program, thinking it would save them both money.

Now her friend, 92-year-old Doris Booth, finds herself in the same position.

Speaking about the A/C unit installed in her home, Booth said, “It never worked, the air never came on. Never came on.”

Booth said she and her son met with an A/C salesman who came to their home.

“He was telling me that the program has been around about 10 years, and it was for seniors to reduce your electric bill,” Booth said. “I thought it was through Entergy, because they do have programs that they will come insulate your house and what have you.”

Her son Frank Booth said, “I thought it was all right, until I found out that when they sent a technician out to put in a unit. I said, ‘Well, OK, we never signed a contract.’”

Doris Booth said the mini-split A/C unit installed in her living room not only doesn’t turn on, but now Synchrony Bank is sending her bills for a total of $16,000.

Booth and her son say they found similar units at local hardware stores for a fraction of that price. Booth said she believes she’s been victimized

“At my age, it’s horrible for somebody to roll on old people, taking advantage of them,” she said.

The Louisiana Secretary of State’s website says Vantage Home is an inactive business in the state. We also found it’s listed as inactive in Arizona. But there is a company in good standing in Arizona called Vantage Home Solar. Ben Sorenson is listed as a member or manager.

According to Joseph and Booth, Ben Sorenson is the name of the salesman who showed up at their homes, claiming to work for Entergy New Orleans, promising new, free A/C that would lower their electric bills.

“I called Ben in August,” Joseph said. “Ben hasn’t called me back yet.”

On the Better Business Bureau’s website, Vantage Home has one complaint lodged against it. Vantage Home Solar has more than a dozen.

Both women say they told Synchrony Bank they were victims of fraud. They say the bank told them it is investigating. Joseph received a letter from the bank Monday, saying it confirmed she did not open the account. Therefore, it’s been shut down and she’s cleared from having to pay the $15,000.

Synchrony Bank did not respond to requests for comment.

Booth hasn’t received a letter like Joseph’s, so it remains to be seen if she’s on the hook for thousands of dollars.

Our investigators scheduled a virtual interview with the Vantage Home general manager, but Cardwell never showed up.

Before the interview, Cardwell told our investigators by phone that both Joseph’s and Booth’s units worked when his crews left their homes. He also said his crew fixed Joseph’s broken attic ladder and door. He insisted both women signed contracts to pay for the new units. He said he would send them to us, but never did.

Cardwell stopped responding to emails and calls.

A spokesman for Entergy New Orleans said the utility does not sell air-conditioning units. Customers can learn more about how to avoid becoming a victim of a scam by going to their website entergy.com/scams.