Ilda Alonzo signed a contract on an electronic tablet for a water heater. After some confusion over what she signed, the company canceled the agreement for her.
SAN ANTONIO — Ilda Alonzo’s water heater stopped working in 2023. On November 3 of that year, Aramendia Plumbing Heater & Air installed a new water heater in her home.
The technician gave Alonzo, who is 69, a paper invoice that said the job would cost $4,080. The invoice also said there was an “Advantage plan” 10-year warranty as long as payments were made for two years.
Alonzo couldn’t pay the whole amount at once, so Aramendia offered another contract that would last 10 years. The senior was told she would be paying $61 dollars a month but didn’t do the math in her head. She then signed a contract on an electronic tablet for a “Service Experts Advantage Program.”
Two years later, Alonzo was having a billing issue with “Service Experts” and she had to call customer service. She said someone on the other end told her that she would eventually need to pay them more than $7,000.
Alonzo thought that didn’t sound right. She asked the company to send her a statement showing her current balance owed for the water heater and also asked for a paper copy of her contract. When she didn’t get either she called KENS 5.
KENS 5 contacted Aramendia and the company delivered a paper copy of the contract the same day.
Alonzo then discovered she had actually signed a lease agreement with a maintenance plan for the water heater and not a warranty plan. The contract said she wouldn’t actually own the water heater after 10 years either. It also stated she was obligated to pay more than $7,300 over 10 years under the agreement.
“I was like, ‘Wow! that is pretty steep for a water heater,'” Alonzo said. “I did not know nothing about leasing it.”
The senior said she thought she had bought the water heater with a warranty, and she thought she was making payments on the $4,080 on the first invoice. She called Service Experts and told them she wanted to terminate the contract. The representative told her she would need to wait several days for a termination letter.
At the same time, KENS 5 contacted a local manager with Aramendia and explained the situation the senior was in. The Aramendia manager said he would contact Service Experts and ask them to cancel the contract so Alonzo didn’t have to pay the rest of the contract.
Alonzo then got a letter from Service Experts claiming she would need to pay more than $4,000 to terminate the contract. KENS 5 again called the Aramendia manager and the manager said she would not need to pay that amount and that Aramendia would take care of it.
The company followed through. Earlier this week, Alonzo received another letter that said the “Advantage Agreement” she signed had been canceled and that she could disregard any remaining balance owed. The senior said the letter was a huge relief.
“They finally got it and they brought it to me and gave it to me. Finally the contract is terminated,” Alonzo said. “I can’t describe the words… I am very overwhelmed and very happy!”
Aramendia wasn’t obligated to cancel the contract but they did so anyway. Alonzo is thankful the company took action on her case after all the confusion. She’s also glad she called KENS 5.
“Thanks to channel 5! You understood me and I’m very pleased. Thank you!” Alonzo said.
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