You think you were taken.

Start with the uncomfortable possibility: a lot of these turn out to be genuine work explained badly. Prices in this trade vary more than people expect, and a technician who did not show you anything is not necessarily a technician who did nothing.

So work in this order: document, verify, then conclude.

1. Document before you do anything else

Collect everything now, while it exists.

• The invoice and any written quote, itemised if you have it
• Photos of the equipment, including the data plate on the outdoor unit
• Any photos or readings they gave you
• Dates, times, names, and the company’s licence number if shown
• Your card or bank record of the payment
• Texts and emails, in full

If a part was replaced, ask for the old part back. You are entitled to ask, and a company that refuses has told you something. If you still have it, keep it.

2. Work out what you were actually sold

Read the invoice against the quote guide. The common patterns worth a second look:

• Replacement recommended with no failed part shown. A system can genuinely be done, and there is a measurement behind that conclusion. Ask what it was.
• Refrigerant added, no leak search. A sealed system does not use refrigerant up. If it was low, it leaked.
• A hard start kit instead of a diagnosis. It can mask a failed capacitor long enough to get through the visit.
• A four figure price for a part that is cheap. Capacitors and contactors are cheap parts.
• “Unsafe” with nothing shown. Ask what reading led to that.

The quote checker will do the arithmetic against published prices in a few seconds.

3. Get an independent read

This is the step that turns a feeling into a fact. An independent technician measuring the system now can usually say whether the described fault was real and whether the work done was appropriate.

Here that is a second opinion, flat priced on the list. No job here can exceed one thousand dollars in labor and materials, so there is nothing to be gained by telling you the last company was wrong, or right.

Get it in writing. That document is what everything else runs on.

4. Go back to the company first

Unsatisfying and usually necessary. Most dispute processes, including card issuers and regulators, want to see that you gave the business a chance to resolve it.

Put it in writing, be specific and unemotional, state what you want, and give a deadline. Keep a copy.

5. Where to complain in Arizona

Arizona Registrar of Contractors handles complaints about licensed contractors, with time limits that depend on the work, so do not wait. Their site has the complaint process and a licence lookup, which is also how you check whether the company was licensed at all.

Arizona Attorney General, Consumer Information and Complaints, takes consumer complaints more broadly, including against businesses the ROC does not cover.

Your card issuer, if you paid by card. Ask about disputing services substantially not as described. There are deadlines.

Better Business Bureau and a factual public review. Keep both to what you can document.

6. A note on what licensure means

Checking whether a company is ROC licensed is worth doing, and it is not the whole story. Licensure means bonding and a complaint process. It does not by itself mean honest, and plenty of licensed outfits generate these calls.

For the record and because this site says it everywhere: REVBIT LLC is not a licensed contractor and is not registered with the ROC. Work here is capped under one thousand dollars in labor and materials and cannot include permit work. That is stated up front rather than discovered later, which is rather the point.