Avoid Aerial Force. New website - same old scams!

MKSV

My business has just had a run in with Aerial Force.

We were contacted by a prospective client on Friday afternoon to install a TV on the wall. We discussed the price over the phone and the client agreed so we arranged an appointment for the next day. I then told the client to visit our website and submit his details (which never arrived).

The following day my client rang me to ask what was happening and is somebody coming or not? I said yes of course I have your appointment booked for 2pm in the afternoon. My client then told me that ever since our conversation on Friday he has been receiving calls from a woman in my office telling him that our engineer is running late but he will be with you soon. My client was confused because the appointment was booked for Saturday @ 2pm - not Friday! Anyway, the engineer never arrived on Friday and the calls started again on Saturday morning which is when my client called me. I explained that we do not have a women working in our office and he must have arranged something with another company. My client was adamant that he only spoke with me and he knew my voice, he said he had no reason to call any other company. I then advised my client to ignore the other caller and I re-confirmed that I will arrive at 2pm as agreed. However, he should submit his details via our website as I have not received them. My client respond that he did it 100% yesterday. I told him that they never arrived so could he do it again today and he agreed.

So, the day progresses and I arrive at my client's address at 1.50pm. My client greets me at the door and proceeds to tell me that he has been receiving endless calls from a company called Aerial Force. They were telling him that I was not coming so they are sending a guy called Lawrence instead. Naturally I was very intrigued and said "OK, I look forward to meeting Lawrence, if he actually arrives!" A few minutes later I was outside the house taking tools from my van when I saw this Aerial Force van come to a screeching halt outside my clients property. My client came out and I stood next to my client to here the conversation. The AF guy said "hello, I've come to install your TV." My client replied, "Who are you? What company are you from? My engineer that I booked is already here, standing at my side!" The AF engineer replied "I came to see you yesterday and I left you with a quote." My Client responded "I have never seen you before in my life and I have never heard of your company!" I then chipped in and said "look mate, my tools are already in his lounge, you're too late!" The AF guy then told me to shut the f*ck up! And proceeded to barter with my client on price by saying he was £5.00 cheaper than me. Both myself and my client were dumbfounded by this guys continued and undiminished arrogance even in the face of absolute rejection. He went on to say how his company was the biggest in the UK and my client should use him etc, etc. He just kept on pushing my client to make a decision...even after being told to go away! I asked the guy how he got my clients details and my client also asked the same question repeatedly but we got no reply. the confrontation lasted about 5-8 minutes and eventually realising that he was not going to get the job the AF guy walked back to his van whilst calling me a w*nker and making rude gestures. Shortly after this my client receive a call from a man from the Aerial Force office. I'm not sure what was said but my client told me that they wanted to charge him a cancellation fee and then unloaded a mouthful of abuse down the phone at him.

Additionally, my client checked his internet history and there was no evidence of him visiting Aerial Force at any time. He found date and time stamps of visiting my site only. He said that when he typed "TV wall mounting" in to the search engine that Aerial Force don't show at all. Moreover, when he visited my site on Friday to submit his details he never got any acknowledgement back but on Saturday he did. It seems that Aerial Force may be cloning my site or somehow re-directing our clients away from our contact page.

I have reported the matter to the police and will be following this up with Action Fraud as well as our communications provider. I want to know A) how did they obtained my client's details? how did they know the price I quoted and what job I was requested to do? C) How did they know what time I would be arriving at my client's address? Please bear in mind that I only spoke with my client by phone but Aerial Force knew everything regarding this job. Something very illegal is happening here and I think they are at best hacking company websites and/or at worst hacking our phone systems. Without doubt they are doing something extremely illegal which is beyond any comprehension for any honest business. The fact that the AF guy became abusive when he realised he'd lost the job also confirms he knows something about their practices because any normal company would be apologetic for the confusion.

I have recently noticed that Aerial Force have a new website and are proudly making bold statements that they can beat any quote as well as advertising for more engineers even in the face of a declining market. This is very interesting and such price confidence and company expansion can only be guaranteed if you already know what your competitors are charging and you have the bare faced arrogance to deceive a client by masquerading as the original company right up to the point when the Aerial Force van arrives at your door, even then the AF guy (Lawrence) I met never announced what company he was from so any unsuspecting client would invite them in and think they are dealing with the original company whom they appointed for the job.

hollydays

So , who is your business?
When you say " same old scams" , it's almost like you've heard of them before?