ARLINGTON, VA — The Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) has addressed the recent Dateline NBC broadcast which exposed eight Houston, TX, contractors engaging in questionable practices. A condensed version of the expose was also broadcast on NBC Evening News.

According to ACCA, two of the eight contractors caught in the NBC sting were association members. One of the members had his technician fired immediately after seeing the video and refunded the homeowner’s money.

In the wake of the exposé, ACCA is urging members not to “ignore the broadcast and write it off as media hype.” ACCA executive vice president and ceo Paul Stalknecht says that ACCA is objectively analyzing the situation and hopes to develop one or more courses of action to address the problem. He also says that such stories are tarnishing the image of good technicians and demeaning their accomplishments.

Stalknecht says that he invites the input of members to help with the situation.

Publication date: 07/16/2001