I threw away $100 on fake A/C repairman

If I had done that, at least I would have a working air conditioner and wouldn’t have just thrown away $100

My central air conditioner stopped working and I knew I didn’t have the money to get it fixed. I was talking about this at work when one of my coworkers told me that her husband does air conditioner repair and that he could take a look at it. She said he would charge a lot less than those big HVAC companies. This sounded great so I agreed to have him look at it. He came over the next Sunday. The man was at my house for 2 hours trying to fix my air conditioner. He failed. Clearly, he didn’t know what he was doing but he tried several different things before giving up. As he was leaving, he asked me for $100 for his time. He explained that he also put in new coolant and changed a few hoses and that all that cost him money. Paying him didn’t make any sense to me. He didn’t fix my air conditioner after all. I called up my coworker but she took her husband’s side. Ultimately, I paid him to get rid of him. I don’t want drama in the workplace but I’m upset. My coworker knew I didn’t have much money yet she made me waste $100 on her useless husband. I should have just called out a big HVAC company and had them repair my air-conditioner. I know some of them take payments. If I had done that, at least I would have a working air conditioner and wouldn’t have just thrown away $100. Now I don’t have any money at all for making payments. I’ll have to wait until next payday to call out the professionals.

HVAC repairman