Please Beware! How To Avoid Being Scammed

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I were at a pool party yesterday and I again heard a very familiar story. Today's blog is geared to the older generations, who are the easiest to fall victim.

The story we were told yesterday was how this elderly, but still very active both physically and mentally woman, was scammed out of money, by paying in full upfront for work that was never performed. The elderly get scammed more often than younger folks. I would like to give some common sense advice for when any type of work needs to be done on their homes. So here is my top 10, plus one list:

1) If you don't know who to call, ask your neighbors, family and friends for people/companies who they have used and (this is very important), would use again.

2) Get at least 3 quotes. Remember that the cheapest quote is not always the best. If one quote is far less then the others, get another quote from another company.

3) Ads can be very misleading as to their performance level and professionalism so be careful when calling them.

4) Ask companies for references, but remember that they are only going to give you their best ones, not the ones who had problems.

5) Do your homework. Call their references and ask very pointed questions regarding what they did  and how that relates to the job you want done.

6) Call your local Better Business Bureau and get any info they have on the company. You can even check Angies list online

7) Go to the government agency in your county i.e.: consumer affairs etc., that holds the contractors license and get any info that they may have. Also make sure that the contractor's insurance policies are in effect during the duration of the job. At the least they should carry, Worker's Compensation and Liability insurance.

8) Once you have chosen a contractor, depending on the job will depend of whether any up front money will be due. For the most part, any small job should be paid in full only at the completion of the job and never pay upfront.

9) If you have to sign a contract, make sure that your interests are covered like; amount of money to be paid up front, then at 50-75% of job completion and the final payment to be made only after your approval of the job completion. Also make sure that start and end dates are included. The best contracts have daily or weekly penalties if the job is not finished on the agreed upon time.

10) Make sure that the contractor follows the signed contract and that they do not use any cheaper materials or short cuts. That means that you have to watch the job while in progress.

Plus One) And last but certainly not least; NEVER, EVER use a contractor who shows up at your door uninvited, even their price seems to be to good to be true, that's because it is a scam.

By using common sense, most people can avoid the pitfalls of being scammed out of your hard earned money.

Til next week.

Peter