The U.S. is prone to disasters depending on where you live. Every time there tends to be an earthquake in California plumbing contractors in Los Angeles always have an abundance of repairs to handle In places like Colorado, many homeowners have damage from too much snow that leads to flash floods forcing them to find new places to live like DTC apartments or consider Lodo Denver luxury apartments for rent when damage is extensive. Still other parts of the central US face tornados, and hail damage while eastern coastal states face hurricanes every year. Florida residents are subject to tropical storms and hurricanes that danage their property
Every time disasters strikes, repairs needs to be made on the inside and outside of homes. Unfortunately,, many scam artists on the prowl try to take advantage of distressed homeowners.
How do you spot a home repair scam so you don’t fall victim to these types of scams? Let’s get started!
Somebody Knocks on Your Door and Offers a Home Repair Service
Especially after a disaster, representatives of home improvement companies canvas residential areas offering services, often because “they were doing work in the neighborhood. Normally, we call a handyman or a third party service provider to fix something in our home, which is why it’s a bit strange nowadays to see someone ringing on your doorbell and offering a home repair service.
Knocking on one’s door to offer services is actually an old-school practice that few salesmen even engager these days. While the handyman might be legitimate, you should be justifiably apprehensive as drumming up business door-to-door is often a tactic of scam artists.
They Use the Names of Legitimate Companies
Scam artists are aware that people will only consider an offer if it comes from a legitimate company. Because of this, scam artists use the names of known companies and are proud to say they represent the company. In fact, some scammers even have IDs with the logo of a legitimate company.
To deal with this, you should not commit to the person immediately, but instead, tell the person politely not to get offended because you are going to call their office for verification. Tell him that it has been your practice when someone approaches you with these kinds of offers, and if they stay, the person is likely a legitimate one, and if not, they probably won’t hang around.
Scam Artist Demand for Advance Payment
Scam artist wants cash upfront as they offer their services at a cheaper price, but they will demand upfront cash around 50% of the total price of service before they even start the job. When you pay them, it’s highly likely they won’t stick around.
Therefore, you should not pay upfront for any work. Usually, a handyman will only come to your home upon after you call him. After the work is done, that’s the only time you will be billed by the handyman.
It is a common practice to collect a deposit for supplies, but you should verify that the company is legit before paying anything.
Scam Artists Perform Fake Jobs
There are also scam artists who don’t ask for upfront cash. They even go on to do the job you agreed upon. For home repair, most of these scam artists offer roofing services. They will work during the day and at the end of the day you will be billed. However, when you check your roof the next day, you may be surprised that no work has even been done. To avoid this, always check the work on the spot.
Final Thoughts
Regardless of whether you are in Los Angeles or Miami, there are scam artists trying to think of ways to get money from people, and this includes home repair scams. To prevent a scam happening to you then you should be aware how these scams operate and follow the tips laid out in this article today.
