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Year after year home repair problems make the top of the list for consumer complaints. Poor workmanship, disagreements on contracts, inferior materials and incomplete or late work all add to the frustration, but the most devious and harmful are the outright frauds. These frauds tend to increase in the early spring when many home repairs are started.
Door-to-door con artists travel in groups in pick-up trucks, vans or on foot during daylight hours. Frequently, they observe their potential victims a day or more prior to the actual encounter. They may pose as repairmen or utility inspectors to enter the victim's home.
Itinerant workers known as "Travelers" offer bargain prices for home repairs. They typically claim to have done work in the past for the victim, or to have just finished a job and have left-over materials, or they may say that they just happened to notice a problem with your house that needs immediate attention. After quoting a low price, Travelers intimidate their victims into paying much more after the work is completed. Common frauds include those involving roofing, asphalt paving, tree trimming and painting.
Often in these cases, work performed, if any, is shoddy and will not last. Travelers often prey on the same victims year after year. Police reports indicate travelers may also steal money or other valuables from the victim's home during the repair.
Here are some ways to protect yourself:
- Beware of door-to-door contractors who use high-pressure or scare tactics to get you to make an immediate decision. Don't do business with someone who comes to your door offering a bargain because he says he has material left over from another job.
- Be observant and alert for strange pickup trucks, vans and cars cruising your neighborhood or parked in your street or alley.
- Take note of work being done on neighbor's homes. Watch for strangers walking down the street with buckets and ladders or going door-to-door.
- Write down the license plate numbers of suspicious vehicles. Also note the make, model and color of the vehicles. If you suspect a crime is in progress phone 911 but do not approach the perpetrators yourself.
- Obtain at least three written bids for work you want done. Don't automatically choose the lowest bidder.
- Don't hire a stranger until you have thoroughly checked his or her references.
- Don't pay the whole amount before the work is completed to your satisfaction. You should pay no more than 25- 50 percent up front.
- Call your city or county licensing bureau to verify that the contractor is licensed. Don't do business with an unlicensed contractor.
- Ask for proof that the contractor is bonded, carries liability insurance, and covers his workers with workers compensation insurance.
- The contractor's business card should have a verifiable street address and office phone number. Be cautious of those with only P.O. boxes and answering machines or pagers.
- Call the Better Business Bureau or a local office of Consumer Affairs for a report on the contractor.
- Require the contractor to use a written contract that lists materials to be used, as well as charges and costs, and the completion date.
- Never rely on someone to explain parts of an agreement unless it is someone you know and trust. Read the fine print for yourself. Never sign anything without carefully checking it and be sure you understand and agree to all provisions in a contract or agreement.
- Don't make final payment until you've received a "lien waiver" that shows the contractor has paid his subcontractors and suppliers - unpaid workers or vendors could put a lien on your home.
Be a wise consumer and you can save yourself much grief. You will be able to enjoy the repairs and improvements and increase the value and life of your property.
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