Be wary of repair scams

Spring

is the season when leaves appear on trees and robins on lawns. It’s also the season when fraudulent home repair people appear on unsuspecting homeowners’ porches, having learned treacherous tricks to separate folks from their cash. Knowing red flags and precautions can help prevent you from becoming another fraud victim.

Many itinerate home repair contractors are based in the South, but crisscross the nation when weather turns warmer, says Susan Grant, director of consumer protection and privacy for the Washington, District of Columbia-based Consumer Federation of America. Often, their approach is to knock on the doors of single-family homes, to report they’ve spotted a roof problem that requires fixing, or tree limbs needing to be trimmed.

Sometimes, they offer to paint your house, or use leftover blacktop from another job to inexpensively blacktop your driveway, she says.

Scammers may also invade neighborhoods after storms, offering to make storm repairs. These scammers take advantage of owners’ need to have repairs implemented quickly, without time to conduct due diligence.

Older homeowners are frequently targeted. “They spend time really looking for residences that appear to be owned by older people,” Grant says. “They will look at the year and make of cars in the driveway, window treatments, presence of wheelchair ramps and whether the home appears to have been renovated recently. They’ll look for any clues older people live there, in addition to looking for older people in the yard.”

Often, scammers tell homeowners they’re fixing a neighbor’s home and because they are already in the neighborhood will offer a deep discount – as long as upfront payment is made. So says Howard Dvorkin, CPA and chair of Plantation, Florida-based debt.com. This pitch might particularly appeal to older adults living on budgets and unable to comfortably pay full price for home repair services, he says.

Scammers will often take homeowners’ money and do nothing, or perform very shoddy work. They may quote a price upfront but demand a much higher price on the back end, becoming threatening when homeowners protest, Grant says.

Red flags

Among many red flags of a home repair scam are the following tactics by home repair people. They want payment in cash up front, or report they are only available now and aren’t receptive to homeowners seeking competitive bids and getting back to them.

“If they won’t tell you how to reach them later, or demand money on the spot, those aren’t red flags, those are alarm bells ringing,” Grant says, adding be wary of contractors who aren’t local. You want them nearby if problems arise later.

Dvorkin agrees. “There’s one giant red flag that waves high above all the others,” he says. “It’s three little words: ‘Up front fee.’ When you get a phone call from someone you don’t know and they either demand or plead for you to pay them now, hang up.”

These alarm bells also appear on a “Tipoffs of the Ripoffs” list compiled by Steve J. Bernas, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Chicago and Northern Illinois. Another warning sign is the contractor’s failure to provide a contract stipulating work to be performed for specific fees, Bernas says.

Also, beware of those who aren’t licensed, can’t offer proof of liability insurance and lack legitimate, relevant reviews, says Vincent Payen, president of Chicago, Illinois-based HomeX, a home services platform for homeowners and service providers.

Too trusting

Before okaying repair and maintenance work, contact the BBB, Bernas urges. “Consumers are too busy, too trusting and don’t do their due diligence,” he says.

“If they had called us first, we could have given them tips on what to look for. For instance, if you can’t find information on a contractor at all — not through the BBB or the web — that’s not a good sign. We can provide consumers with names of businesses they can trust. We’ve been in Chicago for 95 years. Overall, the BBB brand is more than 100 years old. We were pioneers in helping level the playing field, giving credibility to businesses . . . We let consumers know there are good businesses out there.”

The organization has a listing of BBBaccredited businesses adhering to its standards. The BBB also has a data base of more than four million businesses across the United States. “And we rate businesses,” Bernas says.

If you do find yourself scammed, report the fraud to the Illinois Attorney General’s office and the BBB. If you spot a scam but don’t fall for it, contact the BBB nonetheless. The organization’s Scam Tracker monitors frauds across North America and Mexico.

“Even if you are not scammed, you can help other people avoid being scammed,” Bernas says. “If you call us first, most times you won’t be scammed. Education is the most important consideration.”