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The Higher Enterprise Bureau warns about asphalt paving scams by faux contractors seeking to bilk owners out of their cash. Right here’s what to know.
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A home-owner couldn’t cross up an asphalt paving job that admittedly sounded “too good to be true,” based on a shopper watchdog group. Now, she’s out of $2,500.
This rip-off and others perpetrated by unethical contractors goal unsuspecting owners, the Higher Enterprise Bureau says, typically leaving them with shabby or unfinished work.
“As soon as the transaction is full, the rip-off contractor could disappear altogether,” consultants mentioned. “In different circumstances, as soon as full, the contractor’s work is shoddy and unprofessional however the full cost has been made. In any of those situations, the probabilities of getting a refund or the work mounted are slim.”
The scams are sometimes labored throughout the spring and summer season months and owners can lose hundreds of {dollars}. In a single case, in 2021, a sufferer misplaced $45,000, the BBB stories.
The BBB’s ScamTracker reveals victims have reported greater than 300 circumstances of the scams nationwide since June 2015.
Specialists mentioned the ruse usually begins with a leaflet or a knock on the door by a “contractor” who claims to have been working within the space and seen wanted repairs to your driveway. They go on to give you deep low cost however request a big portion of the cost upfront.
The scammer could also be hesitant to reply questions in regards to the worth or particulars in regards to the enterprise, based on the BBB.
Additional questioning could result in intimidation or threats of a lawsuit, techniques the BBB says scammers use to robust arm you into paying.
A Lengthy Island, New York resident wrote on the BBB’s ScamTracker that they paid who they thought was a licensed contractor to re-do their driveway, patio and different house enchancment tasks. Then, the scammer disappeared.
“We gave him a deposit $2,500 for work to start out inside 7 weeks,” they reported July 15. “That was April 13, 2021. Its been 15 months. He takes the deposits and by no means plans on doing the work. Disgusting unhappy man to rip-off individuals like this.”
In the same incident, a Colorado resident reported paying $1,200 to a so-called contractor just for the “cracks they stuffed in with cement started pulling away from the unique concrete inside per week.”
Tips on how to spot a contractor rip-off
To keep away from falling sufferer to those scams, the BBB mentioned it’s finest to:
- Watch out of unsolicited provides from random contractors.
- Do your homework on firms and particular person contractors earlier than hiring them.
- Get all the pieces writing together with estimates and a written contract detailing begin and end dates, a abstract of the work to be accomplished, value of supplies and a cost settlement.
- Break up funds over the course of the undertaking.
- Use a safe methodology of cost. A bank card is finest.
Extra data on paving contractors in you space might be discovered at BBB.org.
This story was initially printed July 21, 2022 5:50 PM.
Tanasia is a nationwide Actual-Time reporter based mostly in Atlanta overlaying information throughout Georgia, Mississippi and the southeastern U.S. Her sub-beat is retail and shopper information. She’s an alumna of Kennesaw State College and joined McClatchy in 2020.
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