Storm Damage & Home Improvement Fraud
The recent storm may have caused damage to your home or yard. You may have a need for roof repair, water damage repair, or tree trimming. This situation offers an opportunity for home-repair con artists to target unsuspecting victims. Often they will drive neighborhood-to-neighborhood looking for the most damage and then approach residents door-to-door.
Home-repair scam artists often require a hefty down payment up front and then never return to do the work or do sub-par work that will need to be re-done by a competent home repair business. Don’t be fooled—these con artists are often friendly, gracious, and overly helpful in approaching their victims; they usually offer a price that is ‘too good to be true,’ and may inflate their price with additional repairs that needed to be made before all of the work could be completed.
Because Colorado does not have a State Contractor’s Licensing Board, the consumer must expend the effort to check out repair businesses before any work is done, any contract is signed or any money is paid. District Attorney Scott Storey warns consumers, “It may be wise to never do business with door-to-door contractors.”
To protect from home improvement fraud:
- Call the Better Business Bureau for references on repair companies;
- Get known references from friends who have had satisfactory work done;
- Get a written contract, at least 3 bids, and don’t be pressured into paying more for any reason;
- Don’t pay money up front for materials; offer to pay the material’s vendor directly;
- Never allow any door-to-door contractor into your home—they may use the opportunity to steal personal information;
- Call local law enforcement if home repair companies are going door-to-door in your neighborhood.
Source: District Attorney Scott Storey, Office of Jefferson/Gilpin Counties, Colorado
To report fraud, ask a question, or schedule a ‘Power Against Fraud’ seminar, call: 303-271-6980
