Household Hints & HELP!

Home Improvement Scams

submitted by Lorene Bartos, Extension Educator
This article appeared in the June 22, 2003 Lincoln Journal Star Newspaper.

Are you aware of the most recent scams? Just last week a Lincoln citizen was taken by repairmen. The Nebraska Consumer Protection Division warns home owners of the home improvement scams that are common.

American homeowners will spend over $100 billion on home renovation and improvement projects this year. Over $1 billion of that will be lost to scams and frauds. Since everyone likes to save some money on home improvement bills it is easy to fall for a bargain. Scam artists will try to hit on elderly people.

Some examples of scam pitches are:

"We'll give it to you cheap if you take it off our hands." This could be the pitch to entice you to buy a partial load of blacktop or concrete for your driveway. You have been meaning to repair it anyway, and this seems like a way to save some money. Later you find the price was much higher than you could have gotten through a reputable paving contractor, and a few weeks later the new concrete begins to break up, or you find dandelions growing through the new blacktop.

"This miraculous new product will fix your leaky roof." "No need to re-shingle," you are told by the itinerant contractor. "This new 'roof paint' will do the trick". The "trick" is on you, as the first rain will wash the substance right off of the roof, and the leaks continue.

"New siding at a discount." An ad in the local paper of a telemarketing caller offers to side your home at a big discount. All you have to do is allow it to be shown as a "model home" for the company. It sounds like a great opportunity, so you accept. But, the cost of the siding is so inflated you end up paying more than if you had comparison shopped.

Consumers will save time, money and aggravation by following some basic good sense rules:

• Use a local well-established contractor. Ask for references and check with customers to find out if they were satisfied.
• Get competitive bids on all work and be wary of any bid that seems to good to be true. Don't accept high-pressure offers or offers that force you to make a quick decision.
• Beware of the contractor who comes to your door with a business card containing only a phone number and no address, or the one who is staying temporarily in a local motel.
• Never say yes to someone who wants money up front before the job is done or wants you to withdraw a large amount of money from your bank.
• Check to see the work is complete and done correctly before paying.
• Find out when and how payment and/or billing will take place before work begins.

Use common sense and don't be taken by an offer "to good to be true."

If you live in Nebraska and would like additional information about scams and other consumer related issues contact the Nebraska Attorney General's Office, Consumer Protection Division, phone (402) 471-2682, in the State Capitol or call the Consumer Protection Line 1-800-727-6432.

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