Concrete Contractor Lake Balboa CA fraud happens to unsuspecting families millions of times each year. Families strive to better their homes and in return are left to pick up the pieces when they fall victim to contractor fraud. There are ways to nip this problem in the bud.
How To Spot A Dodgy Contractor
Often times people who are looking for contractors have little knowledge of how the industry works, and this makes a fraudulent contractors job all the easier, so here are a few tips on what a dodgy contractor may ask you for, or how he behaves.
· Doesn’t have a listed number in the phone book. If your contractor is not listed in the phone book, then you should be concerned. No number means that your contractor doesn’t want to be easily tracked down.
· If your contractor expects you to get the building permit yourself, you should be even more worried, that is his job.
· Contractors who only accept cash payments, and want to be paid in full upfront should be avoided. Never pay in full before your contractor starts work on your home. That is just asking for trouble.
· If the contractor goes door to door asking people ‘in your area’ if they need work done, be very concerned, they obviously aren’t listed in the phone book, and don’t want to draw attention to themselves by advertising. Often contractors, who solicit from door to door, will also tell you that they will give you a discount if you find them more work.
· Have you heard of the saying that if it sounds too good to be true…. If a contractor is offering you exceptionally long guarantees, short turn around times, or really low cost building then he probably is too good to be true!
· If you are signing a contract then make sure that you read and understand every part of it. If you are having trouble understanding anything included in the contract then make sure that you ask either the builder or someone else who can explain it to you.
What Else Can You Do?
Scammers are getting smarter every day, as the consumer becomes more informed about the products and services we are buying, those that prey on innocent consumers are also having to become more and more savvy. There is one way that you can really make sure that you are protecting your family, investments and yourself, and that is to get a contractor background check.
A contractor background check will tell you everything that you need to know about your contractor including any criminal offences that he may have been charged with in any of the 50 states, if he has been bankrupt before, and if he has been sued before due to not keeping his contract.
