With the recent rash of home repairs going on due to wind and hail, It is important to remember to learn about who you are doing business with. We recently had a complaint from a local resident who hired a contractor nearly a year ago to build a new garage. This contractor was from some distance away. They presented themselves in a professional manner and seemed to know what they were talking about. The problem is all of that was strictly limited to the initial presentation. The person wanting the garage provided a down payment of over $11,000 as part of their contract agreement. Unfortunately, they didn’t do any background or reference check on this individual and like many of us trusting folks in SW Iowa took them at face value. The problems became obvious when the contractor always had an excuse why the work wasn’t done. Finally, several months back these folks realized they had a problem and asked for their money back. Once again the excuses and stories flowed. Finally, we were contacted. A little checking on the internet showed this individual had 17 complaints against him with the Better Business Bureau and was being investigated in 3 states for the same type of problem we had in Lenox. Imagine my surprise when the contractor refused to answer my phone calls. A couple of voice mails made it clear I was interested in speaking to him. Finally today, most likely because they didn’t want to deal with even more arrest warrants than are already waiting for them in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa, this contractor somehow managed to find the money and brought certified funds to the folks here in town. I will be the first to admit, we were lucky to obtain the $11,000 back. This normally doesn’t happen. The moral of this story; CHECK, CHECK, and CHECK SOME MORE when dealing with contractors you are not personally familiar with. By simply putting their name and/or business name into Google or other search engines you can find a wealth of information. Check the Better Business Bureau to see if your prospective contractor is listed with them. Most importantly, whenever possible, deal with a reputable company from your hometown or local area. You want to be able to contact someone if or when issues arise. If your contractor asks for large sums of money down, this should be a huge red flag. The link I have attached below is not our local folks but is the contractor they dealt with. If you have had dealings with this company and are not completely satisfied, you may want to consider contacting your local law enforcement agency. Don’t hesitate to refer the law enforcement agency serving you to us for additional information.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 16:46:19 +0000
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