FRANKLIN POLICE WARNING RESIDENTS ABOUT RECENT SCAMS FROM UNSOLICITED CONTRACTORS On Friday, July 19th at around 4 pm, a white male subject knocked on the door of a residence of a Malaga woman and told her that he believed he had put the existing roof on her home 25 years ago and that she may be due for free warranty service. The woman allowed a co-worker access to the roof while the first man spoke to the resident. When the co-worker came down he advised the resident that he nearly fell through the roof and it needed immediate repair that was not covered by the warranty. The subject told the woman that it would cost $1,500 to fix it and he told her that he could do the work right away. The woman told him to do the repair and the co-worker banged on some boards with a hammer and sprayed what he referred to as ‘shingle seal’ to the roof of the house. When the work was done approximately 30 minutes later, the co-worker said that there was more damage than he though and the work was going to be $4,800. When the woman complained about the inflated price, the subject told her that she had to pay because she allowed him to do the work without a permit and if either one of them call the authorities, she would get into trouble for not obtaining a building permit. The subject then told the woman that if she paid $4,000 in cash he would be able to keep the job between them and she would not get into trouble for not getting a permit. The woman went to the bank, withdrew the cash, returned home and gave the money to the subject. The subject identified himself as John Mitchell of Tri-State Roofing and Siding, but the name and the company are believed to be fictitious at this time. He was driving a red hatch back vehicle, unknown make or model. Residents are urged to call police at the sign of any suspicious activity, including unsolicited offers or threats from contractors! Elderly citizens are to be especially cautious as they are often targeted for these scams and they should not allow anybody to have access inside or outside their home that they did not contact. - The Sentinel of Gloucester County - thenjsentinel/
Posted on: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 19:58:32 +0000
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