Consumer Rights
HOME REPAIR: KNOW YOU CONSUMER RIGHTS
As you plan for your home repair/improvements project, it is important to ask the right questions in order to protect your investment. The tips in this fact sheet should allow you to protect yourself and minimize the possibility that a misunderstanding may occur.
AVOIDING HOME REPAIR FRAUD
Please use extreme caution when confronted with the following warning signs of potential scam:
- Door-to-door salespersons with no local connections
- Offer to do home repair work for substantially less than the market price.
- Solicitations for repair work from a company that lists only a telephone number or a post-office box number to contact, particularly if it is an out-of-state company.
- Contractors who fail to provide customer references when requested.
- Persons offering to inspect your home for free. Do not admit anyone into your home unless he or she can present authentic identification establishing his or her business status. When in doubt, do not hesitate to call worker’s employer to verify his or her identity.
- Contractors demanding cash payment for a job or who ask you to make a check payable to a person other than the owner or company name.
- Offers from a contractor to drive you back to the bank to withdraw funds to pay for the work.
A MESSAGE FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
It seems as though more and more people own their homes these days. And where there are homes, there will undoubtedly be home repairs. Demand for reputable, quality home contractors is on the rise. So too is the number of complaints against home repair contractors. In fact, home repair fraud is the number one consumer complaint. The best defense against unscrupulous home repair contractors is an aggressive defense. Don’t make a rash decision! Check the contractor’s background, references, and prior work. Most importantly, don’t sign a contract until you’ve read it carefully and agree to all its provisions. Remember…it’s your home…it’s your money…PROTECT THEM BOTH!