Renovation scams persist
Graeme Wooden / Glacier Media – Aug 23, 2022 / 3:05 pm | Story: 381555
Picture: pixabay
House renovation scams stay persistent in B.C., routinely costing folks 1000’s of {dollars}, in response to the Higher Enterprise Bureau (BBB).
Simone Lis, president and CEO of BBB of Mainland British Columbia, says “fly-by-night” companies use high-pressure gross sales ways and demand upfront charges solely to ship shoddy work or no work in any respect.
“Householders ought to be further cautious when hiring a contractor for his or her dwelling renovation initiatives, on condition that 69{c83b2c02332610f6c701e93e059ab5548f0d783545dff7079df6d2bfbe7c7877} of shoppers who encounter this rip-off lose cash, with a median common lack of $661,” mentioned Lis, in a press release Aug. 23.
“In the event you rent the mistaken vendor, you may be going through a variety of issues from unfinished work and harm to your property, to shedding useful time and hard-earned {dollars},” added Lis.
A typical rip-off could embody the contractor soliciting their providers door-to-door. They provide bid guarantees and warranties that by no means come to fruition, famous the BBB.
House enchancment scams rank fourth in Canada for riskiest scams, behind cryptocurrency, advance price loans and on-line purchases.
BBB offers suggestions for stopping such scams:
- Seek for a contractor’s BBB profile at BBB.org
- Search on-line for the corporate’s web site and profile. Inquire in the event that they belong to knowledgeable affiliation that has an ordinary code of ethics.
- Inquire with that skilled affiliation for licensing and membership. The Trade Coaching Authority can information you on certifications for every sort of labor.
- Ask for references from earlier prospects
- Store round; get a number of quotes
- Get estimates in writing and guarantee a contract is written and understood previous to signing
- Make sure the contractor has insurance coverage
- Verify constructing permits along with your municipality and have the native constructing official examine earlier than last fee
- Inquire a couple of lien waiver
The BBB of Mainland British Columbia serves the Decrease Mainland, Thompson-Okanagan, northern, central and southern Inside, and the Yukon.
