Protect Yourself from These Foundation Repair Scams

It’s an unfortunate reality of working with contractors that there are some less-than-reputable companies out there that are simply looking to scam you out of your hard-earned money while putting in minimal effort on your job. Most of the time you’ll be able to weed out these dishonest contractors by doing some research into their background before you hire them. But sometimes you might already have them under contract before you realize they’re trying to pull one over on you.

With this in mind, here are a few examples of some of the most common foundation repair scams you might come across. Be aware of these and only work with foundation contractors in Marinette County, WI who will treat you honestly and respectfully.

Multiple DBAs

In this type of scam, a single contractor will have many different ads on the internet or in the Yellow Pages under different names, addresses and phone numbers. The purpose of this is to get different estimates from the same entity, so they can funnel you into choosing their services without ever really having had a choice to begin with. This is a more common scam than you might think, but fortunately a bit of online research about any firm you are interested in working with should tell you if there’s anything about a particular company that’s not on the up and up.

Insurance scams

You should only work with contractors who are properly insured, especially when working on something as important as your home’s foundation. They should have general liability insurance, worker’s compensation insurance and any other type of coverage that is generally considered necessary for their industry. Some companies will claim to have insurance when they do not, so it’s important to be able to see the actual certificate before work begins.

Lying about experience

Contractors know that most customers want to work with more experienced teams for their projects. That’s why they might try to fudge the numbers a bit when it comes to the experience they have. One common scam is if a newer company purchases an older company that’s been in business for decades, the new company might then begin claiming it’s been in business for decades as well, even if it retains none of the same workers. Here again, a bit of research into the company’s background can help you verify these claims.

Upfront payment

You should never, ever pay for the entire job up front for any kind of contracted work you have done on your home. For jobs that cost less than $10,000, you should choose to work with companies that are financially secure enough that they’re able to begin work without needing you to make a big down payment. For jobs worth more than $10,000, you can begin making payments after substantial work starts to begin. Otherwise, you put yourself in a position where the contractor can easily take advantage of you, and even leave without finishing.

Avoid these and other common scams by contacting the reliable and trustworthy foundation contractors in Marinette County, WI at Kwiatkowski Construction Co., Inc. today!

Categorised in: Concrete Foundation Contractor

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