No one wants to fall victim to a con artist. But what if you need to find someone to work on your home? How can you be sure they won’t rip you off? One way is to be familiar with some of the tricks a con man uses, that way you will not be fooled into employing them for the job. With that in mind, here are a few tricks used by con artists:
Be wary of estimates for the work that seem overly high. If you feel you have been quoted too much for a job, the best thing to do is get some other quotes and compare prices.
Let’s say you need some work doing to your roof, and someone comes to diagnose the problem. Unless the problem is obvious, the roof will likely need to be looked at closely to see what needs to be fixed. So, if a tradesperson only looks at the roof from ground level without doing much investigation and then quotes you for the work, they may not be as honest and thorough as they should be.
When it comes to painting and decorating there are tricks a con man uses to make you think you are getting good quality paint, etc. when in reality they are using low quality, cheap materials. For example, something to watch out for is paint quality, as sometimes low-quality paint is poured into high-quality paint cans.
What if you need to employ someone for plumbing or HVAC? You may be told that a part is broken and needs replacing. If this is the case, ask them to show you where the problem is and the broken part. Then, ask to see the new part while it is still in its packaging, so you know it is brand new.
