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Tuesday, July 2, 1997

Background

Sheriff Hathaway warns about home improvement scams

Summer is here and with it comes thoughts of home improvements and repairs. But there is need for caution as well.

There are many honest, hard-working people in the field of home improvement. "But," Caddo Parish Sheriff Don Hathaway warned, "watch out for dishonest home repair firms."

The Sheriff offered some tips to avoid home improvement and repair frauds:

• Be suspicious if someone offers to do an expensive job for an unusually low price. Once you sign the contract and pay the fee, you learn why: they never perform the service.
• Always get several estimates for every repair job and compare the prices and terms.
• Before asking for an estimate, check to see if there is a charge for the estimate.
• Ask friends, neighbors and co-workers for recommendations, or ask the firm for references and check them out.
• Call the Better Business Bureau to check the company's reputation before authorizing any work.
• Be wary of high-pressure sales tactics.
• Pay by check, never with cash. Arrange to make payments in three installments, a third at the beginning of the job, when the work is nearly completed and after the job is done.
• When you find repair people you trust, stick with them and tell your friends!

"Sometimes you might not know you've been cheated until it's too late," Sheriff Hathaway continued. "If you don't report fraud, you're only helping the crooks, and that's just what they want."

Sheriff Hathaway stressed the importance of reporting all fraud cases, "especially if you have been victimized. Contact the Sheriff's Office or your local police and give as many details as you can. We want and need to know about this."

"If we all take special precautions, we can avoid being taken in by crooks and also help the hard-working, honest people stay in business," the Sheriff concluded.

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