MEMPHIS, Tenn. — There are plenty of trees down after this week’s winter weather, but as you’re cleaning up, the Better Business Bureau cautions to take your time so you don’t end up falling victim to a scam.
“Scammers in particular prey on people’s emotions. they exploit the headlines,” said Randy Hutchinson, BBB president.
They’re warning of storm chasers — the kind who follow the weather for a different reason.
“(They) just go from town to town following bad weather, don’t really do a good job, may not be licensed, may not have any of the kind of insurance they need are gone if a problem pops up,” Hutchinson said.
Storm brings down power lines, trees in Memphis
Let’s say you hire a contractor to make a repair, but they don’t have the proper insurance. You could end up paying them if something goes wrong.
“If somehow they’re removing a tree for example and it falls on them, they could come back and sue you,” Hutchinson said.
To avoid that, make sure there’s a company name on all paperwork so you can check them out and get everything in writing.
“Try not to settle for vague descriptions like, ‘repair roof’ or ‘remove tree.’ Does that mean they’re going to remove the debris? Does that mean they’re going to remove the stump? So you want to get it as specific as possible. The bigger the job, the more specific.”
One of the biggest red flags is someone coming to your door offering services and asking for payment in cash. Avoid that, and get multiple quotes if you can.
“Don’t pay the entire amount upfront,” Hutchinson said. “It’s customary to pay maybe a third but if you pay the entire amount there’s too many cases where they take the money and run and don’t do anything.”
As we look ahead to more wintry weather this weekend and even next week, the BBB says take preventative steps now to identify rreputable companies in case you need them. You can do that on their website.
If you think you’ve already been scammed, call them to start a report.
