AVOIDING CONTRACTOR SCAMS

Property owners can become the victims of unlicensed, uninsured, inexperienced contractors and outright scammers who come to prey on uninformed people. Poor quality contractors and scammers can cause permanent damage, devalue your property, steal your money and put you at personal, legal and financial risk... not to mention all the headaches!

Many scams begin with a knock at your door, or an unsolicited call on the phone, claiming to be a contractor. Unfortunately, many scam companies imitate legitimate contractors, so protect yourself by checking your contractor out, before agreeing to an inspection.

Make sure any contractor you work with is properly licensed, insured, and provides 3 local references. Feel free to check out our list of local contractors that we know and trust.

Scam Warning Signs

The following list represents the most common indicators that the person or company you are speaking with might be running a scam.

Not properly licensed
No insurance or under-insured
No local office (beware of P.O. boxes and hotel addresses)
Won't provide local references
Demands up-front cash or deposit
Shows up on convicted criminals list

Out-of-State Contractors

Many excellent storm restoration companies have multiple offices around the country, or travel to work in hard hit storm areas. Just because a contractor is from out of state, it is not necessarily a reason to worry. However, as with any contractor you hire, you'll want to do your homework and check the contractor out before signing a contingency agreement or contract to do any work on your property.

If you decide to hire a contractor that is based out of state, make sure they have a local office, or reciprocal relationship with a local contractor, who will perform warranty repairs, if your contractor should leave the state. It is important to remember your workmanship warranty is worthless, if your out-of-state contractor leaves the state and does not have a local representative to honor the warranty.

Storm Chaser Scam Warning Signs

Storm chasers are like ambulance chasers. They flock to areas of the country that have been recently hit by damaging storms and attempt to scam people that are in need of serious help

A temporary office or P.O. box
Out-of-state phone numbers
Out-of-state license plates
Staying in a hotel, or motel
No local references
Don't know your area

You can avoid scams by working with one of the highly rated and experienced storm restoration contractors listed on our website. If you have any questions or concerns, please stop in or give us a call!

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MAZE LUMBER

1100 Water Street

P.O. Box 449

Peru, IL 61354
Phone: 815-223-1742

Fax: 815-223-1752

Hours:

Monday-Friday: 7:30AM - 4:30PM

Saturday: 8:00AM - 12:00Noon

Sunday: Closed

When you are getting ready to hire a contractor to build your deck you should thoroughly research their building history, get at least three estimates, and always ask them questions. This will help make sure that you are being dealt with fairly and that you will hire a contractor that you will be comfortable with …

Source: livbuildingproducts.com

BUILDING A DECK IS A BIG INVESTMENT FOR YOUR HOME.

It will help make your home a more enjoyable place and will also help with resale if you’re thinking about putting it on the market someday.

THAT’S WHY IT’S SO IMPORTANT YOU GET THE JOB DONE RIGHT.

In previous blog posts, we've talked about how to build your own deck. But we think it’s also important for folks to reach out for professional help with their deck when they need it. A licensed contractor will know all of the rules to building a deck. We’re talking structural, safety, legal (and important) rules. Most people don’t have a building background, and that’s totally OK. Now, it’s time to understand how to hire the right builder.

We found this post from LivBuildingProducts.com that outlines a few questions you’ll want to ask a builder before hiring them. Do you have ideas to add to this list? Click on the link above to find out more.

For more information, check out our website!