Dear Homeowner/Business Owner/Contractor Referral Service, There isn't a day that goes by that you read in the newspaper, watch a newscast or speak to someone only to find out about another unsuspecting homeowner losing thousands of dollars to an unscrupulous contractor. The contractor didn't perform the job, or did shoddy or incomplete work thus leaving the homeowner in a lurch. They may not have even had a license to do the work to begin with! It seems to be especially prevalent within our senior citizen community. Bad contractors have no problem taking advantage of the trust of our senior citizens. They don't discriminate. Many homeowners get taken advantage of especially after damages are done to their property.These can be the result of a natural disaster or other type of weather event. In addition, homeowners wanting to remodel a room or even repair a plumbing or electrical problem are fair game. It's not right and it's not fair, but unfortunately it happens everyday. Can you afford to lose thousands of dollars to an un- scrupulous contractor? We sincerely doubt it! Our mission here at Contractor Screening Services is simple. We were founded because we saw an ongoing need in the community to help prevent our senior citizens and all homeowners for that matter, from becoming a victims of un- scrupulous contractors. While there are many good, legitimate and reliable contractors out there in your community, there are many who are not. Knowing ahead of time who does or doesn't have a proper license, has lawsuits or judgments against them, unanswered complaints listed with the state or BBB, will help protect you from being victimized. Every newspaper article or special report on the news concerning bad contractors always admonish the viewer to "check out the contractor before you hire them" Yet.....people don't do it, especially the senior citizens who don't ask the right questions, don't know where to find the right information or perhaps handed over a deposit because "he seemed like such a nice fellow!" So, the question is... what can you do to minimize the risk of losing your money if you're considering hiring a contractor to do any work on or in your home? The best thing for you is to be armed with as much information as possible about the contractor before you sign on the dotted line. You should also get several quotes from at least 3 different contractors too as everyone knows, but don't always do. You need all the information you can get on them also. If you or someone you know is in the process of looking for a contractor to work on their home, and don't know who to hire, then we're sure you'll find our service and the information we provide a valuable tool in helping to make that important decision. Give us a call at 1-888-534-1212 or go to the order report link on this site, fill out the appropriate information, and submit to us, or print out the form and fax it to us @954-530-3333. We will promptly begin our investigation and forward the results to you,in most cases, within 24 hours. We wish you success in your home improvement or repair project and remember...when it comes to contractors... *What you don't know...will hurt you* Kind Regards, The Staff @ Contractor Screening Services
Contact: Joe Bonilla (joe@contractorscreeningservices.com) Contractor Screening Services: Toll free: 888-534-1212 Contact: Barbara Mascio (barbara@seniorsapprove.com) Senior Approved Services: Toll free: 877-620-6448
Protecting Seniors from Contractor Fraud and Rip Offs
It doesn’t matter how small or large the community, cases of unsuspecting homeowners losing thousands of dollars to an unscrupulous contractor are reported, and in many cases, go un-reported because the homeowner is too embarrassed. It seems to be especially prevalent within the senior citizen community. Bad contractors have no problem taking advantage of the trust of the elderly. “I saw his ad in my church bulletin, I assumed I could trust him, I thought he was a Christain,” Rene W. recently told her case manager in Ohio as she reluctantly retold the story of hiring a handyman to simply clean her gutters. What started out as a $75 normal home maintenance project, ended up with Rene handing over $7,000 to replace, what she was told, was an emergency fix of roof tiles. She never saw the contractor again. It’s stories like this that inspired Joe Bonilla to begin seeking a solution to the prevalent practice of unscrupulous contractors taking advantage of a vulnerable population when he launched Contractor Screening Services (www.contractorscreeningservices.com) earlier this year. Many of the victims of this kind of fraud perpetrated against the elderly are widowed women in the 80-year-old age bracket. Their husbands had either taken care of the house chores themselves, or handled the process of hiring a contractor. Consequently, these elderly women find themselves at the mercy of contractors unsure of what preliminary questions they ought to begin asking. “It happens more often than one might think.” offers Barbara Mascio, founder of Senior Approved Services (www.seniorsapprove.com) She continues, “Most of the time, the senior is so embarrassed after the fact that these kinds of rip-offs aren’t even reported.” Natural disasters, floods, hurricanes, tornados, (and the like) often times are followed by the disaster of solicitation by ‘gypsy contractors’. A gypsy contractor is a contractor that moves from one community or state to another. With no real office, and in most cases, no license or business insurance, homeowners are often left with no legal recourse. Senior Approved Services (SAS) offers contractors a screening process to put their businesses through so that potential clients of the contractor can be assured of their business practices and ethics. The driving mission behind SAS is that of senior advocacy, ensuring that all seniors receive excellent services – while remaining safe from all potential harm or fraud. In an effort to better serve the senior, Bonilla and Mascio have agreed to a collaborative partnering with one another’s respective business models. Seniors and their family members will soon be able to review at no charge a listing of Certified Senior Approved contractors directly on the web site for Contractor Screening Services. In the event that there are no Certified Senior Approved contractors providing a service in the local area where the senior happens to need such a service, then the senior may request a full detailed background check through Contractor Screening Services for a small fee. Bonilla states, “The best thing is to be armed with as much information as possible about the contractor before you sign on the dotted line. You should also get quotes from at least 3 different contractors.” END |
