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AVOIDING HOME REPAIR FRAUD
GET SEVERAL BIDS. • Try to get written bids or estimates from at least three different contractors.
CHECK OUT THE CONTRACTOR. • Get the contractor’s full name, address and phone number. • Ask for references and call them. • Check with the Better Business Bureau and courthouse for criminal history and civil cases against the contractor. • Be careful when dealing with contractors who have out-of-state license plates.
GET IT IN WRITING. • Get a written contract. • Specify the work to be done. • Specify the price. • Don’t sign anything you don’t understand.
CONTROL THE MONEY. • Do not pay for the entire job up front.
• Try to pay as little as possible up front. • It is against the law for contractors in disaster areas to take any money up front unless they have had a local office in your county or one county over for at least one year. • Insist on waiting to pay the full amount until after the work is finished. • You are protected by special rules if the contractor does not have a local office in your county or the next county over. • Do not make the final payment until you have inspected the work. Make sure you are completely satisfied with the repairs. • Do not pay in cash. REPORT BAD CONTRACTORS TO: • Better Business Bureau www.bbb.org • Texas Attorney General www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/cpd/home-remodeling-and-repair and (800) 621-0508 • the local district attorney
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