FORT WAYNE\u2013Summer is the prime season for tackling home improvement and maintenance projects, and it\u2019s also when scammers to take advantage of unwary homeowners, particularly the elderly who can\u2019t do work themselves, warns Tony Messuri, president and owner of The Homeowner\u2019s Helper, a free home improvement referral service based in Fort Wayne.<\/p>\n
He said that con artists are active in northeast Indiana. In 2011, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Northeast Indiana received 387 complaints against plumbing, roofing, heating and air, general and other types of contractors. The BBB helped resolve 77.63 percent of the cases.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means nearly a quarter of people filing complaints are out of luck \u2013 and there are likely many more cases that go unreported,\u201d Messuri said. \u201cHomeowners can avoid being taken advantage of by contractors by exercising caution and carefully checking the reputation and work record of contractors before hiring them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Messuri offers the following advice:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAnother way to prevent problems with contractors is by working through a home improvement referral service like The Homeowner\u2019s Helper,\u201d Messuri said. \u201cServices like ours work with contractors that we have prescreened and determined to have a proven record of quality work that they stand behind.\u201d<\/p>\n However, he adds, not all referral services are alike, so homeowners should check their reputation with consumer agencies, such as the BBB, as they would an individual contractor. They should also look into the evaluation criteria a referral service uses in choosing recommended contractors.<\/p>\n \u201cIn addition, keep in mind that locally owned and operated referral services tend to be more in touch with monitoring the performance of the contractors in their network and offer more personalized service to consumers,\u201d Messuri said.<\/p>\n\n