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Scammers Are Out There, Beware!
County Executive Ed Day and Consumer Protection Director Kim Von Ronn are urging Rockland residents to be aware of crooked contractors scamming homeowners.
In a recent scheme, a Rockland County family was scammed out of $90,000 by a contractor who promised to renovate their yard while the family was away on vacation but never did and has since disappeared. So far this year, the Rockland County Office of Consumer Protection indicates families have been scammed out of over $200,000.
Unfortunately, these types of scams are common with an estimated 1 in 10 people falling victim to Home Improvement Contracting Scams.
โThese individuals can often be hard to catch, and the money stolen harder to reclaim, which is why I stress to our families that prevention is key,โ ๐ฌ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ฑ๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฒ. โA little amount of due diligence will go a long way to protecting yourself from falling victim.โ
Office of Consumer Protection Director Kim Von Ronn urges families to always:
*Steer clear of unsolicited contractors
*Get a written contract
*Never pay until job is complete
*And utilize a licensed contractor
โThe benefits of contracting with a licensed vendor/contractor ensures a few things but first and foremost that the contractor is insured,โ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ง ๐๐จ๐ง๐ง. โWithout appropriate and adequate insurance coverage, if the contractor or their employee gets injured when working on a home, the homeowner can be responsible for damage or injury.โ
Once you decide on a contractor, keep in mind, every home improvement project over $250 requires a written contract. A down payment shall not exceed $1,000 or 15% of the contract price, whichever is less.
Exceptions to this must be stated within the written contract and agreed upon.
If a conflict arises between the consumer and business, Consumer Protection can assist with the dispute and mediation process.
Complaints regarding terrible workmanship from unlicensed vendors or an unlicensed vendor scamming a consumer out of money for an uncompleted job can also be investigated by our Office of Consumer Protection resulting in bringing the responsible party to Criminal Court. The Office of Consumer Protection also can impound vehicles in these scenarios thanks to Rockland County Local Law Chapter 286-21(H) which was sponsored by County Executive Ed Day during his time serving in the Rockland County Legislature.
In 2023, the Rockland County Office of Consumer Protection investigated 617 complaints and returned $66,000 to homeowners.
๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ช๐ฎ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐๐๐ญ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ซ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐๐ญ (๐๐๐) ๐๐๐-๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐ญ ๐๐๐๐๐๐@๐๐จ.๐ซ๐จ๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐ง๐.๐ง๐ฒ.๐ฎ๐ฌ.