Home Services & Contractor Scams

Traveling contractors offer cheap driveway paving or sealcoating using leftover materials, collect a large deposit or full payment, then deliver shoddy work or vanish entirely.

After a hailstorm or severe weather event, traveling roofing crews descend on affected neighborhoods offering quick repairs, inflating insurance claims or pocketing large deposits before disappearing.

A locksmith advertises a low service call fee online, then drills out the lock unnecessarily and charges many times the advertised price once the homeowner is locked out and vulnerable.

A handyman or general contractor takes a large upfront deposit for home repair or renovation work, then fails to appear, does minimal work, or disappears entirely with the funds.

Door-to-door solicitors offer cheap gutter cleaning, collect a cash payment, spend minutes on the roof doing little or no work, and leave before the homeowner can verify the result.

Workers offer on-the-spot pressure washing at a low price, collect payment upfront, and use insufficient equipment or technique that leaves surfaces dirty or causes damage.

A door-to-door pest control salesperson fabricates or exaggerates an infestation, uses alarming language to pressure the homeowner into an expensive contract, and delivers minimal or useless treatment.

A technician performing a low-cost or free inspection fabricates or exaggerates HVAC faults, presents alarming safety claims, and pressures the homeowner into expensive repairs or replacement that are not needed.

Door-to-door or coupon-based chimney and air duct cleaners charge a low initial fee, then cite false safety violations or excessive buildup to demand hundreds more, performing little or no actual cleaning.

Workers posing as tree care professionals solicit urgent tree removal or trimming, collect large upfront payments, and either do poor work, damage the property, or disappear without completing the job.

Door-to-door sales agents conduct a dramatic water quality demonstration, exaggerate health risks, and pressure homeowners into expensive water filtration systems they do not need.

Aggressive door-to-door sales agents misrepresent home security products, forge credit checks, use deceptive contract terms, and lock homeowners into multi-year agreements for overpriced or non-functional systems.

Salespeople posing as energy auditors offer free home energy assessments, fabricate findings about insulation or window efficiency, and pressure homeowners into expensive upgrades that may qualify for nonexistent rebates.

Garage door technicians advertising low service call fees diagnose minor or non-existent problems as requiring expensive part replacements, completing shoddy work or replacing functional components unnecessarily.

Contractors fabricate or greatly exaggerate mold or asbestos findings to sell expensive remediation services that are unnecessary, inadequate, or both.

Imposters claiming to be from the utility company arrive to inspect or upgrade a meter, gain access to the home, and commit theft, identity fraud, or charge for false electrical work.

Unlicensed or fraudulent 'technicians' dispatched through search ads or flyer numbers diagnose fake or exaggerated problems, charge for parts never installed, and disappear once paid.

High-pressure solar sales pitches convince homeowners to pay large deposits for installations that are delayed indefinitely or never happen, often through fly-by-night or unlicensed installers.

Traveling paving crews claim to have leftover asphalt from a nearby job and pressure homeowners into an immediate cash deal for a driveway resurfacing that uses substandard material and fails quickly.

Rock-bottom advertised carpet cleaning prices are used to get a technician into the home, who then upsells mandatory add-ons at the door, often followed by rushed or damaging work.

Sales reps posing as representatives of a government energy grant program lure homeowners into signing loan agreements or paying fees for window upgrades misrepresented as free or subsidized.

Emergency plumbing calls booked through search ads are met with inflated, invented diagnoses and pressure to pay large upfront sums for rushed or unnecessary work.