“Whisk away any chimney sweep who uses scare tactics or shows up without the basics (a flashlight, brushes, and a special vacuum)” cautioned Consumers Union, publishers of Consumers Reports (www.consumerreports.org), last month, adding, “Also beware of those who offer low bids or excessive proposals.”

“Be wary if you get a call from anyone claiming to be from ‘your chimney cleaning company’ or ‘the chimney company,’ phrases which suggest it’s a business with which you have an established relationship,” wrote renowned consumer reporter Asa Aarons in the New York Daily News on October 23.

“The public should be aware that there has been a higher insurgence of fraudulent chimney services than any other home improvement services,” stated Lt. Michael Walsh of the Fairfield, NY Police Department on September 6, as reported in the Fairfield Citizen-News.

The New Haven case involved two men in a white van who on September 26 allegedly arrived at the home of an elderly woman and claimed to have been sent by the oil company to work on her chimney. New Haven Neighborhood Services Officer Joe Avery stated, “The suspects charged this woman $1600 to clean and do work on her chimney and asked her to write the check out to the abbreviation of their company name, C.A.S.H.,” according to a report in the New Haven Independent.

Similar modi operandi have been reported in numerous locations this year, including Connecticut, New York, Illinois, Ohio and Rhode Island. Scammers use innumerable ploys, but their techniques often have several things in common. They usually begin with an offer of a low cost inspection or sweeping. When the company arrives for the job, they claim to discover problems that urgently require repair. They may pressure the homeowner, sometimes with scare tactics, to hire them to do the work immediately. Then the company may “do no work at all, inferior work or unnecessary work,” warned County Executive Andy Spano of Westchester County, NY.

“The questionable sweeps often offer discounts for cash,” wrote Aarons. “Failing that, they’ll encourage consumers to bill the full amount to credit cards.”

Scammers’ favorite targets are senior citizens, but they’ll go after anyone. “These scam artists prey on all members of our community, regardless of age or income level,” said Putnam County, NY Consumer Affairs Director Joseph LaBarbera.

The Orange County, NY Department of Consumer Affairs recommends that “consumers try to avoid doing business via phone solicitations unless they are familiar or have done business with the solicitor previously.” The Department also advises consumers to:
- Never pay for unauthorized work, which purportedly has been done.
- Never succumb to high-pressure tactics in paying the bill.
- Remember when they leave with your money, most likely you will never be able to locate them again.
- If possible try to record the license plate number of the vehicle.

False claims of certification present another difficulty. While current certification can be verified by checking the list on the website, this doesn’t prevent some companies from claiming it without ever having had it, or continuing to claim expired certification, and using the official logo in their advertising and on their trucks.

“Phreaking is the use of a computer modem and ‘war-dialer’ program to send out a long string of numbers that breaks the answering machine security code and allows messages to be listened to or erased,” he explained. “People were saying that they left a message but I never returned their call, or that they were telemarketed right after calling me.”

“It doesn’t really bother us,” Bill Ryan wrote. “It just seems to make more work in the end. I spend a lot of time fixing someone else’s mistakes.” He suggested that “in the end, those that raise the bar will succeed.”