Craftsman rip-off! How to protect yourself from excessive bills

Craftsmen are often called in emergencies. No matter if a pipe burst or a leaking roof with already existing water damage. If something happens, you grab the phone book or start the search at Google. Of course, you trust the content and often call the number that can be reached as quickly as possible. A serious craftsman is not always standing in front of the apartment door. Time and again, fraud victims warn against excessive bills or even completely unjustifiably issued bills. Once the craftsman is in his own apartment or house, however, many no longer dare to say anything. Especially if half the washing machine has already been dismantled or the dripping pipe has been repaired. So that you do not fall for the tricks of the rip-offs, we have today a list with good tips for you!

Fraudulent craftsmen: Serious or not?!

The most common mistakes and tricks you encounter:

• Overestimated craftsman invoice
• Craftsman takes too long / does not come at all
• Craftsmen can be paid for breaks
• Calculation of excessive material costs

We are all customers and customers have rights. Today for the World Consumer Day on March 15th we want to give some tips!

Key service: emergency service requires too high bill

If you lock yourself out of the apartment door, you have to call the locksmith. There are many emergency services! If you search in the phone book or Google, you will often find relevant pages with central numbers. Instead of the key service on site, you call a central office somewhere in Germany. Once the door is open, you can no longer get rid of the service worker. The aim of the emergency service is to pay cash quickly and continue. But that’s the wrong way to go! When you pay the price, you agree and have little chance of getting your money back later. Fraudsters take for opening doors up to 2,000 euros.

Tip for the locksmith: Partial payment

If you do not keep the price reasonable, you should only pay the employee the amount you think is right and demand an invoice. One can orientate oneself at prices of the consumer center. This advises for opening doors:

• 60 – 80 Euro for the opening during the day
• Up to 150 Euro Sunday and at night

Everything else is a rip-off! In general, not only for the locksmith, you should always know some basics. What you should know is:

• Where is my domestic tap or other central things
• You should create a list of serious craftsmen in advance, so that you have quick access in an emergency
• A key should always be deposited with the neighbors for security reasons.

Avoid Locksmith Scams Phoenix and Mesa AZ

Overestimated craftsman bill what to do?

Many don’t want to pay an excessive craftsman’s bill. Regardless of whether it is excessive material costs or break times or overdrawn or double-charged access routes. There are also many questions about the topic of breaks, for example:

1. Is the break paid for?
2. How are the pauses regulated?
3. What is a craftsman invoice?

Where can you report dubious craftsmen?

“Bad Craftsmen” forum or social media. In many places it is possible to evaluate craftsmen who do not fully comply with the promised service. The most popular rating portals include in particular:

• Social networks like Facebook
• Rating via Google
• Yelp Ratings
• Forum