When choosing a company to entrust with your garage doors – which take up about a third of your home’s façade and offer invaluable function – it’s important to be informed. As a homeowner, you should do research before hiring any contractor. Some things to look for in a reputable garage door company are IDA accreditation, business and employee insurance, and a showroom or physical address.
Unfortunately, there are companies out there who do not provide quality service and instead, aim to take advantage of homeowners. While no one is completely safe from becoming a victim of an attempted scam, there are ways to become less vulnerable. It all starts with heightening your awareness of scammer tactics. To better understand what a garage door scam looks like, we’re illustrating the tactics commonly used to mislead consumers.
Here are signs to look out for to avoid wasting your hard-earned money on their services:
- Unbelievable online reviews. While efforts are in place to try to crack down on these types of falsified reviews on the web by Google, misleading reports and reviews are unfortunately still out there. It’s important to be aware of these possibilities and always do your research – especially when something appears to be too good to be true.
- Manipulating parts costs. Some companies will overcharge for parts and labor, and may even suggest a “full overhaul” of your system when it’s clearly not necessary. They will also set the pricing for all items depending on the perceived gullibility of the customer. If you receive a quote that is much higher than expected, ask for a price breakdown and do some outside research to determine if your suspicions are warranted.
To try to help homeowners identify and avoid these types of scammers, Google has several checks in place designed to prevent illegitimate door dealers from promoting themselves online. Google has rolled out two measures: the Google Guarantee program and advanced verification. The Google Guaranteed badge means the company passed a background check and is backed by a money-back guarantee. Advanced verification requires garage door dealers to pass a background check in order to show ads on Google. You can be assured tht Smokey’s Garage Doors has both in place with Google.