My old mom was just scammed out of three grand

[Syrinx]

Scam Warning: Help Put These Scumbags Behind Bars

My seventyish mom was just scammed out of three thousand dollars.

A young white dude drove up to her place in a large, late-model pickup, and offered a great deal on paving her gravel driveway. (There's been torrential rainfalls in this area until the the last month or so for the past year, and erosion had pretty much destroyed said driveway.)

He said he could fix it for six hundred bucks.

He came out with a dozer and a grader and a crew of five or six Mexicans, who I'm pretty sure were illegal immigrants. (My mother said one of them came to the door, speaking Spanish, and she realized he was saying something about "agua." She thought he wanted a drink of water, but eventually realized he needed a hose to fill the radiator of one of the machines.)

They had told her 600 dollars, but when all was said and done, they wanted 3,000. And she caved in to their demands and gave them a check for that amount, saying she must have must misunderstood what the fast-talker had been saying. ("Fast talker" is my characterization. I briefly met him on the back end of the deal.)

My mom's road is certainly more drivable now than it was before, but I'm pretty certain that won't last long. Probably next time I visit mom, it will be even worse that before the "improvements."

The guy identified himself as "Billy Wilson," but I think that is almost certainly an alias. The names to lookout for are "Teddy Lee," and "Pop's Pavement" of Bessemer, Alabama.

It's probably too late to get my mom's money back, but if I could be a small part in getting these assholes locked up in prison, that would be sweet.

[aquart]

1. Who have you reported them to?

My mom got scammed by some sewage guys last week.

[Syrinx]

5. I don't know who to report it to

It seems like it's just allowed.

[MadHound]

13. Start with your local Better Business Bureau,

Also, most state's attorneys general take on cases concerning fraud, etc. Get ahold of them. Since you have the name on the check, it should be easier to find these people.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

19. Yes, the Attorney General's office

Does your Mom have any paperwork?

[paulsby]

44. based on what you say, it doesn't sound like fraud (criminal). it sounds like a civil matter

i sued somebody recently in small claims court and won.

you can go to the better business bureau too, etc.

did she ask to see their contractor's license, etc?

any reputable business will gladly provide such info

[Lochloosa]

15. Call the police. It's a scam and it's illegal.

Also, call your local news station. They love to do stories like this.

[aquart]

46. My mom called our 311 to report her problem and they said...

Call the business first and talk to them. First they offered a senior citizens discount of $10. She said, I'll think about it.

She got $500 back from the bastards. Deal's not as done as you think.

[midnight]

2. repeated post.

[midnight]

repeated post.

[midnight]

3. That happened to my sister in Texas. Consumers seem to have less protection

than those running the schemes.

[Syrinx]

6. exactly

[dipsydoodle]

4. In the UK

that's commonly known as "the hurry up trick". Usually involves some tarmac whatever alleged to be left over from a contract "up the road". Small price quoted but higher price charged when completed. Old folk normally the target for such fuckers who deserve to be hung, drawn and quartered.

[Syrinx]

7. I surely admire your attitude!

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. I've always stressed to my mother....

...don't agree to anything like that without consulting one of the kids first. She's 94 and still takes our advice.

My brother's MIL, on the other hand, recently fell prey to some worthless big money "service contract" on a virtually new Toyota Camry.

[Syrinx]

9. this is why I hate message boards

EDIT: Thats not what I saw on my first view. Something weird going on.

[TheCowsCameHome]

11. Why is that?

[Syrinx]

53. I really don't know. I didn't mean to offend you.

It's obvious you haven't edited your original message, yet when I first read it, it said something very different. It's a strange thing that I can't explain. Sorry.

[MajorChode]

10. That's a pretty common scam

There's lots of parasites like that who feed off of old people. They should be forcibly drowned in a bucket of shit.

[salguine]

12. Well, if she gave them a check, it'll have to be cashed or deposited somewhere. Start there.

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

21. Stop payment on the check?

[salguine]

26. Why not? At least it'll force them to either come forward, if they're even trying to be legit, in

which case they can then defend their actions to a consumer protection organization—and it sounds like she has every right and reason to contact one. Or, if the scammers take it as an indication that someone's on to them, they may just decide to cut their losses, drop it, and move on. Still, even looking into where the check was deposited or cashed will at least tell her who and where these people are. I'm guessing she's not someone who routinely has a spare three grand lying around, so why not try to at least sort this out?

[wolfgangmo]

35. Alert the bank immediately that the check is fraudulent.

Make a police report. Call the local news and tell them you have a story for them. Sweeps are coming up - they'll love this. Call the BBB and file a report (not that the BBB will do anything). Go online and post really bad reviews on the company. If you have Angie's list in your area post a rip off alert with them.

Contact the local DA and the states attorney general office. They might not be able to do something but they might be able to and they could have some great legal advice.

And then if all of that doesn't work, then round up some boys, some chains and baseball bats and go have a little midnight chat with this fucker. It would pretty hard for him to scam any more old ladies if he's in a full body cast for 6 months. Don't forget to mess up his work equipment - sugar and sand in the gas tanks, all windows and lights broken, tires slashed, electronic controls on the engines smashed, etc. Get mafia on his ass.

[Dappleganger]

41. Great post.

Including the last paragraph. :rofl:

[KharmaTrain]

14. Call A Local TV Station...

Many still have "Consumer" reporters who would love a story like this. They'll track down the scumbag as well as put the local politicians on the spot about it.

[Lochloosa]

16. +1000 and the police

[Hello_Kitty]

23. That's what I was going to say. Local news stations LIVE for this shit. eom

[momster]

17. There are roving groups...all part of one big 'family'

who travel around the country doing this. There is a 'famous' one that travels up and down the Eastern Seaboard regular as geese.

Please do call the police. They like to know when these creeps are in town so that they can move them along. As soon as they start getting negative attention, they move on.

[Blue_Tires]

27. mostly, but they can sometimes be local yokels, too

they go wherever the "action" is, i.e., moderate to heavy damage from a storm...

Here in Virginia after every east coast hurricane, the news is full of stories about scammers and the scammed....

[Brickbat]

18. It's that time of year -- yesterday I had a feckless young man in an unmarked truck try to get me

to agree to him sealing my asphalt driveway. I never accept any offer from traveling salesmen anyway, but man did this guy set off my "I'm about to attack you" meter. I got the weirdest vibe off him. I can't even tell you why; my subconscious just picked up on something. Not that he was a shady businessman, but that if I wasn't the amazon I am, he might have tried to press a weakness if he saw it. It was weird; I trust my intuition, but my intuition was screaming at me on this one.

I'm sorry about your mom and I second everything everyone suggested -- BBB, newspaper, police.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

20. You have to watch tree people too

We had a man to come and take down a dead tree and then he offered to prune the rest for $1000. He said that he wanted the money upfront. We told him he'll get paid when he's done but then he said he wanted a deposit of $200 and my husband gave it to him (aargh!) and of course he didn't come back.

[NNN0LHI]

22. Tell mom to never purchase steaks from the back of a pick-up truck either

Unless she likes the taste of horse meat.

Don

[KittyWampus]

24. If she doesn't have a contract, she hasn't got anything to help her sadly.

Edit- It sure would be good to contact the police like everyone suggests though.

[DefenseLawyer]

32. She has a jacked up driveway and a canceled check

I'd call that a contract. In most places it is illegal to even do work like this without a written contract, and that's on the contractor, not the homeowner. If the work is shoddy she definitely has plenty to work with.

[sammytko]

25. thank goodness my Mom is too cheap to fall for anything like this

someone wanted her to go to the wal-mart and exchange some money for cashing a check or something. They wanted money upfront. She told them she would do it, but to just take the upfront money out of the money she would end up with. Of course they refused the deal.

[GreenPartyVoter]

28. I am so sorry to hear about his. :^(

[Tracer]

29. My asphalt driveway was a wreck ...

... and I was planning on having it repaved.

So -- one day, I was in my yard when a truck pulled up and a guy approached me and said they had just done a driveway in my neighborhood and would I like mine done.

My Scam Radar went to Code Red, but he gave me a price that was pretty good and while he went to get his crew, I went inside and checked him out on the net. His company had a "brick & mortar" location and there were no BB marks against him, so I took a chance.

They did a heckuva good job and for the price stated.

I know, I know. They could have been scammers, just like the douches who scammed your mother.

[TwilightGardener]

33. I figure if they have an actual brick and mortar location, and you can see

the work they did on a neighbor's, it's probably pretty safe. My favorite form of advertising is the sign in the yard of a client for whom the company did good work that you can see from the street (things like painting, siding, concrete, etc.). We hired a house painter that way--we checked out a house he was finishing up, and it looked good, so we hired him. It worked out.

[NikRik]

30. In my state of Ca. !

Iam sure they would have had to have a general contractors lic # posted on the their truck . You can call and make sure its a valid lic # . Using a false lic # is a serious offense.The lic does'nt insure you will get a top notch job ,however they are required to have insurance and its easy to access information about them and if they have alot of complaints ! Even in Ca. alot of people get scamed by fake contractors who usally colllect a deposite and never show up ! The best way to find somoeone for a good job is referals ,chances are if they showed up on time and did quality work for someone you know they will do the same for you.Its always buyer beware when dealing with this type of home improvement work !
NicR

[no limit]

31. Who did she make the check out to? Was it "Billy Wilson"

if it was then that must be his real name.

[deaniac21]

34. David Hannum has a famous quote about this kind of situation.

[Syrinx]

54. I guess my mom can be kind of a sucker

But she's also a nice person that doesn't deserve to be treated like that.

[Tailormyst]

36. Stop payment on the check.

[NNN0LHI]

40. That check was cashed before the ink was fully dried

Promise.

Don

[pipi_k]

37. Just wondering...do you think it's time

to start talking with your mom about taking some control of her finances? Either you, or some other family member or trusted friend?

Perhaps you can open up a separate checking account with limited funds in it for her to use...enough for expenses for a week or something and monitor it regularly and add funds as needed.

My mom will be 76 in July, and if I saw her doing similar things, that's exactly what I would do. She's in Florida and I'm in Mass, but I do have two sisters and a grown nephew who live close to her who could help her manage her finances.


In any case, I'm sorry your mom got scammed, and shame on people who take advantage of elders!!!

[mainer]

38. At least she got a driveway out of it. My mom lost her bank account in a scam

When your parents get older, you really have to pay attention to their mail. Every time I'd visit my mom, I'd see more and more of these "You have won a million dollars!" mailings. I found out that she'd been subscribing to thousands of dollars' worth of magazines she never read, just to collect her "million dollars." Not only that, she fell for the "you have won the lottery" scam, and actually gave them her bank account info so they could deposit the winnings in her account. The scams were run out of Canada. They emptied out her account.

I tried to explain to her that these were scams, but she angrily told me to mind my own business. Then she needed me to loan her money because she had nothing left.

Years went by, and I had to keep giving her money to pay her bills, even though I know she was giving away thousands to these crooks. It's almost a blessing that her vision started to go and she couldn't read her mail any more. Now, at least, I can toss out that junk mail and I can manage her finances.

[Jennicut]

45. My Dad took it over for my Grandmother, who is 89. She paid her taxes

twice this year. She just forgot she paid the taxes once. I am not kidding. She regularly buys magazines in the mail because she thinks they are bills.
She had someone cut down her tree and wanted to do some other stuff in her yard. He took her check and never came back. My Dad finally decided to have all mail sent to him, the house is officially in his name as well. Any things that need to be done around the house, he hires the people for it or does it himself. My poor Grandma just cannot handle it anymore but she refuses to leave her house. It is beautiful, along a lake near the shoreline of Connecticut. My parents only live an hour away and I am an hour and a half so we can visit her on a regular basis.

[LibertyLover]

39. My elderly aunt was scammed out of several thousand dollars

years ago by people claiming they would repaint her house. It needed it and she was planning on selling it and moving to an assisted living facility so she said yes. They asked for money upfront to "buy paint". She gave it to them, in cash, and never heard from them again. When my mom heard about it she nearly had a heart attack that her sister had $2000 in cash in the house. Mom insisted that Kathleen, her sister, put all the money she had in the house in a bank account that was jointly in her name and that of another sister since the other sister lived 2 blocks away. Kathleen did so and then got sick and was hospitalized. While she was in the hospital her house was burglarized. The police figured it was either the painting people or their friends coming back to see if the old lady had more money. Luckily for all concerned Kathleen sold the house while she was in the hospital and went from there to the assisted living facility.

[mitchum]

42. Sounds like a typical Irish Traveler scam, except for the Hispanic work crew

[nadinbrzezinski]

51. They are using hispanic work crews these days

And it could also be Romani, we have both,

[HippieCowgirl]

43. Travellers.

Your mom was hit by a classic scam. They're probably packed up and in another state by now.

[tango-tee]

47. Back in 2006 there was a miniature tornado in my mom's neighborhood.

These kinds of storms are rare in Germany, and it was scary. It took down all the trees in the yards and blew a good portion of the roof tiles in the neighborhood off.

Wouldn't you know it, within not even 24 hours there were dozens of "expert roof tilers" canvassing the area. My mom is disabled and helpless, and my sister, afraid that we wouldn't be able to get the roof fixed before the next rain, hired someone who turned out to be a scammer. I'll spare you the details. All I can say is that these people are scum, plain and simple.

[hayu_lol]

48. These are construction/repair gypsies...

they have been pulling these scams for well over 100 years. Different families of these people are like tribes. Big deal with them in the midwest is furnace repair on very large furnaces. Take the thing apart, ask for payment so that they can get the right parts(furnace is in pieces on the floor by this time)and skip immediately.

[tango-tee]

50. That must be just awful!

Imagine, the cold season is approaching and there is your furnace on the floor like a puzzle. Not only are you out of money, but as realization of what just happened sets in, you also feel like an idiot. That's what happened to us with that damn roof. We just wanted to kick ourselves.

[nadinbrzezinski]

49. Sounds like she was a victim of the Itinerant

They tend to be of Romani descent. They use Illegal Labor and do shady work.

Try to file a report.

Oh and their targets ARE older people or immigrants. They have been at this for a decade or more. I only know of them because I watched a 60 minutes on them oh a while ago, when I still watched it. Perhaps seven or eight years.

[Syrinx]

52. thanks to everyone for your advice

I think I'm going to urge mom to go "mafia on their ass" :rofl: , especially if the asphalt turns to dust in the next few weeks, as I fully expect.

Maybe I'm wrong about this. But I don't think so. The more I read online about the Travelers, the more the situation seems to fit their pattern to a tee.

Again, thanks to the good people of DU!

:patriot:

[PurgatoryPeak]

55. Yikes

Wow, thats a very sophisticated scam, we'd all better be on the lookout.

[Lagomorph]

56. Sounds like Rovers...

Transient workers who move into an area and do driveways, repairs & remodeling. They look legit, but they do crappy work and move on. Once they're gone, they're gone, and so is your money.

This is a case where the Union hall is a much better source for labor. Most of those guys have quality standards they bring to work with them.