Door to Door business scams

Here’s how it works. The suspect provides a quote at a reduced rate and the owner agrees, providing a portion of the money up front. The fraudster does not complete the job and goes on to another victim. Once a contract has been agreed upon, this often becomes a civil issue and may not be a criminal one, leaving the business owner to take civil court action against someone they don’t know and a company that truly doesn’t exist.

A similar fraud was reported in 2009. More than six persons were scammed out of thousands of dollars that summer when they entered into a contract with pavers going door to door. Interestingly, in those cases the suspect provided a name of ‘James’ and had an English accent.

Police want to warn the public about this scam. Whether you own a residence or a business, you could be a target. Please exercise caution when approached by anyone offering a service or product where money is exchanged before the contract is fulfilled.

Uninvited businesses that operate door to door are required to provide contracts for their services and products. These contracts are regulated by Consumer Protection BC.

Consumer Protection BC and the Prince George RCMP want to recognize that there are legitimate businesses that operate door to door. Here are some tips to help consumers when dealing with door to door businesses:

For more information about your rights as well as general consumer tips around door to door sales, please visit www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/blog (English only). While it does not investigate scams or fraud, if you have questions about your door to door sales contract cancellation rights, please contact Consumer Protection BC at 1-888-564-9963 or info@consumerprotectionbc.ca.

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