HOW TO AVOID
DOOR-TO-DOOR SCAMS

Several in the neighborhood have lost money to a scam artist posing as a tree trimmer. Please ask for recommendations on the COVNA email list (click email link above to join) and follow the precautions listed below, especially for larger projects. For small jobs, rule number one is never pay before work is satisfactorily completed.

If someone comes knocking on your door unsolicited, offering to do work around your house, it should raise an immediate red flag. Good contractors, builders and carpenters are typically busy enough that they don't need to go trolling neighborhoods seeking odd jobs. Out-of-town contractors may try to pressure you into making speedy decisions, by saying "This discounted price is only good for today," or "We're only in your neighborhood this weekend." Recognize these tactics as sales gimmicks and coercion. In many cases, they're also the telltale sign of a scam contractor.

Before you agree to do business with any contractor, get three referrals from his most recent clients. Call those homeowners and make sure they were completely satisfied with the work.

Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if other consumers have lodged complaints against the business. If a contractor says he's licensed, bonded and insured, double-check that information with the local building inspector's office and the contractor's insurance company.

Once you decide to hire a contractor, use sound practices when it comes to paying him. A deposit may be required for the contractor to get started, but negotiate with him to make this up front payment no more than a third of the total cost. If you pay too much up front it leaves you vulnerable if the contractor skips off with your money without doing any work, or if he doesn't complete the job as agreed.

Beware of contractors who won't accept checks or ask that you make a check payable to him personally, rather than his company. This is another sure-fire sign of a scam contractor.

If you're getting money from your insurer to do home repairs or upgrades, the Federal Trade Commission suggests that you never sign your insurance check over to a contractor. Instead, have your bank provide a Certificate of Completion. The bank will pay the contractor in phases, as each stage of work is completed to your satisfaction.

Use a Written Contract as Your Guide
Never do business with a contractor based on a handshake or a verbal promise. Instead, get everything in writing, in as much detail as possible, to avoid potential misunderstandings later.

Under federal law, you have three days to think things over when it comes to home improvement or repair projects, or for any contract over $25 signed in your home. So make sure your contract includes a three-day notice of cancellation, which protects you should you change your mind.

Finally, never sign a blank contract or agree to let the contractor just "fill in" certain spaces later. If there's a space in the contract, either fill it in immediately or cross it out.

If spite of your best efforts, you feel you've been ripped off by a contractor, don't stand for any financial shenanigans. Report a repair rip-off to the BBB and the consumer division of your state's Attorney General. For a list, visit www.naag.org.

RECYCLE MORE STUFF

Walking our dog the other evening I passed a garbage can whose lid wouldn’t close because large chunks of Styrofoam were protruding from it. Austin’s single-track recycling does not take the stuff so one might think that the only solution is to put it into the garbage can headed for a landfill. There is a better solution - Recycle It.

A couple of years ago I found myself with large pre-formed quantities of Styrofoam which had protected a purchased piece of equipment. Having previously spent considerable time attempting to pick up the stuff from all over my yard when it didn’t quite all make it into a garbage truck, I decided it was time to find a better solution. Searching on the internet for “Styrofoam recycling Austin,” I found Cycled Plastics Ltd.

In addition to chunk Styrofoam, they take other CLEAN Styrofoam items such as cups and egg cartons and packing “peanuts”. The reclaimed Styrofoam is used to make such things as Styrocrete, a prefab, light-weight and extremely-high insulation building block for “Green” homes and buildings.

Cycled Plastics Ltd. is located near Balcones Research Center (Burnet Rd & Braker/Rutland) at 10200 McKalla Place, Suite 100. Go North on Burnet Rd. past U. S. 183. Turn right on Rutland, then take the first left on McKalla, just before the railroad tracks. Turn into the industrial park on your left and go straight to the steps to their site. You can see a picture and map at cycledplastics.com. It’s a long way up there from our neighborhood, so I keep a large trash sack for the stuff, and dispose of it there when I make a trip to North Austin. Eventually, as a service to the neighborhood, and if I don’t get overwhelmed, I could take additional bags when I go, about once a month.

Public Drop Off Site: Cycled Plastics maintains a public drop point at it's facility in Austin. The following items are accepted Monday through Friday, 7am - 5pm:

Packaging Foams (styrofoam) free of dirt or food contamination (EPS #6, PP #5, LDPE #4)
#2 HDPE curbside bottles that have been rinsed with caps removed
#1 PET curbside bottles that have been rinsed with the caps removed
#2 HDPE flower pots that have been lightly washed to remove most of the dirt
#4 LDPE bags that have had no food contact and have no paper contamination (labels, stickers) (zip lock bags)

For those of you that may not be aware, Styrofoam is made from Benzene, an oil-based product. It depletes the ozone layer during its creation, and is responsible for the death each year of thousands of animals that swallow it.

Even though it breaks into pieces easily, it can take 500 years for a single cup to dissolve in a landfill. By volume, the amount of space used up in landfills by all plastics is between 25 and 30 percent.

Tom Bray