Better Business Bureau warns of door-to-door scammers

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. -- The Better Business Bureau (BBB) released a warning for central coast residents to look out for door-to-door paver scams.

According to the BBB, Santa Ynez Valley residents reported workers approaching their doors and attempting to trick them with supposedly good deals. Homeowners that employed these workers reported ending up with shoddy pavement, or nothing at all, and in some cases lost over $8,000 in the process.

The BBB released a description of how this specific scam works:

A worker leaves a pamphlet or shows up at the door. They claim they’ve been doing work in the area and just happened to notice the condition of your driveway or sidewalk. Since they're already working nearby, they can give you a discount. If the price is agreeable, they will then ask for a large percentage of the fee upfront. There is some hesitancy if there is a question on the price or details about the business and where it's located. 

Once the transaction is complete, the scam contractor may disappear completely. The contact number or email may not work, quickly helping you realize that the contact information was a sham. If you protest, the contractor may use intimidation tactics, such as threatening a lawsuit, to convince you to pay up.

In other cases, the work, once complete, is shoddy and unprofessional, but the full payment has been made. Reaching the company the contractor was allegedly representing is impossible, or another company was impostered in the process. In any of these scenarios, the chances of getting a refund or the work fixed are slim.

Better Business Bureau of the Tri-Counties

For more information, click here.

You can contact the BBB by email or by calling 805-963-8657.