I am continually amazed at the number of scams involving spending needless money that is perpetrated on the general public. “There’s a sucker born every minute” is an old saying that people should think about before sending money to scam artists to pay for taxes on gifts they supposedly won. If whatever you win sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
A good rule of thumb is if the person trying to sell you a product or a service, or scam you out of some of your hard-earned money, if they are not up front in introducing themselves, then they most likely are not a legitimate business. Check them out before dealing with them.
I am always leery of people who ring my doorbell and do not introduce themselves in the first few minutes of conversation. A few weeks ago a fellow knocked on my door as I was eating dinner and he said he was nailing down barn roofs. The truck in the driveway was equipped with long ladders so he was definitely a roofer, but wouldn’t you know – no name on the truck. He commented that I had a lot of barns and wondered if I would be interested in him and his crew checking to see if the tin needed to be nailed down. I told him the tin on the big barn roof is screwed down and that I keep the roofs in good repair.
After a few minutes of conversation, I told him that he hadn’t introduced himself. How come? I wanted to know his name and where he hailed from. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said as he stretched out his hand to shake mine. “I’m Joe.”
“So what part of Renfrew County do you hail from, Joe,” I ask inquisitively.
“I’m just on the outside of the county,” he said not volunteering any more information.
“How far outside the county?” I asked
“Montreal,” he replied.
“So, let’s say I had a roof to be nailed down — what hourly wage do you charge,” I ask. I asked that question because these guys go around to farms with the promise to nail down every nail that’s loose. They charge by the job. Maybe $500 or more may not sound like a lot of money to nail down a very high barn roof, but the farmer knows he’s not going to go up there to nail down the roof. Hiring the fly-by crew to nail it down is expensive because a few guys walk up and down on the roof and they nail down any nails that stick up. Farmers who have had experience with these kinds of roofers tell me the job usually doesn’t take longer than two hours. They set up a long ladder, throw a few long ropes up and bingo they’re in business. It’s fast money.
“We charge by the job — so much a roof,” was his reply.
“But what hourly wage do you base it on,” I asked.
He would not answer that question. It’s a wonder these guys find work. Oh, and what about compensation — are they covered with Workmen’s Compensation?
I always prefer to have work done by local businesses —people I know and can trust.
