CONSUMER CORNER: Don't Fall For A Chimney Scam

Provided by the Bucks County Department of Consumer Protection:

“Chim chiminey, chim chiminey, chim chim cher-ee
A sweep is as lucky as lucky can be”

Autumn has arrived, the weather is cooling down and it is almost time to start using your fireplace for the season. Before you hit the match to the firewood, make sure that your chimney flue is clean of soot and ash deposit and clear of any debris.

Chimney work can be an easy scam since most people don’t know much about their chimneys and have no way of checking up to make sure the job was done properly. Unlike a leaky toilet or malfunctioning A/C unit, the signs of chimney issues are not usually obvious and are difficult for the homeowner to see, and this is where it becomes easy to scam a homeowner into believing unnecessary work needs to be done. Obviously, there is a concern for making sure your chimney is clear so that the likelihood of a house fire is lessened.

Before you start searching for a chimney sweep, let’s review some safe ways to hire a contractor to clean your chimney. As with any other contractor, never hire anyone who knocks on your door offering a reduced rate because “they are in the area doing work today only.” A legitimate chimney cleaning contractor should be able to provide you with a Certificate of Chimney Sweeping. Don’t be fooled by the low pricing. Oftentimes these companies “find” defects with your chimney that they would be happy to repair for an additional amount of money. And most people would have no way of knowing if a repair is needed. You may also encounter high pressure sales tactics designed to get you to make a snap decision you will most likely regret. Be extremely leery of being required to pay by cash, wire transfer or prepaid gift card. Do not pay anything in advance. Legitimate chimney cleaning and inspection should cost around $125 or so and take 30 to 45 minutes. There should be one person on the roof and one person on the ground floor vacuuming out the soot that falls. When finished, typically the homeowner should see “brush” marks inside the flue. If you don’t see brush marks that can be a sign the service wasn’t done completely or at all. In addition, any claims from the contractor that there are structural issues, should be backed up with photo or video proof but be leery of photos or videos, supposedly of your chimney that you didn’t witness being photographed. Scam artists will show you pictures of a deteriorated chimney to scare you into thinking there is a fire hazard and making you act rashly to hire them to install a new flue liner that costs thousands of dollars and may not be necessary or may not be installed properly by that company.

Don’t be rushed into a decision. In addition, you can view a copy of our booklet entitled Hiring a Home Improvement Contractor in Pennsylvania by going to our website at www.buckscounty.gov/cpinfo . Get at least two quotes and start early in the season to do your research starting with our office, Bucks County Department of Consumer protection, Weights and measures, and we can check our database to make sure the company you’re looking into hasn’t had complaints filed against them. They should also provide you with a PA Home Improvement Contractor registration number, which is issued by the PA Attorney General’s Office. For more information and homeowner resources on Chimney Sweeps, check out the Pennsylvania Guild of Professional Chimney Sweeps website https://paguild.org/home-owners-resources

You could also check the Better Business Bureau website and make sure the company has a good reputation and happy customers and additionally you should do a basic Google search of the company to see if there are a pattern of issues on review websites showing in the search results.

To learn how to protect yourself from scams and fraud, please visit our website at; www.buckscounty.gov/cp.

Monthly Fraud Alerts brought to you by Bucks County Crimes Against Older Adults Task Force 24-hour hotline: 1-800-490-8505, Bucks County District Attorney’s Office: 215-348-6344, A Woman’s Place (AWP): 1-800-220-8116, Bucks County Area Agency on Aging: 267-880-5700, Bucks County Office of Consumer Protection: 215-348-6060, Bucks County Coroner’s Office: 215-348-3852, Bucks County Register of Wills: 215-348-6265, Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA): 1-800-675-6900, and U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services/OIG: 1-800-447-8477.

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