Contractor scams bilking Ottawans out of thousands, police say

It's spring and fraud is in the air, as Ottawa police say there's an organized group running a contractor scam in the city's west end. 

Det. Shaun Wahbeh says police have received complaints this May from around 10 residents, many of whom have given money — up to $13,000 as a deposit — and either aren't seeing work done or not getting it finished at a satisfactory level.

A couple of years ago, Wahbeh said police tracked down another group running a similar scam in the spring and they were deported back to the United Kingdom.

"Usually they pop up in the spring, and it's an organized group that comes in, does as much as they can and then [they] flee to a different jurisdiction. So next month they could be in Kingston," Wahbeh told CBC News at 6.

The group has been door-knocking, saying they're working in the area and with a significant deposit right away they'll do a job for the prospective client. 

"People are falling for it. They're not asking questions, they're not doing their due diligence and they're giving them money," Wahbeh said.

He says there are various levels of the scam, ranging from doing poor work to taking a deposit and not doing anything at all. 

That can affect the kind of recourse available to victims, Wahbeh said. If they take money without starting the job it's a criminal prosecution, but it would be civil litigation if the work is shoddy or remains unfinished. 

As of this weekend, police had not caught the current group.

Do your 'homework'

Regardless of what happens, Wahbeh recommends filing a police report and leaving an online review to prevent others from being victimized.

He said this current scam has a few facets that should always be red flags — the speed at which a homeowner is being asked to make a decision and the door-knocking. 

Perpetrators of such scams will try a variety of methods to pressure homeowners, from offering what appear to be large discounts or suggesting the property needs urgent work. Reliable contractors, on the other hand, are often busy and don't have time to knock on doors, he said. 

John DeVries, president and general manager of the Ottawa Construction Association, agrees that door-to-door promotions are warning signs, along with requests for money up front.

He said customers should always do their research, and while a bit of internet sleuthing is a good start, nothing compares to reaching out and speaking to real people.

"If a contractor is gun shy to [provide names of] past customers who are happy, there's a red flag right there," DeVries said.

"It's really doing homework. It's as simple as that."