Story Published: Apr 4, 2007 at 8:42 PM PDT
Story Updated: Oct 11, 2007 at 2:00 PM PDT
VANCOUVER, Wash. - A spring cleaning scam could be coming to your neighborhood.
It happened to Chris Hobrock of Vancouver. A woman with American Master Vac knocked on her door and offered to clean her ducts for half price. It was supposedly a "special neighborhood deal." "My first thought was I was going to do this anyway so I might as well jump on the bandwagon and have it done," she said.
When the woman returned to do the work, only Hobrock's children were home. It took 20 to 30 minutes to clean 11 vents, two cold air returns and the dryer vent. And the estimate of $79 went up to $172. When Hobrock went to go pay, the employee told Hobrock not to write out the check to her company but leave the space blank because her company was merging with other companies. The employee assured her it was OK, and the check would take a few weeks to clear. The employee, however, immediately went to the bank to cash the check. Admittedly, Hobrock got suspicious too late. Her phone calls to the number on the flyer went nowhere. KATU News decided to call Dr. Carpet and Air Duct Cleaning over to her house to see if any work had been done on her ducts at all. A rep with the company, Mike Plumb, said the vents were not even touched. "They didn't do anything," he said. "You can see all the dust. It's not disturbed." KATU News tried to contact American Master Vac but all the calls went to personal cell phones, and messages were not returned. Plumb advised consumers that if someone offers you a ridiculously low price to clean your ducts, there is usually a reason behind it. Here are some tips to avoid getting scammed: