It may be in the morning, afternoon or even during dinner, but I’ll bet some of you won’t get through a day without hearing from an Air Duct Cleaning scam artist. It’s not that your ducts don’t need to be cleaned – definitely call a professional to do that – but there are some questionable business practices at play these days.
How it Works
Using a bait and switch tactic, scammers make cold-calls to customers by spoofing numbers that appear to be local. Once they get a homeowner to pick up the phone, they offer tremendous deals on a service that can cost up to $300-400 for a few hours. The customer is roped in and makes the appointment. However, once the scammer is at their home for the service, they continue to up-sell the victim with extra costs (i.e. disinfectants, pre-washes etc.).
In addition, these scammers will often incorporate another company’s branding in order to get someone to provide personal information or purchase a product or service.
Homeservice Club has been made aware of telephone calls being made to homeowners, including our members, in the GTA where the caller pitches a discounted duct cleaning service. There are a number of home repair companies in the GTA and surrounding areas with the words “home”, “service(s)”, “club” or some combination thereof in their name which have no affiliation with Homeservice Club. Homeservice Club has a long standing commitment to protecting the privacy of the personal information that is entrusted to us. Our service department will only reach out to you once an order has been placed with us.
We do not now, nor have we ever, made unsolicited telemarketing calls. Should you receive a phone call of this nature, please contact our service department at 416-925-1111.
How to Protect Yourself
- If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Cleaning your air ducts can be costly but it’s worth it if you use a reputable company.
- Read the fine print before signing any contracts to make sure you know what the work will entail and what will be included in the price.
- Never share personal information (i.e. social insurance numbers, date of birth, or credit card numbers).
- If you get an unexpected call and get an uneasy feeling from the sales pitch, hang-up immediately.
Have you checked out our specials for February? View them Here.
