Comments on: Chimney Cleaning Service Scammer Is Sweeping My Neighborhood

By: Anne

Anne — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:36:39 +0000

I got a call from a chimney cleaning service about a week ago, don’t know whether it was Steel River but the woman sounded familiar. Steel River actually did work on two of my chimneys a few years ago – they had called me about a cleaning but gave me another info and an estimate to hire them for repairs instead. I had them come back several times till the chimneys stopped leaking – one leaked and that’s why they were fixing it and the other didn’t leak until they sealed it. In the end, we thought they did a great job. The lesson – be persistent and keep insisting till the job meets your satisfaction and make sure the price holds even if they come out repeatedly – you shouldn’t be paying for their mistakes.

Well, two days ago, the cap blew off one of the chimneys. So I called Steel River – 3 separate numbers – and the numbers are all out of service. So I guess it was the same company where all the employees ended up in jail. Now I wish I knew who called me a week ago.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 06:07:39 +0000

Scams abound. I am probably the most pessimistic that I have ever been now that my eyes have been opened. By BF think I’m crazy but I don’t trust ANYONE who want to do anything for me for the low, low, price of…

By: DebtGoal

DebtGoal — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 23:00:21 +0000

The other offer I keep getting emails on is the debt settlement promise. They promise to clear all of your debts and upfront you have to send them money. Scamming, pure and simple.

By: Pinyo

Pinyo — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:46:05 +0000

@Travis – That’s not a scam…that’s robbery. It’s a lot more serious than this. Anyway, I am glad the crook was caught.

@Dora – Great story. I love that.

By: Dora

Dora — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:49:23 +0000

Chimney guy called me saying “Hi, it’s Ron from Chimney Guys!” and I said to him, “Did I call you?” He then says “Oh, Ok, I get it” and hung up. I’m going to use that line again for the next jerk who calls.

By: LinkStuff - Monday, April 20

LinkStuff - Monday, April 20 — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:01:47 +0000

[...] wrote about a scam chimney sweeping service that was “working” his neighbourhood. This post would fit right in with our [...]

By: Tea Party Support for those Teabaggers - and best weekly links | Darwin's Finance

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 20:50:18 +0000

[...] Scam Watch this spring season [...]

By: Weekly Mashup, April 19th | My Life ROI, Getting the Best Return On Life

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:32:04 +0000

[...] did a little research and didn’t get scammed by this chimney sweep! It is always important to research and offers you [...]

By: Quilt Completion Roundup

Quilt Completion Roundup — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 11:03:34 +0000

[...] reminds us to be wary of discounts because a company is “in the neighborhood.” These calls could lead to anything from overcharging to upselling to fraud/default, to outright [...]

By: Travis

Travis — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:42:02 +0000

There used to be a similar scam around where I live. A guy would show up and ask if we would like our carpets cleaned. If you would like this service he would look around in your house to give you an “estimate”. If you were a woman and alone, he would tie you up and steal your stuff. Luckily this only happened three time before he was caught. He came by our house and he wasn’t using the scare tactics on my wife once he noticed that I was in the kitchen. It was weird because he was trying to poke his head through and take a look inside.