Sunshine Coast Police are warning the community to be aware of bitumen scammers.
Bitumen scammers use high pressure sales techniques to convince their victims to employ them to reseal their driveways. The scammers often use fake identification and will not be part of a legitimate business. Scammers will either demand payment upfront and then refuse to do the work or complete the work to a very poor quality and use threats and intimidation to obtain payment.
If you think you are being scammed, try the following:
Give a firm refusal; a reputable business won’t be upset if you refuse their services.
Seek more information from independent sources such as family, friends, websites or past clients.
Reputable businesses will be happy to provide you with full contact details so that you can follow-up on their services.
Obtain a written quote.
Seek an agreement with the person offering the service that all monies will be paid at the satisfactory completion of the job and not up front.
Regulatory authorities who are responsible for license and regulation of various trades such as plumbing, building and electrical etc, should be contacted to ascertain if the person is currently licensed.
If your inquiries reveal the business is legitimate, you can always contact them later.
If you believe you have been affected by this scam please contact the Office of Fair Trading or your local Police Station.
If you feel threatened by a person claiming to be from a company, tell them to leave, close the door and call 000 immediately.
