cslb.ca

Overcharged heavily on garage motor system replacement - Looking for advice/help To preface this, I had AI assistance in formatting to clearly get my details across in an organized manner. Location: California \*\*Background:\*\* I'm an introverted person who just closed on my first home. Earlier today this happened I was already under mental stress. I had fumigation workers, trash services, and other contractors all at my house simultaneously while managing a newborn. Not my best day for making clear-headed decisions. My garage door stopped working so I found a company called on Yelp and contacted them through the platform. A technician named Ed arrived, not matching the name or photo on the Yelp profile. \*\*What Happened\*\* Before starting any work, Ed checked out my garage door and showed me that the rail chains where breaking apart and actually had pieces missing. He told me the entire unit/system needed to be replaced. I asked him directly: "What is the total cost?" and in response he showed me a price of $1,099 on what appeared to be a custom webpage on his phone underneath the unit he would be installing to replace me old one. No mention of labor costs, no written estimate, no discussion of additional charges. In hindsight, I should've known but I assumed $1,099 would be the total cost for EVERYTHING as I knew garage motor replacements weren't that expensive and maybe this guy just has a big labor charge. Work began immediately. The job took approximately 30 minutes or less and consisted of replacing the old motor unit and installing the new one with the rail/chain mechanism, sensors, and garage control wall panel. The garage door, tracks, and hardware were all existing and untouched. When the job was done Ed presented me with a handwritten receipt totaling $1,644.60, roughly $545 more than what I was quoted. The only line items with prices were the unit ($1,190) and labor ($250). No individual part prices. No itemized breakdown. And most criticall

Unlicensed Contractor Scam, Example Recording in Comments *EDIT: I forgot I had [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdnO8soRT10) video which is a bit funnier and shorter. * I just got another one of these yesterday and thought I'd post it here so people can hear an example of this scam. Someone cold-calls you claiming to represent a company which does home construction or maintenance. They say there is a technician in your area doing services or free estimates. They claim to be licensed but they are definitely not. They will sometimes claim they are following up with a request made by someone in your household. They have your address because they're going off public phone records. Like many scammers, they target the elderly. I believe we get these calls because my boyfriend's late parents are still listed in the phone records. [Here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayo8pSKQ9mM) is a youtube video of the scam call I got yesterday. Note, the technician is very quick to claim they are licensed but when asked for the license, she would not give me one. They often offer what I'd call "fluffy" services -- services that don't really do anything or services which can be faked because the homeowner wouldn't notice the difference after the "service" was completed. (Not to mention we don't even have an AC for them to fix/inspect) If you get a call like this, ask for their contractor's license number. Your state license board will have a website where you can verify a contractor's license number. [Here](http://www.cslb.ca.gov/) is the California State License Board website. You can also search under company name, city, etc. If they give you a fake license # or someone else's license number, be sure to mention it's a felony to telemarket with an invalid #.