Roofers already targeted people in West Shore, Sidney, and Victoria
Nanaimo RCMP is warning the public of a group of travelling fraudsters who are putting a damper on the holidays as they make their way throughout Vancouver Island offering fraudulent home and yard services.
The most recent incident occurred in south Nanaimo on Dec. 15. A homeowner was approached and asked to hire the company. The offer was declined and reported the contact to police.
This group has already targeted the communities of West Shore, Sidney, and Victoria scamming home owners out of thousands of dollars. In those incidents, the fraudsters approach various residences and offer to complete roofing, gutter, driveway or paving services. For any work done payment is expected up front, the work is not completed and the service provided is sub-par.
In the Nanaimo occurrence, a Caucasian man with an Irish accent was involved. Previous reports have upwards of four men associated to the fraud.
The named of Trade Right Paving Inc has various 1-star reviews from a number of unsatisfied customers complaining of fraudulent work. Other names used by the same fraudsters are All Roads Paving Inc. and Weatherproof Roofing & Masonry.
If you are approached by this group, do not accept any offers for yard work or repairs and report the contact to your nearest police jurisdiction. Handy man frauds are not new and the standard ploy is to do shoddy work, demand money up front and not complete the work they started, said R/Cst Gary O’Brien of the Nanaimo RCMP.
To learn more about current frauds and scams Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. If you have information on these fraudsters, call the Nanaimo RCMP non-emergency line at 250-754-2345.
