Tulsa's Better Business Bureau Shares Tips To Avoid Contractor Scams

Tulsa's Better Business Bureau says the spring and summer months is the time of year when they see the most scams as people try and get contract work done on their home.

The Tulsa Better Business Bureau says contractor fraud doesn't happen all the time, but it is something they do see, especially in the warmer months.

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"We see stuff about roofing scams when it comes to these, driveway scams if someone is coming to redo your driveway, house painting, the list goes on and on," says Bryce Marshall, with Tulsa's BBB.

Marshall says the best thing you can do when looking into a contractor is to do your research, check to see if they are accredited and look up their reviews.

"See who they have worked with before, who do they suggest, maybe they've worked with someone and they say hey you don't want to work with them we've had some problems, we don't want you to run into the same thing," he said.

He says the most common and biggest red flag they see is when someone asks for you to pay them, before they start any work.

"If you pay it all upfront and they never come out, then you could be out that money depending on how you pay for that transaction and that's just a huge headache for all involved and a road you don't want to go down," Marshall said.

He says the BBB is there to help, and if you ever have a problem, they can try and get ahold of the business to help you find a resolution.

"We try to reach out to that business, see if we can get them to at least talk to you, see if we can come to some sort of agreement where they might return that money," he said.

Marshall says you should avoid using cash only or any type of cash app when paying. He says you should try and use a credit card, that way if something goes wrong, you can attempt to dispute the transaction.