FROM TOPEKA POLICE -- The Topeka Police Department would like to remind everyone that lawn maintenance / home repair scams should be on their mind if they are approached by a “contractor” about work they did not solicit. There have been several reports of this activity this spring.

The Kansas Attorney General’s Office has created a publication that is recommended reading for anyone considering hiring a contractor. It is entitled, “Home Improvement Consumer Tips”. http://www.ksag.org/files/shared/Home.Improvement.Tips.pdf

Some precautions from that document follow:
Beware if your contractor:
• comes door-to-door or seeks you out;
• just happens to have material left over from a recent job;
• tells you the job will be a “demonstration;”
• offers you discounts for finding other customers;
• quotes a price that’s out of line with other estimates;
• pressures you for an immediate decision;
• offers an unusually long guarantee;
• can only be reached by leaving messages with an answering service;
• drives an unmarked van; has out-of state license plates; or asks you to pay for the entire job up front.