My elderly mother heats part of her house with a very large Sears wood
burning stove. She started off with a metal chimney - were several
house fires caused by these things - so she had a brick chimney built
with flu liners. She has a fire all winter long. She was told she
should have her chimney swept. This past summer the chimney sweep did
his thing - and showed my mother some pictures of how damaged her
chimney was from cracked all the fires she kept going. He told her he
could repair the chimney for $2,500.

My mother has insurance covering everything - called her insurance
agent - showed him the pictures and told him it was going to cost
$2,500 to repair and what portion of that repair would the insurance
cover. The agent got one of their adjusters to check it out. Guess
what her chimney was in perfect condition - not a crack in any tile.

My mother called several other people who were using this crook - a
couple had similiar stories and one of them had already agreed to have
her chimney repaired.

She would not go after the crook - but be careful out there.

Two years ago she had an "insulation expert" tell her she needed more
insulation under the metal roof on the second floor of the house -
another crook - there is no room for more insulation in that space - I
installed it many years ago.

So be careful out there - crooks abound.

And you only just figured that out now. So when was it different.

Agreed - it is just when they go after senior citizens that I get
angry. Before she lets any of these crooks in her house - she calls
me.

The world is full of them because they do manage to fleece gullable
people. I love going head to head with people trying to scam me -
really fun putting them in their place is a real turn on. Somebody
ought to make a list of the lines scam artists use by type of systems
they work on.

The most frequent source of consumer complaints in this area is home
remodeling/repair.

Out of curiousity, what kind of insurance policy covers cracking in a
chimney and would even send an adjuster to look at it? That sounds
like normal maintenance to me.

For that matter, not all insurance companies have the customers' best
interests in their hearts either.

Believe me she heads up the "Old Gals" network and everybody in the
area knows about this scam artist now - yeah I agree with letting the
light of day in on these creeps. I live in WI and the state just put
names, addresses and pictures of sex offenders on line - I have printed
off several sets - I plan on circulating pictures of child sex
offenders in their neighborhoods so everybody knows who these creeps
are. I live in a town of 5K people and there are over 20 of those
creeps - many are child sex offenders. When these boys get put into
prison - understand they get a very warm welcome.

As far as getting aggressive with the AH who tried to cheat my mother -
am a little leary - she carries a pistol but is not very quick - would
not really want him to get so PO'd he would try anything.

For that matter, not all insurance companies have the customers' best
interests in their hearts either.

How true. I have USAA which is rated as one of the best insurance
companies in this country - formed by active duty commissioned officers
in the US Military - who just happened to have some of the lowest
accident rates of any group. Had a low life hippie chick back into me
on one of SF's steepest hills - cop was right there - he looked at me
and said, "You have a looser here - no license or insurance." Called
USAA with the claim - they started to give me some grief - first and
only auto claim - they would not pay it till I provided the police
report.

I would say very few insurance companies pay unless they have no other
option.

One good refrence is worth a few jobs,
One bad refrence will loose you one hundred.
Bubba had an interesting idea. but its not just your mom or the
elderly, it happens to me every job I contract. You have to
learn the work.

m Ransley wrote:
One good refrence is worth a few jobs,
One bad refrence will loose you one hundred.

not always true....many people just wot get references or second
opinions and when they do they tend to go for the cheapest bid....Ive
sen it all my working life...even people with very bad work
habits...people who everyone knew did sorry work...they seem to slide
along just find....always someone out there who will pinch pennies over
common sense or good advise.

Get estimates on anything that has to do with your house or car if
possible. Get second opinions on major repair work if at all
possible...Use only people who have been recommended to you thru
friends family or coworkers.
Bubba had an interesting idea. but its not just your mom or the
elderly, it happens to me every job I contract. You have to
learn the work.

Bubba wrote:
On 28 Dec 2005 11:42:05 -0800, "butch burton"
wrote:

Agreed - it is just when they go after senior citizens that I get
angry. Before she lets any of these crooks in her house - she calls
me.

The world is full of them because they do manage to fleece gullable
people. I love going head to head with people trying to scam me -
really fun putting them in their place is a real turn on. Somebody
ought to make a list of the lines scam artists use by type of systems
they work on.

The most frequent source of consumer complaints in this area is home
remodeling/repair.

Ya know, instead of "getting your jollies" out of "putting them in
their place" why not try something a little more useful like:
Posting the crooks name somewhere that people might see so they too
wont get "fleeced"? Somewhere in your moms hometown like in a
supermarket, towncenter corkboard, bathroom wall..........wherever. It
might get taken down but how much time or money is it going to cost
you to keep putting up an "anonymous" piece of paper?
Even in here. Look how many post are here everyday. Many may not be in
your area but if one person keeps from getting "fleeced" its worth it,
isnt it?
Bubba

That plus cause them time loss. Guy pulls into my drive with the "I've
got a bit of asphalt left from a job down the street..." scam. He
spent time measuring my drive, answering a bunch of questions about
asphalt drive building/maintenance and at the end was told "I'll think
about it". Same with "I was driving by and noticed your roof will soon
need replacing, I can coat it...". After he was up/down ladders with a
helper doing the measuring, answering questions etc. "I'll think about
it".

Harry K

A cracking chimney is not normal wear and tear. It is a "catastrophic
event" which is covered by most homeowners policies. Chimney sweeping
is normal maintenance and is not covered by insurance.