Though you can find a good plumber Long Island who’s honest with his prices and work, some are unscrupulous and can con you your hard-earned money after damaging your plumbing system. Unfortunately, it isn’t very easy to detect plumbing scams. To protect your plumbing and wallet, you need to know the tricks of dishonest plumbers. This article tells you some plumbing scams that you should be aware of.

  1. Dodging Details

Responsible plumbers know that they need to give you their license number, proof of insurance, and any other relevant document that you can use to prove their legal standing and competence. In fact, most plumbers post such information on their business cards, website, other marketing materials to allow you to easily access them whenever you want.

If you find a plumber who’s reluctant to show you his credentials or gives unsubstantiated excuses about why they can’t allow you to access their license, that’s a red flag. It may be possible that you’re dealing with a dishonest person. Additionally, if he gives you his credentials only after you’ve pressured him, do some background checks because those documents may be fake. The state’s Contractors Licensing Board can help you know if a plumber’s license is authentic.

  1. Insisting On Cash Payments

Plumbers who only insist on being paid in cash and are unwilling to give a receipt or invoice for their work may be up to something. It could be because of dodging taxes or because they are unlicensed or uninsured. They may do a perfect job, but if anything goes wrong, you’ll have difficulty getting them to account for the damage they have done or get your money back.

You also need to be careful with plumbers who ask for large upfront fees. Some may ask you to give them huge amounts of money, only disappear without a trace. Some research shows that one of the most common plumbing scams is disappearing with homeowners’ money. Before you pay 50% for the job that’s supposed to be done in your home, ensure you’ve confirmed that the plumber is genuine.

To prevent scamming, some states have laws preventing plumbers from asking more than 10% of the total fees as a deposit. It’s even better to work with plumbers who ask you to pay them when the work is completed, and you’re satisfied with it. Ensure you’re also careful about plumbers who claim they don’t have money to buy supplies because that’s one way they can cheat you.

  1. False Promises

Some homeowners don’t mind paying high prices for quality materials if they can make their plumbing to last for decades. However, few understand the types of pipes, fittings, and other high-quality plumbing materials. Because of that, some have fallen prey to the scams of dishonest plumbers.

Therefore, ensure you know how to rate the quality of the materials that are supposed to be installed in your home. It would even be better if you bought the materials on your own from a hardware or supply store. That way, you may prevent yourself from paying additional fees to dishonest plumbers.

Bottom Line

The need for more money has made some plumbers dishonest. To differentiate genuine ones from dishonest ones, you need to equip yourself with plumbing knowledge. If that’s difficult, use these tips to find the right plumber.