Joanne Baptiste claims 3 young males just lately came to the door of her Ottawa residence, declaring they ended up with Dawn Roofing doing unexpected emergency repairs down the street and recognized issues on her roof.
“They went up on the roof and arrived back with their cell with images of weakened boards and said if I did not get it done I’d have water filtration,” Baptiste mentioned. “They had been looking to do the occupation for $1,500.”
Baptiste was suspicious, so she appeared up the enterprise name and named the proprietor, Bill Onion. His solution confirmed her fears.
“These men and women are posing as me and my company,” Onion informed CTV News Ottawa. “I don’t have men who get the job done in the wintertime.”
Onion’s corporation is based out of Franktown, about an hour outdoors of Ottawa. When Baptiste managed to dodge this rip-off, some others in the place weren’t so lucky.
A person resident in Aged Ottawa South suggests staff knocked on his doorway and supplied to have a seem and fix it on the location. He paid out $2,500 in income.
That proprietor, who declined an on-digicam job interview, says he identified as Onion after looking up the enterprise title on line.
“A few calls in one day,” Onion stated. “Individuals are the phone calls I received. How many individuals obtained ripped off and didn’t call me?”
A nearer look at the receipt, the address on the roofing deal is from a separate business in Toronto. That company suggests they’ve been possessing problems.
“We are conscious of the challenge that there are men and women portraying on their own as remaining from our corporation, that are not and we are encouraging persons to call law enforcement if they run in speak to with these folks,” reported Brian Salveira, the VP of Dawn Roofing Contractors in Toronto.
Baptiste claims she’s filed a report with law enforcement and is waiting to hear again. Meanwhile, Onion states householders require to do their research, question for references from their former clients and be cautious of people on the lookout for fast payment.
“If they inquire for cash right before any get the job done takes area, you’re about to be scammed,” he said.