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Attending a local home show or home and garden expo can provide a one-stop opportunity to gather ideas and meet with potential contractors to hire. The Better Business Bureau is reminding consumers of the importance of doing their homework before making a financial and contractual commitment.
When attending a home show and making plans to hire a home improvement contractor this spring, BBB offers the following tips:
- Familiarize yourself with the show's layout. Visit the show's website in advance and locate appealing vendors. Check for discounts and coupons being offered and research vendors on BBB.org. Look for the seal of BBB Accreditation being displayed in booths of BBB Accredited Businesses, as these companies meet and uphold BBB Standards for Trust.
- Be prepared. Develop a list of questions for potential contractors so that you don't overlook something, as it is easy to become distracted at a show.
- Comparison shop. Collect information, and marketing materials, and ask questions. Engage with booth owners, obtain specifics on pricing and services and have a clear understanding of company policies and warranties. Consider creating a separate email address specifically for show correspondence to avoid overloading your personal email account. Before signing up for drawings, contests or services, find out how your contact information will be used and carefully review privacy policies. Beware: direct mail, email offers and telemarketing phone calls may increase. Make sure you aren’t authorizing your information to be sold to third-party marketers.
- Stay on budget. Recognize and keep to your budget while maintaining clear goals to avoid being pressured into making an impulse commitment on the spot. Avoid impulse spending and stick with goals. Steer clear of high-pressure sales tactics. Do not feel pressured to buy expensive items or services right away, as returns and refunds can be challenging.
- Be careful when paying. Save receipts and other purchase paperwork. Pay for expensive merchandise with credit cards; monitor accounts in case unauthorized charges need to be contested.
- Verify license and insurance. Always be sure that the company you decide to work with has the necessary licenses and insurance to work in your state or province.
- Avoid paying in full for large projects. BBB recommends limiting a deposit to no more than one-third of the total cost of the project and setting up a schedule of payments based on the job's overall progress. Get all details of the project in writing in the form of a contract and request a receipt that properly accounts for any paid amounts.
- Recognize your rights.
- In the U.S., under the Federal Trade Commission's Cooling-Off Rule, contracts for goods or services in excess of $130 that are entered into at a seller's temporary location, can be canceled within three business days following the date of the contract. By law, the seller must tell you about your right to cancel at the time of sale. The seller also must give you two copies of a cancellation form (one to keep and one to send if you decide to cancel).
- In Canada, the application of cooling-off (or automatic cancellation) laws, and the periods for which they are in effect, vary by province/territory. These laws are often applied to certain types of contracts, such as for credit, dating clubs, health clubs, funeral and cemetery services, time-shares, condominiums, natural gas, electricity and door-to-door sales. The cooling-off period is valid whether the company tells you about it or not. To find out more about the cooling-off period and for which types of contracts they apply, contact your Provincial or Territorial Consumer Affairs Office.
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The BBB of Western Pennsylvania contributed to this article.