The Carney Lifestyle Comes to Milledgeville

Man, the roofers are getting aggressive. It was noted today that more than one company is going door-to-door soliciting work for roof repair or replacement. All they ask is that you choose the color and type of shingles and "place a small deposit" of 20%. Dang! What's that...like $1500 or more? A couple of siding guys were spotted just up the road apparently waiting for their spin of the wheel.

In other news....the paintless dent guys are camping out in the parking lot next to Ruby Tuesday's. That's comforting. They pop into town outta nowhere, pitch a tent, throw up a couple of signs and want to repair the body of my car for a couple THOUSAND dollars?! I don't think so. Where are they gonna be in four months. I've had to go back to people I do business with over the years. I went back to the store where I bought a sofa because it had a torn seam and it was only three months old. Had my house painted one year ago and had to get the guys to come back because one side was fading really bad. They explained it was not fading, but wearing off because of a goof up of theirs when the painted it. What I'm saying is, I feel much better using a local provider............ESPECIALLY WHEN THE INSURANCE IS PAYING FOR IT!!

Oh, and the Hi Tech dent guys at Milledgeville Toyota and Milledgeville Chevrolet are from Russia. Yes, with accents and all. From the looks of their website, they are based out of Chicago. Hey...wasn't Al Capone from Chicago too?

Dent Tents, Hail Gypsies and People Knocking on Your Doors

Whenever there is a catastrophe, the low lifes come crawling out from their lair, looking for an opportunity to make some quick cash. This seems to be the case in Milledgeville, Macon, Gray and Dublin recently. Whether it is roofers, siding installers, carpenters, dent chasers or tree guys....the travelers are the ones causing problems.

The problems have existed for years. We have seen stories on them on shows like Dateline 20/20, 60 Minutes and 48 Hours. Consumer advocate organizations, like Consumer Reports and Clark Howard have warned folks of these scammers, but for many people, the opportunity to make or save a few dollars is too enticing. Unfortunately, most people get burned and only realized it after the "travelers" are gone. The funny thing is...the majority think they are the exception to the rule and it won't happen to them. But...it does.

Most recently, we've seen "dent tents" pop up overnight. These guys have obviously spent lots of money on their set up. Which means....they've made lots of money in the past.

http://www.greeleytrib.com/article/20080528/NEWS/637836446

http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=8333350

http://archive.seacoastonline.com/news/09242006/nhnews-24sun-hail.chasers.html

http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/il_hail_storm.html

http://www.newson6.com/Global/story.asp?S=8150632

These are a few examples of the same situation that's happening in Georgia.

Even the local body shops are in on it. They are being paid big money to allow "out of towners" to use their shop as a "front" thereby leading the public to think they are local.

Just go to the phone book or do a "Google" search for the specific service you want. Use a company that specializes in that....like roofing or paintless dent repair. Whether your in Baldwin, Bibb, Houston, Laurens, Washington, Twiggs or Johnson counties...do your homework and use local service providers.

I'll do another update this evening. In the meantime, post your comments here regarding your damage and repair experiences.