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Irish Travelers Perpetuate a Tradition of Fraud

May 14, 2007

Around the time that schools let out, individuals known as Irish Travelers load up their pick-up trucks and take their show on the road.  Sadly, their business is not a very entertaining one and can cost you way more than a ticket to the Big Top.  These descendants of Irish immigrants live in nomadic clans and make their living by perpetrating home improvement fraud and selling substandard machinery at huge mark-ups. 

While there are several communities of Irish travelers throughout the South, the largest is an enclave located just outside North Augusta, South Carolina.  With the exception of their “marks”, Travelers have little contact with outsiders.  Generally, in the spring, they spread out throughout the eastern seaboard and beyond.

Travelers go door-to-door, often targeting the elderly.  They usually drive unmarked pick-up trucks with out-of-state plates, often from South Carolina.  They are pavers, roofers, painters, repairmen who just happen to have left-over materials from a previous job, allowing them to offer huge discounts, but only if you act now.  You will rarely receive a written contract from them, and if you do, the contact information will have only a toll-free number and a post office box, making it impossible to track down the conman when the homeowner discovers the inferior quality of the workmanship and materials. 

If you need to make home improvements, the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs offers the following guidelines:

• Ask friends, neighbors and coworkers for referrals or contact local trade organizations, such as the Home Builders Association of Georgia, to find contractors in your area.

• Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints against the business.

• Ask to see the contractor’s business license and then check with the county or city business license department to make sure it is valid.

• Ask for references of customers who had projects similar to yours.  Contact each reference and inspect the work if possible.

• Get written estimates from several companies for identical project specifications.

• Always insist on a contract for work to be performed, with all guarantees, warranties and promises in writing.  Agree on start and completion dates and have them written into the contract.

• Make sure contractor gets a building permit, and that he does so under his name or the name of his business.

• Ask to see proof of insurance (personal liability, workers’ compensation and property damage).

• Consider setting payment terms in conjunction with completed stages of the job.

• When the job is done, make sure it matches the terms of the contract.

• Do not pay for any work that is incomplete.

For more information, contact the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs.