Jim WinsettQ: It’s that time of the year to gear up for the cold weather ahead. Does the BBB have tips for choosing a business that provides chimney sweep services?
A: With the chilly weather fast approaching, many consumers are anticipating a toasty fire by the fireplace and looking to have their chimneys cleaned in preparation. However, Better Business Bureau is advising consumers to know which businesses to trust and which to avoid, preventing their hard-earned dollars from going up in smoke.
In 2012, BBB across the United States had 547 complaints against chimney cleaners, and so far there have been 292 complaints filed this year.
Chimney sweeping is not something that homeowners deal with often, so we may lack knowledge of the cleaning process. In turn, many scammers take advantage of this and do shoddy work or no work at all.
In some cases, consumers have reported calls stating the town fire department recommends the resident’s chimney be cleaned. The calls go on to recommend a particular chimney sweep and endorse its services on behalf of the fire department. Although town fire departments do recommend having chimneys cleaned on an annual basis, they do not endorse any particular company or inspect chimneys. Many scam artists are targeting the elderly, making vague, unclear phone calls claiming they have done business in the past and it is time for their annual sweep.