“Complaints are daily.” Scams with contractors shoot up in Lisbon and Porto and despair owners: there are those who receive the deposit and do not even start the works.
Scams with contractors are increasing, especially in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto, reported this Tuesday the ‘Correio da Manhã’: according to the National Association of homeowners (ANP), the situation has already motivated several alerts for the need for caution when moving forward with works. “The complaints are daily”, accused António Frias Marques, head of the association.
“We have cases of complaints against contractors who receive a deposit and do not even start the work and, in other cases, of companies that simply abandon the work place because they have already spent the money”, accused António Frias Marques, who was very concerned “with the difficult situation in which many owners are left”.
The increased need for interventions in buildings, due to bad weather in recent months, has led to an increase in the number of complaints. “Works are needed especially on the outside of buildings, namely on roofs, although in some cases also on the inside of homes”, indicated the official, who left several councils to avoid scams.
According to the ANP, in case of problems, owners must file a complaint in the electronic complaints book and for this collect all the necessary documentation, especially the identification data of the company in question.
They must also obtain references from other owners and define detailed specifications, which include all the work to be carried out. Also be sure to get information, with full details, from the contractor – it is not enough to have a mobile phone number. Finally, try to get three different budgets to be able to decide better.