Friday, April 26, 2019

Advisory: Request to Paint House Numbers on Your Curb May be a Scam

Today you notice a note or envelope on your door telling you your curb is going to be painted. There may be language that makes it appear to be sent from LA Co. Public works. All you have to do is fork over a $20 donation.

Residents could feel pressured into putting money on the front door, which is obviously not safe anyway.

Is it a scam? Maybe. Do you have to comply? ABSOLUTELY NOT!!

In Los Angeles County the painter has to get prior approval for any literature they plan to hand out and obtain a permit to solicit door to door in L.A. County. Ask where the money is going. If it’s for charity, they’re required to have information about the organization and in most cases their non-profit information.

The person will need to have your approval before doing any work on your property. If you ignore them / don’t respond and they paint your curb with shiny new numbers, that is 100% on them. YOU OWE THEM NOTHING.

If they give you a hard time or deface the curb because you won’t hand over any cash, report them to the Better Business Bureau or the phone number on the flyer!

https://www.bbb.org/consumer-complaints/file-a-complaint/get-started

Curb painting is not always a scam, but if you did not ask for your curb to be painted and they did it anyways, you do not need to pay them anything. If someone approaches you and ask for money because they already painted your house numbers on the curb, politely close the door. If they ask you first and you reach an agreement on a fair price, that’s a different.