HOT PURSUIT
Chris Behne of Prime Garage Door & More in Owatonna called me one recent afternoon in a panic.
It seems homeowners, especially the elderly, are getting scammed for work on their garage doors that they don’t need.
I immediately could relate to what he was talking about. Earlier this year, my mother fell victim to such a scam in another area of the state. While it was disturbing for me to find out about it after the fact, imagine what it was like for mom when she found out she had been scammed.
Behne, who is furious that this predatory behavior has arrived in our backyard, shared that these scams used to be rare. Over the past few months, however, his office has been made aware of at least one or two every week. And those are only the ones that get reported.
The scheme usually begins when an unsuspecting homeowner googles the internet for emergency garage door repairs. Lead-generation outfits pay top dollar to push bogus companies to the very top of the search results. They show up, perform minimal work or completely unnecessary work, and walk away with thousands of dollars in their pockets.
The price gouging is jaw-dropping as I found out in my mom’s situation. For a basic repair like a broken spring or an opener glitch—projects that should cost around $300 at most—these illegitimate companies charge anywhere from $3,000 to $4,000.
In another egregious example, Behne discovered a victim who was charged $2,100 to replace a torsion tube, the shaft that holds the garage door springs, that did not need to be replaced. What normally would be a $210 project stung a victim for $2,100. “I’ve only done three of them in 10 years,” he noted.
Similarly, while a brand-new garage door opener generally runs about $800, scammers routinely hit victims with $3,000 bills.
“They are targeting this area, especially the elderly,” Behne said. “They intimidate people into paying them on the spot. They will not leave without getting paid. If the price seems outrageous, something is wrong.”
What infuriates Behne most is how these scam artists prey on seniors who may not know the going mechanical rates. “It’s almost like they adjust to the age of the person where they claim everything is bad with the door,” he said.
In some instances, Behne said, the scammers go door-to-door trying to solicit business. Behne reminds residents that reputable garage companies do not go door-to-door. Furthermore, the scammers typically show up in unmarked trucks. In contrast, legitimate companies like Behne’s Prime Garage use fully wrapped vehicles that clearly identify their business.
Behne said in most cases police can’t do anything about it because it’s considered a legitimate transaction that the victim agreed upon. “There is no recourse if you agree to it,” he said.
He recommends anyone who experiences trouble with their garage door to make sure they are dealing with a local company.
By the time I was done interviewing Behne, his office staff alerted him to two additional scams that they had been made aware of.
“It’s sad,” Behne said.
It is more than sad; it’s unconscionable. Hopefully, a dose of public education will stifle these bad actors and send them in hot pursuit of finding a legitimate way of making a living.