Victims sought in shutter scam
(CNS): The RCIPS Financial Crime Investigation Unit is appealing for people who may have been the victim of a scammer who took money from residents here for shutters and screen installation never did the work. Police said the investigation is based on complaints received of fraudulent activity, some of it going back more than four years, reported across social media platforms. The officer on the case will be looking at all of the related complaints and an investigation file will be prepared for legal ruling.
Anyone who has been a victim of this alleged fraud is asked to email
RCIPS.FCU@rcips.ky or call 949-8797.
Thanks to Cayman Marl Road for this investigation. Had she not reported him directly to the CoP and did the numerous stories he would be free to continue scamming people. Thanks Sandy – I am a victim and appreciate her assistance.
Why give money upfront? I always use use vendors who can supply the materials for the job, or I buy the materials and pay for the labour. Vendors who request money up front is always a bad sign unless they are well established commercial suppliers.
Yes totally agree !
We need Consumer Protection Laws here. Until then we will continue to be scammed of our hard earned money.
getting scammed by a scammer regarding a scam product….?
For years victims claim to have reported incidents to the police with a response from the police along the lines of “the cannot do anything. This is a civil matter.” Curious to know if that was true? And why the change of heart now?
When I read about stories like this, I wish the old-fashioned stocks and/or pillory were still in use. Nothing quite like being clamped into place to make a person regret their transgressions, I would imagine.
Particularly where our elderly are concerned. Any person who takes advantage of them are on my official shyte list.
Well, let’s just say it’s not just shutters…we need a Better Business Bureau or some other kind of online consumer advocacy group. Cayman should have a centralized consumer website where customers can recommend good operators, and shun the bad. It’s a crap shoot every time we call a household vendor to help with something. Some don’t return calls, leave messages, reliably show up, do a half-assed job, disappear, or attempt some kind of reverse billing extortion…some use a library of pre-paid just switch pay-as-you-go phone numbers, and just cycle through them. The value lost to unprofessionalism is too small for RCIPS to care about, or supervise. The CI Chamber works only for paying business owners, not Cayman’s consumers. Serial non-performance and bad behavior is rewarded with anonymity.
Yes totally agree !
We need Consumer Protection Laws here. Until then we will continue to be scammed of our hard earned money.
RCIPS reluctantly doing their sworn duty. Donut shop vs Job, Job loses in 99% of the cases.
Why would you pay up front for sonethibg that has not been done or were they askibg for a deposit up front?
I would assume that the alleged “scammer” was asking for a deposit upfront.
50% down, 50% on completion is pretty standard. What’s not standard is that each vendor in Cayman can size up their customer’s resources and attention span, and then whip up an aspirational target fee lump sum, perhaps 200% more than fair value, get paid 50% and then walk away, without fear of a bad consumer review or regulatory report. The consumer can then decide if it’s worth their time and energy to serve and drag them to court…when it’s in that sweet spot of $10k-25k, it’s often not worth the hassle. That’s the spectrum where 90% of Cayman’s con artists live, with seeming impunity.