[TVMayor]

Lady Lake police on the lookout for man accused of stealing from seniors

By Erica Rodriguez, Orlando Sentinel

2:42 p.m. EDT, April 2, 2013

Lady Lake police are on the lookout for a man they believe is scheming to steal from seniors.

Detectives issued a warrant for Preston Greenlee, 42, who they believe is likely in The Villages area looking for more victims.

Police say Greenlee usually approaches seniors while they are in their yard and asks them if they need their driveway painted or repaired. When the victim agrees to the terms of work he writes the deal on a generic form and collects a deposit. Usually, a few days later he returns to the homeowner and requests a second check to pay for materials to do the job. In most cases, however, he never returns to do the work. Police say Greenlee also goes by the name Wade Garrett and has used the same scheme in Marion and Sumter counties.

Lady Lake wanted: Lady Lake police on the lookout for man accused of stealing from seniors - OrlandoSentinel.com

[Ohio RailGirl]

Originally Posted by TVMayor

Lady Lake wanted: Lady Lake police on the lookout for man accused of stealing from seniors - OrlandoSentinel.com

Seniors vs. Crime has a large file on his brother Roger Greenlee, who has been scamming new Villages homeowners for several years now with the same scheme, driveway painting. A number of Villagers have filed complaints against Roger.

[TVMayor]

Originally Posted by Ohio RailGirl

Seniors vs. Crime has a large file on his brother Roger Greenlee, who has been scamming new Villages homeowners for several years now with the same scheme, driveway painting. A number of Villagers have filed complaints against Roger.

How does he manage to get away with it for several years?

[Ohio RailGirl]

Originally Posted by TVMayor

How does he manage to get away with it for several years?

I wish I knew that answer.

[JourneyOfLife]

I rarely, if ever, pay any sort of deposit upfront for work to be done on my home. This includes big jobs. Although the agreement for large jobs may include a clause for payment at certain stages of completion.

Is that typical in TV... for home repair and maintenance companies to ask for pre-payment?

[tommy steam]

Originally Posted by TVMayor

Lady Lake wanted: Lady Lake police on the lookout for man accused of stealing from seniors - OrlandoSentinel.com

I have an idea. Why can't the villages radio station have public service announcements reminding people who live here not to do business with strangers knocking on their front doors?

[tommy steam]

Originally Posted by JourneyOfLife

I rarely, if ever, pay any sort of deposit upfront for work to be done on my home. This includes big jobs. Although the agreement for large jobs may include a clause for payment at certain stages of completion.

Is that typical in TV... for home repair and maintenance companies to ask for pre-payment?

Don't know if its typical but there have been many posts on here of folks who have paid up front,and not with good results.

[KennyC]

Originally Posted by JourneyOfLife

I rarely, if ever, pay any sort of deposit upfront for work to be done on my home. This includes big jobs. Although the agreement for large jobs may include a clause for payment at certain stages of completion.

Is that typical in TV... for home repair and maintenance companies to ask for pre-payment?

I think that is not a rational way to look at it, with all do respect.
I am a Painting Contractor, and I always receive a deposit to schedule work.
Without a deposit, I could go out and buy tinted, NON returnable paint, send a crew to the home, and ? What if they found someone "cheaper" and "forgot" to tell me? Forgot the appointment? Or worst case, just decide not to pay...it happens.
I am now out the cost of product, man hours, fuel. etc....

Now, BEFORE everyone jumps all over me, I do NOT approach people to do work for them. They contact me, at my business phone, and are usually referred by a satisfied friend or family member.

In the contractor world, we call these door knockers "gypsies"
It is common here with "college" painting companies, and asphalt (driveway) coatings.

I agree, NEVER hire anyone on the spot that is door knocking for business!

[Bryan]

In response to Journey Of Life, way too many Villagers DO pay in advance when there is no need to do so. It is quite common in lawn services because they offer a discount for payment in advance or payment in cash. Of course if you pay for a year of yard cutting in advance, get your 10% discount, and then get only three or four 'cuts', how did that great discount work out for you? Paying in advance for things like driveway coatings, house or driveway power washing, etc., is just asking for trouble. Have them do the work, look it over carefully to make sure you are satisfied, and then pay for the work that was done. Run away from any company that can't live with that payment schedule.

In response to Kenny C, I agree that special order materials (like paint mixed to homeowner specs or driveway pavers with homeowner initials on them) should be paid for in advance (materials only, not the entire job) because the contractor cannot, in all likelihood, resell the materials if the job falls through. However, if they were ordering a standard color of paint or 'off the shelf' pavers or similar materials, I would not pay anything in advance. For larger jobs, I can certainly see that 'milestone' or 'progress' payments may be appropriate.

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by KennyC

I think that is not a rational way to look at it, with all do respect.
I am a Painting Contractor, and I always receive a deposit to schedule work.
Without a deposit, I could go out and buy tinted, NON returnable paint, send a crew to the home, and ? What if they found someone "cheaper" and "forgot" to tell me? Forgot the appointment? Or worst case, just decide not to pay...it happens.
I am now out the cost of product, man hours, fuel. etc....

Now, BEFORE everyone jumps all over me, I do NOT approach people to do work for them. They contact me, at my business phone, and are usually referred by a satisfied friend or family member.

In the contractor world, we call these door knockers "gypsies"
It is common here with "college" painting companies, and asphalt (driveway) coatings.

I agree, NEVER hire anyone on the spot that is door knocking for business!

With regard to the "gypsies" you mention, we have the same thing up north with the "tree guys" who will drive around neighborhoods and then ring your doorbell to tell you that your tree needs to come down.......drill a hole into the tree and tell you that something is eating away at it (duh, sawdust).........some trusting folks fall for it and what a mess these "tree surgeons" do make...........while most know to just use their regular guys whom they've known since childhood, along with their families.

Thanks for the advice. Many posters on Talk of the Villages have listed all of the various contractors and landscapers, etc., etc. that they have had good results with.

Stay away from the ones who ring your doorbell looking for work, would be my advice, no matter where you live.................

Stick with ones your neighbors have used and that you can literally SEE the results.

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by JourneyOfLife

I rarely, if ever, pay any sort of deposit upfront for work to be done on my home. This includes big jobs. Although the agreement for large jobs may include a clause for payment at certain stages of completion.

Is that typical in TV... for home repair and maintenance companies to ask for pre-payment?

It does sound like it is typical. One fellow explained that if he has to order specialty items for the job......and then they neglect to tell him they are going with someone else........he's stuck with the "stuff" for their job.

I can see both sides of this story.

Up here, in all our 43 years, we have NEVER signed a contract nor paid in advance for any work done..........but that's just how Vermont is. You know your contractors, in all the trades.

Even in my husband's store, he never asked for a deposit or had anyone sign a contract prior to his working on their diamond rings, jewelry, watches or making a custom design piece for which he had to supply diamonds, precious gemstones, gold, platinum or silver, or whatever..........just the way it's done.

Only once did he get a diamond selection in, when one young fellow wanted "conflict free diamonds" and then the young man didn't want to pay the price.........he actually never showed up to even look at them.

So, some customers are just "talkers" and not serious. He later sent a letter explaining his problem.

Trust is very important in a merchant vs. customer relationship, both ways...........or contractor vs. home owner customer...........

We've had major projects done and always were happy with the outcome.
Never gave money up front........as they never asked and even when my husband would offer......they would say, "NO. When the job is done."

Just the way Vermont is.

We did live in Florida and totally remodeled our condo.......with local contractors. It came out great.......all of the tile guys, plumbers, bathroom guys, electricians, carpet guys, painters, etc., etc. were great..........only at the end did we find out the kitchen remodelers had a "lien" on their business and that "lien" was transferred to our condo which we were trying to re sell..........luckily, it all worked out as they came up with the money to pay their creditors...........but it was hairy for awhile. Just a Florida experience.......which we will keep in mind for our future.

[JourneyOfLife]

Originally Posted by KennyC

I think that is not a rational way to look at it, with all do respect.
I am a Painting Contractor, and I always receive a deposit to schedule work.
Without a deposit, I could go out and buy tinted, NON returnable paint, send a crew to the home, and ? What if they found someone "cheaper" and "forgot" to tell me? Forgot the appointment? Or worst case, just decide not to pay...it happens.
I am now out the cost of product, man hours, fuel. etc....

Now, BEFORE everyone jumps all over me, I do NOT approach people to do work for them. They contact me, at my business phone, and are usually referred by a satisfied friend or family member.

In the contractor world, we call these door knockers "gypsies"
It is common here with "college" painting companies, and asphalt (driveway) coatings.

I agree, NEVER hire anyone on the spot that is door knocking for business!

I can understand the concern of a contractor about getting burned.

Do you accept a credit card for those sorts of deposits?

Do you carry a performance bond?

[JourneyOfLife]

Originally Posted by Bryan

In response to Journey Of Life, way too many Villagers DO pay in advance when there is no need to do so. It is quite common in lawn services because they offer a discount for payment in advance or payment in cash. Of course if you pay for a year of yard cutting in advance, get your 10% discount, and then get only three or four 'cuts', how did that great discount work out for you? Paying in advance for things like driveway coatings, house or driveway power washing, etc., is just asking for trouble. Have them do the work, look it over carefully to make sure you are satisfied, and then pay for the work that was done. Run away from any company that can't live with that payment schedule.

In response to Kenny C, I agree that special order materials (like paint mixed to homeowner specs or driveway pavers with homeowner initials on them) should be paid for in advance (materials only, not the entire job) because the contractor cannot, in all likelihood, resell the materials if the job falls through. However, if they were ordering a standard color of paint or 'off the shelf' pavers or similar materials, I would not pay anything in advance. For larger jobs, I can certainly see that 'milestone' or 'progress' payments may be appropriate.

I would not be inclined to pay in advance.... for the obvious reason. Not just the problem of not receiving the work.... but the leverage if the work was done poorly.

But, there could be special circumstances where something needs to be ordered to spec and manufactured and the contractor requests a deposit for materials. For special materials, if that was a deal breaker, and I knew the contractor or knew they had a good reputation, and that contractor was the best for the job (no easy replacement contractor)... I might be inclined to pay the deposit, but, I would want to pay the deposit using a credit card.

I just had a small job done for about $3k where material had to be purchased ahead of time.... I didn't pay a cent for a deposit! I signed a contract and paid promptly when it was completed.