Back in 2002, Dateline NBC focused their investigative talents on a large garage door repair company that was scamming clients all over the country for thousands of dollars. Through hundreds of name changes to avoid the ongoing bad publicity, somehow this company still exists and continues to rip off hardworking Americans who need help with their garage door issues.

With a focus on upselling and overselling, they feed innumerable “local” service phone numbers to a call center in Dallas, TX where they reward their phone support people for pulling the wool over customers’ eyes, penalizing them for honesty. Right about now you’re probably thinking, “Yikes! How do I avoid such a company, especially when their name is always changing!?”

With a little bit of due diligence, you can avoid falling prey to a scam artist. Here are some tips to employ:

• Local: Make sure that you are using a company with a clearly local presence. Check out their physical location if it helps you to be sure.
• Longevity: How long has the company been in business? If it’s only a year or two, you may need to fall back on some of these other tips to verify whether or not the company is legitimate.
• Reputation: These days, most company reviews are but a few clicks away on the Internet. Before you hire someone, be sure to search for reviews and testimonials online.
• Recommendations: Have any of your trusted friends, family, neighbors or local businesses had a garage door repair recently? Who did they use and what was the cost? Did they have a good experience?
• Get a Second Opinion: It never hurts to get quotes from more than one company. If your quotes fall in about the same range, you can choose the company that feels best to you in terms of professionalism and customer service. If one quote far exceeds the other, you have reason to call the higher quote into question.

Above all, trust your gut! If something feels fishy, it probably is. Make sure that anyone you are inviting to your home or business and investing your hard-earned money with deserves your trust. The tips listed above are a great place to start.