Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Marshal says call before paying in yard work scam with seniors

Marshal Don Childres said there have been three instances in the past month where older citizens in Gurdon have been intimidated into paying too much money for yard work.

"All three times, there have been cases where someone did about $30 in work and then demanded something like $200," Childres said. "We want to stress that if you are having someone do some work, and you do not know the person very well, let us help you close the deal. An officer would be more than glad to come out when the person is asking for the work and just make sure they are legitimate. Plus, we can check to see if they will charge you a reasonable price."

According to Childres, the workers in question have been telling the older people they had a small amount of work to do, doing it and then changing the price. Or else the people did not do anything but the older person felt obligated to pay them what they asked because of being afraid.

"We can help you if we are called before this happens," Childres said. "But once they have their money and are gone, it is just about too late to do anything about it. Call us. It is no bother. We want you to call so we have a chance to help in this problem."

Childres said to call 353-2211 if you suspect this problem may occur.