"The check was not filled in"

?????????? why not???????? was he asked not to fill it in?

It was not filled in because he is an 86 year old man with shaky hands. He signed his name (barely) and then trusted the individuals would be honest enough to fill out the amount which they quoted him.

It was not filled in because he is an 86 year old man with shaky hands. He signed his name (barely) and then trusted the individuals would be honest enough to fill out the amount which they quoted him.

Sounds like the same guy who was well known in Quesnel, and then went to the coast, and back into the Cariboo to Prince George. He fleeced people in Prince George years ago also. About 50 years of age??? Had a lot of charges after fleecing people on e Bay, but avoided any type of sentencing. Just the type that always seems to get off for some unknown reason.
Never goes anywhere without his "cleaning" machine, as it has probably been the most profitable piece of equipment he has ever owned!!!
Very personable type-but what con man isn't???

Thanks for that Amy.

I am wondering who it is best to warn in cases such as this.

The way I see it is that a scam could be at various levels in such cases of providing services at home.

1. Was the carpet actually cleaned?

If not, that is a scam.

or

1. Did the carpet actually need cleaning or was this a "pressure" sale?

That may be a scam, depending how the "pressure" was exerted. If it involved cleaning a test section and showing the dirt, and that "test" was itself false or a fraud, then it would be a scam. If not, it was simply high pressure salesmanship which is not against the law.

or

1. If it was cleaned, was it cleaned to a reasonable standard?
2. If so, was the "quoted" charge competitive with others who provide such services?

That is not necessarily a scam. It would simply be shoddy workmanship or overpriced work, which is a completely different mattter.

As far as filling out the blank cheque to an amount greater than was agreed to that was simple breach of contract. There was a verbal agreement to pay a certain amount. A greater payment was taken against the wishes and without the knowledge of the "client", so there was a breach of contract which was tantamount to robbery.

So who is this person? Can the name or various aliases not be made public for fear of liability? Certainly not if the information was provided by police.

There are scams, poor business practices, shoddy work, etc. etc. occuring each day. Simplest way to avoid such things as this particular one, for instance, is to automatically reject door to door sales as well as cold call telephone sales or anything like that. It seemsd to me that if one needed something, one would be best advised to "shop" on your own or with the help of someone else. I think that advice would be good advice for people of any age and any level of self reliance.

Sort of the same advice one gives to small children - don't talk to strangeres. Surely that is the key message and, until one has some more detailed information to share about particular scam artists and the nature of the scams, (does this person only get involved if he/she can procur a blank check? or what are the other variants of their scam they will conduct?) that generic advice is the best available, I believe.

BTW, it seems to me that this person is taking a risk cashing a cheque such as that.

Gee, and what would that risk be???
Not in my world would there be any risk!
Signed by the account holder, dated, filled in properly--what risk?
Sure-the carpet would have been cleaned.
So what if it was a so called "pressure" sale?
Who determines the reasonable standard?
Not everyone gets numerous quotes!
You must have been terribly bored, Owl, to initiate such a posting.
Absolutely valueless.
The party I am thinking of has been a scammer for years, and a charming one at that.
He lies, cheats, and steals-and has managed to stay out of jail - but I suppose that is not too great an accomplishment in this day and age.
He concentrated on the elderly in Quesnel when he resided there. Knows the ropes!