Just when you thought something as simple as buying a new garage door opener was simple – a girl like me comes along to smarten you up to a few ways that you can get scammed!
Scams have been around since the dawn of man (and woman)- after all, didn’t somebody scam Adam and Eve to get a mouthful of forbidden fruit? Fast forward to a few thousand years later and a declining economy, and scamming is running wilder than Hulkamania in the 80’s.
So how have the criminal masterminds of our time found a way to scam you on something as simple as a garage door opener? Let me enlighten you to 3 of the most common scams in this Geraldo Rivera type expose.
– Safety Eyes – These are the sensors that stop and reverse a garage door if a child, animal or object passes in front of them. It is critical that these are always functioning properly. When you purchase a new garage door opener, they ALWAYS come with new safety eyes. Now here’s the an attempt to save time, pocket some money and have a new item for listing on eBay, a serviceman may try leaving your existing safety eyes installed. When the job is done, make sure to inspect the work and be sure that your NEW safety eyes are in place!
– Wall Button – This is the wall control panel to open and close your garage door. Just like the safety eyes, you’ve already paid for this item. It’s part of your package deal and needs to be installed! Make sure that serviceman doesn’t try hooking up your old wall panel and pockets the new one so he can sell it later. Remember to inspect the entire job and make sure that all your new devices have been installed before you pay.
– Tax Fraud – labor for installation is NOT taxable! Garage door openers are considered a home improvement, and thus not taxable. If your technician is trying to charge you tax, he is trying to defraud you!
– I know I said three, but here’s one last thing you should keep in mind – make sure that your devices are installed properly. You don’t want your tech doing a job where he’s already setting up his next visit as a repair service call. You’re probably asking, “I don’t know the first thing about garage doors, so how would I know if it was installed correctly?” Check out this short video. Although it starts out like a commercial, it quickly shows you what you need to know to identify proper installation.
So, when the time comes to invest in a new garage door, garage door opener, or garage door repair, be sure to keep a look out for some of the most common shady tricks of the trade!
Chances are that your garage door is having problems and not working properly. If this happens what should you do? Well, you don’t have to go too far to know how to replacing them altogether. By following simple steps repair works can be done all by yourself. And if at all you feel this task is too complicated or if you feel what your are doing is too dangerous, you could always look to a service provider.
On the other hand if you decide you can do this job yourself, make sure that you are following all safety measures possible. At the end of the day, your should not get hurt at any point. The very first thing you should do is ensure that all the power supplies to your door are unplugged. This will get rid any possible danger of being electrocuted.
Next, check the metal tracks looking to see if there are any dents on them. If there are any, use a hammer to smooth and remove them. Another step in a repair will require you to check if there any loose bolts and screws that is causing the door to malfunction every now and then. Make sure that the tracks are clean as well as in alignment. If there is any faulty parts, make sure you call upon the manufacturer and get them replaced. On an occasions, you could see the appearance of gooey substance on the rails and rollers of doors. The presence of these things will make the door to get stuck while still in operative mode. Using mild soap and water should fix that problem
While you are looking into different problems related to your repair, make sure you find out what types of springs the door needs. If your door makes use of standard extension spring they can easily be repaired. However, the doors that make use of torsion spring needs a lot of your attention. This is because these springs operate under high tension and one fault of yours could lead into a mishap. It is always a good idea to get garage door service provider’s help in these cases.
If for any reason you find that your door has stopped working what you need to do is remain cool. In these situations, you either have to buy a new one or get some expert advice on it.