Don’t you just hate scammers?
We’ve heard stories of how people got scammed, and it is pretty sneaky how others do it.
Most of them often pose like they’re professionals or legitimate businesses that are believable; you would hardly think twice about them.
It’s only when you have already paid upfront that they go MIA and leave you feeling deceived and heartbroken.
This is how one disabled veteran felt when he got ripped off by a contractor.
John Frank saw an ad for a landscape contractor, and it was the perfect service he needed.
John is a retired and disabled veteran who badly needed someone to do his yard for him.
He contacted someone named Anthony Martinez and started ironing the deal.
Anthony offered him a contract for a landscaping service that not only included cleaning and fixing his yard, but also introduced a new way of landscaping them that would make it easier to maintain.
That sounds like a good deal, right?
Here’s what made the deal even sweeter.
The deal only cost $5,620 for both the front and backyard, and Frank was so sold on the deal that he agreed to pay $4,650 upfront.
The contract also states that Anthony and his team would start working on it on August 12, but almost a month has passed, and not a single crew member arrived at Frank’s home to work on his yard.
“I feel that I got ripped off. He took advantage of a disabled person,” John Frank told FOX31.
Frank said he couldn’t reach Anthony Martinez – not through phone or email.
FOX31’s ‘The Problem Solvers’ helped him sort things out, and as they checked the business address in the contract both parties signed, it did not even exist.
There were other red flags evident in the contract.
There were inconsistencies written on it, the project cost was so cheap that it seemed too good to be true (because it was), and there were typographical and grammar errors.
These are little things that a professional contractor wouldn’t do.
Frank still needed to get his landscaping done, but he wouldn’t be able to afford it.
The Problem Solvers put out a call for help in tracing the scammer, but they didn’t expect what help would come to them.
Another contractor offered to do Frank’s yard free of charge!
True to their name, Neighbor Lawn Care did what any good neighbor would.
Owner Hector Alderete extended his company’s services to help Frank.
His men also offered their time to help work on the yard, including leveling the ground, removing tree stumps, installing fabric, and finishing with 50 tons of rock.
They also offered to return to Frank’s home during the summer so they could maintain his yard.
This project cost is estimated to be around $17,000, but Frank never had to spend a penny.
“It was more about his story; it just touched my heart, and I felt like doing it. It was nothing about the money,” said Hector told FOX31.
On the other hand, Frank still has hope for the good of others.
“We need to hear the positive, make people know there’s hope that good things can happen,” he said.
Watch the video below to see more on this heartwarming story!
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