Victim Location 19382
Total money lost $175
Type of a scam Other
We had close to 3 feet of snow in west chester, pa and no way to remove it. We had 2 cars stuck in the garage and needed our driveway plowed. I searched "residential snow plow service in west chester" and left a message for about 4 or 5 listed businesses. I received a call back for someone saying there cell was hooked up to one of the businesses I called. They asked if I needed snow removal and told me that due to the "heavy" snow, a lot of businesses had broken plows and he would be happy to plow our driveway and shovel if needed. I gave him my address and he said it would be 4 to 5 hours due to how busy he was. He asked for a credit card number…I originally said I do not like to give over the phone and offered a check when he got here, but he insisted that the only way to hold our spot is to give a card #. I would never normally do this, but we were desperate to get our cars out. Around 2 o’clock, no one had come, so I called the cell # back. I was told their "snow plow guy" already completed our driveway. When I said it wasn’t done, they said they would contact him and he probably went to the wrong house. Around 3:30 I called again, they said he kept saying he already did our house. I told the guy I would take a picture of our driveway and text it, but he said he would complete the job himself. Obviously he never came. I called my husband and when he called the cell number it was a magazine publication line. I also left another message. I checked my checking account and they billed our credit card $175.00. I called our bank immediately to stop payment and also filed a claim and had to cancel my bank card. This obviously has caused major inconvenience. I googled the publication company and found the same cell number on the website that called me for snow removal. I’m hoping that the business will not receive any money even though I will not be held responsible for it.