Mold growing in the walls of houses, schools, and office buildings can cause health problems to the people living or working inside. In the last few years, as public awareness of the problem has grown, fueled in part by scary media stories of "toxic mold" and "black mold," there has been a dramatic increase in the number of people filing insurance claims or lawsuits for toxic mold problems, and an accompanying increase in the need for mold testers and removers.
The rapid increase in the mold testing and removal business has created an opportunity for unscrupulous companies to thrive. The environment for scammers has been especially fertile because until recently the mold business was completely unregulated, with no mandatory licensing requirements and no mandatory standards for mold testing and removal work. Recently, several states have instituted licensing requirements, but not all states have. There is also a conflict-of-interest problem when companies are allowed to both inspect properties for mold and do the work to remove the mold from the same properties. Some states have started cracking down on the conflict-of-interest problem but, as with instituting licensing requirements, not all states have.
Some of the scams involve dishonest testing. An unscrupulous company will fudge its testing data and exaggerate the mold problem that exists, thus being able to charge more for the mold removal work that they themselves will later do. One reported example involved a tester who was certified by a mold tester's organization -- so, unfortunately, it appears that voluntary certification, even by a reputable certifying organization, is no guarantee for the consumer.
Other scams involve dishonest removal work, where a company claims to be using one chemical or method, but instead uses another that is less effective or not effective at all -- or they may charge for work that they simply didn't do or materials that they didn't use. For example, dishonest mold-abatement companies may charge homeowners for installing filters that they didn't, in fact, install.
Often, scammers will be dishonest in both phases of the work. In one case involving mold removal from a high school, the company hired by the school district created false lab reports in the testing phase, and then used homemade, apparently ineffective chemicals in the removal phase, while falsely claiming to use a product that had been approved by the EPA -- leaving parents worried that their children would be returning to school in a building still unhealthily contaminated by mold.
There are also scams aimed directly at insurance companies. A few years ago in Texas, a group of crooks bought several houses for the sole purpose of pulling a toxic-mold scam. They insured the houses, and then, while they pretended to be away for a weekend, they flooded the houses. Then they filed claims with their insurance companies for toxic mold damage -- to the tune of five million dollars!
WHAT YOU CAN DO
-- Be wary of aggressive salespeople who use high-pressure tactics, who try to scare you by saying you have to get the work done immediately or you will suffer horrible health consequences.
-- Don't believe anyone who tells you that their company is the only one qualified to do the work.
-- Ask for a "reliability report" from the Better Business Bureau.
