Scammers...

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Capt Steve

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It would seem that the bigger the product scam the more heavily it is advertised. As evidence of my theory I submit Car Shield, Title Lock and now lets add Leaf Filter to the list {just to name a few}.

I was researching having the gutters replaced and some sort of leaf guard system added on my 40 year old home and through the magic of the biggest scam of all... internet adds, I get an unsolicited call from a guy wanting to sell me a Leaf filter system. Why not I thought having seen thousands of their commercials, it seemed like a decent product so I scheduled an estimate.

Now my job is about as simple as it gets, 2 gutters 70' long, one across the front and one on the rear of a single story home. A nice young man comes out, inspects the job and retreats to his truck to write up my estimate. 20 minutes later he comes in to show me a product sample and frankly I was impressed. The screen system appears to be well designed and built and it comes with what appears to be a decent warranty.

We sit down and I ask how much? I have to admit to being {unintentionally} a bit rude as I laughed in his face when he quoted me $9,000. "Nice try and have a nice day" I told him. Wait, wait, wait he pleaded". The 9 grand bid having fallen flat he went to plan "B". I made a call when I was in my truck and we can do it for $5,400 {no explanation why he started at $9K}.

I politely pointed towards the door and wished him well. "OK, I shouldn't do this but I can get you done for $4,500" was his next attempt. Now he's just cut the original bid in half with little prompting from his audience... hmmm.

I thanked him for his time and told him i still have a couple of bids coming in to review and if he could do any better to give me a call at 4 the next day. The next bid was from a local mom and pop operation with outstanding reviews and 20 years of experience. His sample product looked amazingly similar to the Leaf Filter model and also came with full warranty. He looked at my house and agreed this install was about as easy as they come and handed me a bid of $3,200. I hired him the spot and they will be out in a couple of weeks as not surprisingly they are very busy. I asked what he needed money wise to get started and he just laughed and said "nothing". You pay us when we are done and you are satisfied.

I have to wonder how many folks fall for the LF inflated line of BS and dramatically overpay but if it is just one in ten {and it probably is much
higher} this a VERY high profit product... supporting my original
hypothesis. Not surprisingly the LF guy never called back.
 
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This is timely as I have just received a quote for gutter cleaning and replacement of gutter covers. $3750.

The guys who proposed say to just remove and dispose of the gutter covers would be $165, and then clean the gutters would be another $320. (They say the covers are plastic and too brittle to reuse.)

I'm questioning whether I need the covers...
 
The first time I ran into the "Leaf Filter" scam, was at a Gun Show a few years ago. I had been thinking about some so I stopped and inquired. He wouldn't give any estimate, wouldn't even give a cost per foot. HAD to have a representative come to the house and draw up an estimate. I just told him if he wasn't willing to discuss any pricing info I wouldn't waste my or his time having him come to my house.
 
Capt Steve said:
He looked at my house and agreed this install was about as easy as they come and handed me a bid of $3,200. I hired him the spot and they will be out in a couple of weeks as not surprisingly they are very busy.
Click to expand...
WAIT!
STOP!
Pay too much!
This Acme Gutter Guards. Old Companie with big reputation. High skill Craft Man with use big knowledge with long experience!
Use BEST materiel made in USA country only.
You pay quick soon with BitCoin we do half= 1800US.
Many reference can we send you.
Guarantee Forever good for full replace:
Fire
Flood
Earthquake
Mudslide
Tornado
Hurricane
Sinkhole
War
Revolution
Drone attack
Asteroid
We work same day you pay.
Pay Quick or we get buzy and cannot do you!
Pay Now!
 
"Gee mister, are you sure? Deals like this don't last forever." Wonder what he was smoking?
 
We lived in the country on a gravel road. We put a similar leaf filter on our gutters. The problem was that dirt from the dust would wash off roof into the gutters and seeds would germinate in the gutters. Then we needed to remove the covers to clean out the gutters.
 
I bought a plastic mesh that you fold and put in the gutter at Home Depot about 3 years ago, stuff was dirt cheap!
Haven't had any problems.
I think several grand for a gutter screen is nutz!
 
I have a short section of gutter over both the front and rear doors and a longer section over my garage door. No leaf filters. It has been that way for over 30 years, and will probably stay that way for another 30 years. If it needs replacing while I am still alive, I will replace it myself. Not that big a job as I can reach all of it with a stepladder.
 
Capt Steve said:
It would seem that the bigger the product scam the more heavily it is advertised. As evidence of my theory I submit Car Shield, Title Lock and now lets add Leaf Filter to the list {just to name a few}.

I was researching having the gutters replaced and some sort of leaf guard system added on my 40 year old home and through the magic of the biggest scam of all... internet adds, I get an unsolicited call from a guy wanting to sell me a Leaf filter system. Why not I thought having seen thousands of their commercials, it seemed like a decent product so I scheduled an estimate.

Now my job is about as simple as it gets, 2 gutters 70' long, one across the front and one on the rear of a single story home. A nice young man comes out, inspects the job and retreats to his truck to write up my estimate. 20 minutes later he comes in to show me a product sample and frankly I was impressed. The screen system appears to be well designed and built and it comes with what appears to be a decent warranty.

We sit down and I ask how much? I have to admit to being {unintentionally} a bit rude as I laughed in his face when he quoted me $9,000. "Nice try and have a nice day" I told him. Wait, wait, wait he pleaded". The 9 grand bid having fallen flat he went to plan "B". I made a call when I was in my truck and we can do it for $5,400 {no explanation why he started at $9K}.

I politely pointed towards the door and wished him well. "OK, I shouldn't do this but I can get you done for $4,500" was his next attempt. Now he's just cut the original bid in half with little prompting from his audience... hmmm.

I thanked him for his time and told him i still have a couple of bids coming in to review and if he could do any better to give me a call at 4 the next day. The next bid was from a local mom and pop operation with outstanding reviews and 20 years of experience. His sample product looked amazingly similar to the Leaf Filter model and also came with full warranty. He looked at my house and agreed this install was about as easy as they come and handed me a bid of $3,200. I hired him the spot and they will be out in a couple of weeks as not surprisingly they are very busy. I asked what he needed money wise to get started and he just laughed and said "nothing". You pay us when we are done and you are satisfied.

I have to wonder how many folks fall for the LF inflated line of BS and dramatically overpay but if it is just one in ten {and it probably is much
higher} this a VERY high profit product... supporting my original
hypothesis. Not surprisingly the LF guy never called back.
Click to expand...

For less than $300.......I went to Lowes and bought enough 3 foot sections of gutter guards(leaf filters) to do the front rear and side of my single story house and easily installed the myself.............ALL LEAF FILTERS INSTALLERS ARE A SCAM.............THEIR PROFIT IS OVER 1000%.
 
Last edited:
ralph7 said:
I bought a plastic mesh that you fold and put in the gutter at Home Depot about 3 years ago, stuff was dirt cheap!
Haven't had any problems.
I think several grand for a gutter screen is nutz!
Click to expand...
I work for a funeral home and we have two homes in different towns. Needed gutter covers so one of the funeral directors who is handy went to Lows and for around $600 got enough to do a large main building and two double garages. He installed them himself in about 5 hours and they have done the job for the last 10 years. So even now anything over $1800 installed is a total rip off.
 
Mike said:
For less than $300.......I went to Lowes and bought enough 3 foot sections of gutter guards(leaf filters) to do the front rear and side of my single story house and easily installed the myself.............ALL LEAF FILTERS INSTALLERS ARE A SCAM.............THEIR PROFIT IS OVER 1000%.
Click to expand...


But you didn't have to pay for a truck, contractor's license, and indemnity insurance. Just guessing, but that sounds like a substantial amount of overhead to cover.
 
Mike said:
For less than $300.......I went to Lowes and bought enough 3 foot sections of gutter guards(leaf filters) to do the front rear and side of my single story house and easily installed the myself.............ALL LEAF FILTERS INSTALLERS ARE A SCAM.............THEIR PROFIT IS OVER 1000%.
Click to expand...
I have to agree with that. The only exception might be installation on a tall house where the gutters are very difficult to access. Years ago, I just removed the gutters on my second home so there was no need to clean them. See the following: Does Leaf Filter Gutter Guard Work? Money Pit Reviews >> The Money Pit
 
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About 15 years ago I saw the Leaf Guard cubicle at Costco. I stopped and scheduled an appointment. The guy shows up and wants us to watch a video on his laptop. I asked how long. He said it's only about 40 minutes. I told him there was no way I was wasting 40 minutes until I knew how high the bid would be. He said "How much is too high?" I told him anything over $2000 he's wasting everyone's time (We had a 4500 square foot home with lots of roof lines). He said oh no problem and turned on the video. We sat for 40 minutes and when the video ended he slid his bid sheet across the table. Over $13,000 !!!!!!!! I just pointed at the front door and said "GET OUT!"
 
My ex, who lives in a WA rain forest, recently danced this dance. The original estimate was $7K. After she laughed and told him his offer was unacceptable, he asked how much she could afford. They agreed on $1K and that she'd pay after his work was inspected by her neighbor, a building contractor.
 
handejector said:
WAIT!
STOP!
Pay too much!
This Acme Gutter Guards. Old Companie with big reputation. High skill Craft Man with use big knowledge with long experience!
Use BEST materiel made in USA country only.
You pay quick soon with BitCoin we do half= 1800US.
Many reference can we send you.
Guarantee Forever good for full replace:
Fire
Flood
Earthquake
Mudslide
Tornado
Hurricane
Sinkhole
War
Revolution
Drone attack
Asteroid
We work same day you pay.
Pay Quick or we get buzy and cannot do you!
Pay Now!
Click to expand...


And here's one of their highly trained installers:


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I was looking for some new gutter protection about three years ago. Called several contractors and got their spiel. They were all in the same range plus or minus $50. I called LF and they came out and they gave me a quote 2K more than anyone else. I liked their stuff better than others but not that much. I thanked the guy and said have a nice life. He said wait a minute and gave me a better price. Again I said no thank you. He than gave a price lower than anyone else. Two weeks ago they replaced two sections in high trash areas. They lie about not having to get on a ladder again.
 
ralph7 said:
I bought a plastic mesh that you fold and put in the gutter at Home Depot about 3 years ago, stuff was dirt cheap!
Haven't had any problems.
I think several grand for a gutter screen is nutz!
Click to expand...

Like a dollar a foot. The HD's super fancy one is like $3-$4 a foot. Seems like the labor rate to install is pretty steep.
 
As the saying goes "the best products sell them selves". If i ever had the money to build a house, the only gutters would be over the entrances. There would be extended eaves and proper ground sloping for the rest.
 
zeke said:
As the saying goes "the best products sell them selves". If i ever had the money to build a house, the only gutters would be over the entrances. There would be extended eaves and proper ground sloping for the rest.
Click to expand...

Another sometimes overlooked reason to install gutters is splashback that will stain the house.
 
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