Too good to be true?

THE air-conditioner was meant to be installed before Svetla Nikolova’s 60th birthday.
She and her retired husband had been saving for months to replace their ageing home-cooling system. Then out of the blue on October 6, a tradesman arrived at her door saying he noticed her air-con looked rundown.
In several more visits, he produced a photocopy of a replacement at a “very cheap” $2300.
“It’s cheaper putting it in now than in the summer,” he said.
He required $1700 cash up-front. Ms Nikolova stumped up the cash the next day on October 15, the tradie provided her a receipt, name and phone number.
He’d promised to install the air-conditioner in early November. There’s been no sign of him or the cooling system since.
“I rang him to say what happened… he’d say it’s raining… he’d come in a couple of days… he’s very busy,” Ms Nikolova said.
Unbeknown to her, the tradie had already been prosecuted by Consumer Affairs Victoria for dishonest trading leading to fines and jail time.
A spokesman said the agency can prosecute a trader when “the volume of complaints suggest systemic issues”.
To report a scam go to consumer.vic.gov.au or call 1300 55 81 81.