Lake Tahoe woman scammed out of $3,500 by shady repair crew, police warn

South Lake Tahoe, Cal. (News 4 & Fox 11) — South Lake Tahoe Police are warning about car repair people who come to your house. One woman said three men took thousands of dollars from her and didn't do the work she paid for.

Connie Clark had a damaged SUV sitting in her driveway one day in May when three men approached her at home and offered to fix her damage. The front and back passenger side of the 2016 Subaru Forester were damaged.

Clark said one man who said his name was Thomas quoted her $2,500 for the entire project.

"And and he would lose money on the deal. But that was okay with him because he was trying to get a foothold in Tahoe, and he wanted some good publicity," Clark said.

She said a repair shop quoted Clark $12,000, so this was a big discount.

The same day the men gave Clark a quote, the crew went to work on the damage. Thomas said he had a repair shop in Sparks and showed her several photos of repair work that they said they completed.

Clark said that cheap price quickly increased as the men started working. They asked for another $1,000 to finish the job and when they say the pearl paint was more than they expected. One of the men actually drove Clark to the bank.

"I went to the bank to get more money because it was pearl and he hadn't quoted pearl," Clark said.

Thomas told Clark that he'd be back in two weeks to paint the car. She's still waiting and the man won't call her back. It's been two months.

Clark is out $3,500 and is left with a shoddy repair job. There's caked on material, drips run off the repair work and the fixes are uneven and far from perfect. The back panel is held on by a zip-tie, which Clark said will likely break in the freezing Tahoe winter.

Thomas gave Clark a hand-written receipt that says the job is "not perfect."

South Lake Tahoe Police say in cases like this, people should file a police report. It helps detectives track possible trends and crack down.

"This type of scams. The first time I've heard something like this. But we do get other types of scams, especially towards the elderly," said Lt. Scott Crivelli with South Lake Tahoe Police.

Lt. Crivelli said people should be cautious of people who go door-to-door offering car repair work.

"The normal thing people do is to take their car to an actual body shop, like a brick and mortar. I would be I would be wary of any type of mobile dent repair," he said.

In text messages, the number Clark had for Thomas, the repair man said he quoted Clark $3,500 but that did not include the paint. That's something that Clark disagrees with.

"LMFAO. It's $$$$$ to paint a car. not for $3500," the man said in a text. "I told the lady no paint."

The man's cell phone number has now been disconnected.

"He's a conman. He's a liar. He's an a** hole," Clark said.

Police say you should check for a city business license, look for reviews online before hiring anyone and be cautious about hiring people who show up unannounced.