We do have to be cautious when making major purchases (unless we have money to throw out the window), or hiring repairmen, etc. We are older and wiser now, and realistically, over the past few decades, the amount of scammers and con artists have increased greatly. Many times they prey on the elderly, luckily most of us are wise enough not to fall for a snow job.
Like Bullie, I'll research stuff online for any purchase I'm thinking of making, regardless of the cost. But, I consider that the reviews are many times exaggerated by the happy or unhappy customer, and not true to the word. Also, many reviews are completely false, and made by people who never even used the product.
If I'm considering some work on the house, or tree-trimming, etc., I will look at the company's website, and the BBB to see what I can see. But again, their ratings are just worth so much, many times it's not because no customers had problems with them, but how they dealt with the complaint. We always need to use our own judgment on whether we even want to deal with a company that's had so many issues, whether resolved or not.
None of us can predict the future, so we can't tell if we made a wrong decision until we use the service/product. It's very wise to agonize a bit IMO, and watch our own backs as far as paying for things in advance, etc. I don't hire anyone who knocks on my front door either, they usually are scammers who skip town after you pay to have you "roof fixed", etc.
You're not alone Deb, and you're doing the right thing in this day and age. :thumbsup:
