Ottawa Police provides safe trade locations and warnings on door-to-door contractors

1.  Project Safe Trade

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) is providing three parking spots at three police stations to support safety when completing trades from online marketplaces and websites or any other type of personal sales.

Websites are often used as tools to sell property and can present a personal safety risk due to the high volume of thefts and robberies that can occur during these transactions. To increase public safety, the OPS invites the public to use their designated Safe Trade locations to facilitate safe person-to-person exchanges.

Safe Trade parking spots are clearly marked by signage and a blue logo to help you identify where to conduct a safe exchange.  These location are:

• 466 Metcalfe Street (visitors’ parking lot behind 474 Elgin Street police station)
• 211 Huntmar Drive (Kanata police station)
• 3343 St-Joseph Boulevard (Orleans police station)

Please note that Safe Trade Zones are not monitored 24/7. Persons using the premises for Project Safe Trade are advised that the Ottawa Police Service does not assume any responsibility for any transactions or mediate the use of its premises for this purpose.

When buying and selling items, here are some other safety tips to consider:

• Do not invite the other party to your home to complete the trade.
• When meeting for the trade, we recommend you bring a friend and meet in a public place with extensive lighting and video surveillance, like a shopping mall, but preferably a Safe Trade spot at a police station.
• Meet during daylight hours if you’re planning to meet in person. Any last-minute changes to the location should be considered a red flag. We recommend you walk away from the exchange rather than go to a second location.
• Avoid vacant parking lots or properties when you meet with the other party.

2.  Ottawa Police urges caution with door-to-door contractors

In the past two weeks, the Fraud Unit has received five reports, with an estimated loss of $250,000 to Ottawa-area residents.

The high-pressure sales pitch typically is for very expensive work, including foundation repair, which can cost upwards of $100,000. Money is asked for upfront, and in most cases the work is started but never completed, leaving the homeowner to foot the bill to clean up and complete the job.

When hiring contractors, a reputable business will take time to go through a contract and provide you with a quote for reasonable market rates. You can establish things like a ceiling on contingency costs as well as whether to pay a flat or hourly rate in a written contract. Be smart and look up the business on reputable websites like the Better Business Bureau, make calls to other contractors to ask for quotes to compare, and ask for references you can call. If the price being quoted sounds too good to be true, it likely is.

“The best thing you can do is to take their information and then do your research,” said A/Sgt. Wahbeh. “The more they pressure you to hand over money or act quickly or lose the opportunity, it’s a signal to walk away.” If you need help determining whether something is a scam or not, you can always contact our partners at Community Navigation of Eastern Ontario by dialling 211

Local police contacts

Cst. Stephanie Lemieux directly (east of O-Train, Line 2) at lemieuxs@ottawapolice.ca or 613-236-1222, ext. 5287.

Cst. Darren Joseph directly (west of O-Train, Line 2) at josephd@ottawapolice.ca or 613-236-1222, ext. 5871.