Scroll any local Facebook group long enough and the same pitch returns: a friendly “neighbour” offering air-duct or heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) cleaning at a bargain price, stock photos of spotless vents, and a promise that you pay only when the job is done. The National Air Duct Cleaners Association (NADCA) has publicly warned that this pattern has flooded neighbourhood groups — recycled images, no real local footprint, and pressure to book now.
In private messages the story usually shifts. You are asked for the size of the house, how many furnaces you have, then a “refundable” deposit by payment app or card “to hold the slot.” Sometimes a poorly trained crew does arrive, blows air for an hour, and invents mould, soot or “blocked returns” that need cash on the spot. Either way, the advertised price was bait. Local reporting and consumer groups have described the same script across many towns: vague company names, out-of-area phone numbers, and posts that disappear once people warn the group.
A real contractor can show a working website, a named business you can check, written scope and a price that does not explode after they open a grille. NADCA’s own guidance is blunt: beware rock-bottom “whole house” coupons, full payment up front, doorstep “we’re already in the area” pitches, and sudden “unforeseen” mark-ups. Prefer firms you can verify independently; pay the balance after you are satisfied, preferably by a method you can dispute. If a Facebook stranger will only work via direct message and a deposit app, treat the post as marketing for a scam, not a local start-up.
If you already sent a deposit or paid for work that never matched the quote, keep the chat export, profile link and payment proof, report the post to the platform, and use Get help. Anyone offering paid “recovery” of that deposit for another fee is usually a second trap — Fake recovery.
This article is for general information only. It is not legal or financial advice. Details change. If you have lost money, contact your bank or card issuer and use the routes on the help pages.