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Health & Fitness

BBB Advice For Anyone Who Hires Services That Give Workers Access To Your Home

The Better Business Bureau is alerting consumers to problems with a local cleaning service after its owner was charged with burglary using a key in a lockbox used on cleaning days.

Coming home to a clean house is a pleasure that many people believe is worth paying for, especially if they work or have a very busy life.

But there are risks when you hire a cleaning service, as some Ballwin residents recently found out. A woman surprised the owner of Molly Maids of Chesterfield, a cleaning service, after she heard him rummaging through items in her kitchen. The man, Brian P. Frantz, had obtained entry to the home with a key the family left in a lockbox on scheduled cleaning days.

Frantz fled, but was arrested by police a few minutes later, and he now faces felony burglary charges. More details of the incident are in today’s Better Business Bureau press release.

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The BBB has nine tips for consumers who hire services or work that gives a company or individual access to their homes.

  1. If at all possible, be at the residence to supervise the work. Try to arrange a time when you or another adult family member, friend or neighbor can meet the worker or workers.
  2. Contact the BBB for a BBB Business Review by going to www.bbb.org or calling 314-645-3300.
  3. Ask for references and contact them.
  4. Make sure a company is bonded and insured to protect against damaged, stolen or broken items. Ask the company if they have procedures to investigate a possible theft.
  5. Ask a cleaning company if the staff works directly for the firm or if the work is subcontracted. Ask if employees undergo background checks.
  6. Make sure a company carries worker’s compensation insurance to protect you against accidents in your home.
  7. An outside lockbox setup may be preferable to giving a business a key to your home.
  8. While stamping a key “do not duplicate” is not foolproof, it may prompt a locksmith to think twice before copying it.
  9. Make sure valuables are out of sight or locked in a safe or drawer to remove temptation.  Take a quick inventory of your residence as soon as possible after a worker has had access to your home.

For more BBB news, go to the BBB website or follow the BBB on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.

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