When You Pay Before Receiving

Last Saturday, I got a call from the IFB service team to ask if I needed an IFB washing machine service.

As our descaling powder was over, I said yes.

The service engineer checked all the washing machine complaints and informed sir that the Durm and a few parts are having issues. Once they come to repair, it would cost 12K.

As your washing is still less than 10 years old, you can get insurance for 5K, and with that insurance, you can replace all these items without any additional charges.

This washing machine has been performing normally for almost 5+ years. I decided to take insurance as it is not that much.

I informed the technician that I would take insurance. He also collected the ₹5,051 through UPI.

I asked where is the receipt?

The technician informed server is busy… it will come; wait, sir.

I waited 10 minutes, but it still didn’t come. The technician also waited with me and informed sir it would come; just wait some time. I have to go… I said ok. You can leave.

It’s almost 2 days. Still, no bill came. Tried reaching the technician multiple times, but he kept telling me different reasons. Today, he told sir that the office is on holiday. Wait one more day, and it will come.

It was my mistake to pay in Advance without receiving the Bill or Receipt. Now I’m following up daily… to get what I’m paid for.

When you build a house, multiple such instances will come where vendors ask for big advance payments. You should be very careful in such instances. If you pay more in advance, you are the one who gets locked. Not the vendors.

In fact, I would advise you not to pay any advance if possible.

Not all vendors seriously serve customers.

It’s not just applicable to vendors. It’s also applicable to contractors as well. The more you are aware of the scams, the better you protect yourself.

Based on some bad incidents that I went through during the first house construction, I wrote a house construction tracking system. This is the guide that I recommend to all first-time house construction users to avoid any scams during house construction.