BBB warns Yuma residents about yard cleanup scam charges

A yard cleanup offer that starts with a bargain per-bag price can end with a bill that is hundreds of dollars higher than expected, and in one BBB Scam Tracker complaint it jumped from 20 bags at $15 each to 279 bags and $4,750. That kind of door-to-door pitch is showing up as a landscaping scam across Yuma-area neighborhoods, where homeowners are tempted to move fast when dust, heat and overgrown yards make cleanup feel urgent. A stranger knocks, offers a cheap fix, then pressures the homeowner to commit before the details are in writing.

First is the unsolicited knock and the unusually low quote. Next comes pressure to decide on the spot, followed by a vague promise that the job is simple, quick or priced by the bag, load or leftover materials. Anyone can pretend to be a contractor, so residents should check the license record, make sure the license class covers the work and confirm that the person negotiating is an authorized representative of the licensed contractor. Get at least three written estimates, spell out the work, price and permits in writing, and keep payments from getting ahead of the work. Checks should be made payable only to the company or contractor named in the signed contract.

Yuma County residents who run into one of these pitches can contact local law enforcement if they believe they were scammed. Complaints can also be filed with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and, if the work involved licensing claims, with the ROC. In November 2025, Attorney General Kris Mayes warned Arizonans about home construction scams, and her office had recently prosecuted a fraudulent Tucson contractor tied to $75,000 in unfinished projects.