Billerica Police | MA

National Grid will begin the visual inspection program for All Transmission lines in New England starting Wednesday May 21th 2014 which includes Billerica.

These helicopter flights will be conducted over a fifteen to twenty working day period plus any additional days added for weather cancellations.

The helicopters are Bell Jet Rangers and the majority are blue and yellow as shown below.  There is no need to call the PD to notify us of these flyovers.

The Police Department has already seen reports of Tree Service Scammers in the area, including Billerica.  Here’s some helpful information to ensure you are not victimized by unsavory people looking to make a quick pay day.

• Don’t pay upfront.  Be very wary of any request to pay deposits or other fees for tree work in advance.  Out-of-state tree cutters have been known to collect deposits and then disappear without performing any work.  Only pay when the work is done and you are satisfied.

• Avoid fly-by-night companies and illegal solicitation.  Tree services that knock on your door or that just arrived in town from another state (often Maine) may not stick around to finish the job.  Or, even worse, may attempt to distract you outside so a partner can enter your home and steal property.  Choose local companies with good reputations for the best results.  Door to door solicitation is illegal in Billerica without a license. Call BPD if you are solicited and they don’t have a visible license. If they are not listed here then police should be called.

• Check out the company.  Contact the MA Attorney Generals Office and the Better Business Bureau to see if they have complaints against the company.  Ask the company for local references, and look online for reviews of its work.

• Make sure the company is insured.  If a tree removal service claims to have insurance, don’t just take their word for it. Contact the insurer directly and ask them to send you a copy of the tree removal service’s certificate of insurance.

• Find out a fair price. Be skeptical of any price that seems unusually high or low. To find out the going rate for tree removal, get written estimates from more than one company.  Check with friends who’ve had tree work done recently to see what they paid and who they would recommend.

• Don’t let anyone rush you. If an offer is only good “now or never,” find someone else to do the job.  And if the tree isn’t on your house or blocking your driveway, you may be better off waiting a few days or weeks to have it removed.

Please call the PD if you suspect your neighborhood is being canvassed by unlicensed solicitors.

WALTHAM, MA – Once again National Grid customers in New England are being targeted by utility bill scammers demanding immediate payment for electric bill balances, which customers might not even owe.  The fraudulent callers are claiming to be from National Grid and threatening customers with immediate service shut-off unless they provide credit card or bank account information that can be used to access the accounts.

There have been numerous reports of these types of scams in several states over the past year and National Grid continues to advise customers to be wary of any caller who threatens service immediate service termination unless an immediate payment is made.

National Grid does contact customers with past due balances by phone to offer payment options and to remind them that service shutoff is a possibility if they fail to pay their past due balance.  If customers wish, they can arrange for a payment by check, credit card or debit card if they speak directly to a customer service representative.  Payment can also be made by credit card or debit card without a representative’s assistance.

Customers should verify they are speaking with a National Grid representative. One way to do this is to commit to memory the last five digits of their National Grid account number to memory and ask the caller to provide those numbers. If the caller can’t provide the information, if you doubt the caller is a National Grid representative, or if have any questions about your balance, hang up immediately and call our customer contact center at 800-322-3223.