Exorbitant €7,000 cost for installing three rat traps - questionable washing machine encounters another "error"
In the city of Regensburg, a pest control company named Haustechnik Connor has found itself under investigation for allegedly overcharging clients for its services. The latest incident involves an elderly woman named Maria Schneider, who contacted the company in July 2025 for help with a rat problem.
According to reports, Haustechnik Connor suggested installing rat boxes with poison bait, each costing 299 euros. However, online research shows that these rat traps can be found for less than 20 euros. The company later demanded nearly 5,000 euros for the job, which was only refunded after public exposure and scrutiny.
Maria Schneider was fortunate enough to not have a PayPal account and managed to stop the transfer just in time. The three rat traps, supposedly worth 300 euros each, were never picked up again.
This is not the first time Haustechnik Connor has been implicated in such incidents. In May 2025, the company demanded nearly 5,000 euros from another senior woman for a clogged sink repair. The company that mediated this job has connections to the business conglomerate of Thomas M., the main defendant in an ongoing scam trial under the heading "Handwerker-Engel" at the Regional Court of Regensburg.
The modus operandi suggests a broader pattern involving a network of interconnected companies operating under various names, such as Andreas Haustechnik GmbH and related handworker intermediaries. These operations have attracted legal attention and ongoing court proceedings for suspected fraud and overpricing, especially targeting vulnerable clients like the elderly.
Haustechnik Connor is also suspected of being dubious, with connections to the company "PestControl Pro", which advertises itself as a nationwide pest control expert, and a company based in Oberhausen. The operations have reportedly involved sudden, emergency-like visits at inconvenient hours and extremely high fees that surpass typical market rates.
When contacted by the reporter, Haustechnik Connor did not respond to emails or phone calls. No other locations beyond Regensburg have been specifically reported in the search results regarding similar issues with Haustechnik Connor or associated firms. However, the implicated companies’ business scope implies possible broader activity.
In the past few weeks, several similar cases have been reported to the reporter from various parts of the country. The reporter continues to investigate these incidents and will provide updates as more information becomes available.
- Maria Schneider, who was overcharged for a rat problem, discovered that home-and-garden items like rat traps can be significantly less expensive, with online research showing prices as low as 20 euros compared to Haustechnik Connor's suggested cost of 299 euros.
- Despite the investigations and ongoing court proceedings against Haustechnik Connor for suspected fraud and overpricing, the company's lifestyle business scope suggests a broader network of integrated companies, raising questions about their potential activities beyond Regensburg.
