During his investigative work, he looks very concerned. He informs you that your chimney is a fire hazard and that you must stop using it immediately.
He warns you that any little spark could ignite a fire and put your whole house to flames in short order. He claims to have found glazed creosote throughout the chimney, which is highly flammable. Of course, this concerns you greatly and you ask him what it would take to clean it out and fix it, so it is no longer a fire hazard. This is when the contractor hits you with a quote of thousands of dollars. You are shell-shocked by the price, while still very much concerned about the possibility of your fireplace starting a fire in your house. After thinking it over, you agree to the cost and he gets to work. Unfortunately, there is no fire hazard, and the contractor has just scammed you out of your hard-earned income.