A homeowner calls multiple companies to evaluate her roof and provide a quote for potential services. She receives a visit from several high quality roof contractors, each providing a bid on the job. One company provides her with a document titled “Job Proposal” and asked her to sign the document to “verify receipt of the document”. To the woman’s surprise, the document wasn’t a proposal but a contract, and is now being sued for hiring another roofer to complete the job.
Sounds like the plot from a fiction story, right? Unfortunately, for one Texas woman, this is exactly what happened to her when she tried to shop around for multiple quotes.
Falling Through The Cracks
For every ten reputable and professional roofing companies, there is one unscrupulous company out looking to make easy money. Like the Texas woman, many people fall victim to these scams when they try and do what they thought was the smart thing: shop around for the best quote. In some cases, what seems like the best deal, really isn’t. In the case of the Texas woman, what seemed like a harmless document turned out to be a contractually binding agreement that now has her tied up in court.
This woman is experiencing the effects of roof repair scams that have swept many unsuspecting victims around the company, but your story doesn’t have to be the same. There are a few things you can do to arm yourself against non-reputable companies when searching for the right roofer:
- Have another person present with you at the time of the evaluation and quote.This will give the appearance of having a representative on your side and make you less vulnerable to potential scammers.
- Walk around with the roof contractor and ask questions about the roof repair or replacement job. Find out the details of the work and the workers that will be present on your property.
- Ask for documentation of the company’s license and insurance agreements. Contact the better business bureau to make sure the company is legitimate and does not have any complaints filed against them.
- Always check up on the contractor by obtaining copies of the paperwork but never sign anything unless you are ready to begin work. Even if the paperwork doesn’t specify a “contract”, a signature can make it legally binding if you aren’t careful.
