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Watch out for these 5 roofing scams

Watch out for these 5 roofing scams
A roofing contractor inspects shoddy work from a previous roofer.

A roofing contractor inspects shoddy work from a previous roofer.

Date Published: May 29 2012
by

The roof is one of the single most important components of any home. No part plays a bigger role in keeping the elements out, so when a roof requires repair, there’s little time to waste.

The desire to have a roof quickly replaced and the fact that most people have little experience working with a roofing contractor can set an unsuspecting homeowner up for a variety of scams.

Fraudulent roofing contractors prey on vulnerable homeowners and have become increasingly bold in their tactics.

From unlicensed storm chasers to mysterious door-to-door salesman, there are many ways to fall victim to roofing scams.

Angie’s List spoke with five highly rated roofing companies about some of the most common scams, and how to avoid being taken advantage of.  Here are some to watch out for:

  1. The disappearing down payment
  2. The mysterious door-to-door salesman
  3. The storm chaser
  4. High-pressure tactics
  5. The fluctuating bid

For additional roofing information and tips for hiring a roofing company, visit the Angie's List Guide to Roofing.

 

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Mike LaFollette

Mike LaFollette - Online Editor for Angie's List

Mike LaFollette covers a variety of home improvement, repair and landscaping topics for Angie's List.

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Roofing scam: The storm chaser

A hail storm damaged this Phoenix home. Photo courtesy of Lyons Roofing

Storm chasers are responsible for a big portion of roofing scams in the U.S. Angie's List spoke with a highly rated Chicago roofing contractor about how to avoid these dishonest roofers.

Comments

Submitted by joyce kuruce on Tue, 2012-08-14 22:14
I hired a roofer from Sheraden, PA (4 years ago) and knew something was wrong when I asked where the flashing was for the front of the dormers and they cut a piece of ridge board shingle and stuffed it under the front of my dormers. Well, I had major water damage in LR & DR and no response from them to repair. A year later I had another roofer on the roof to check my chimney, and he found the old red and white shingles were still on the rear bathroom dormer!!!!! I am a senior living in my family home, so they knew I would never go on the roof. No phone number for this company, all numbers I had were non-working, but they came back to my neighbors house this year and I approached the owner in late April 2012 told him the bathroom needs done, he claims it was a bad employee who is no longer in their employ, and would correct ASAP. NO RESPONSE SINCE END OF APRIL. How can they have a good review on Angies list? They have an F on BBB. I have had my neighbor talk to them (they do jobs for him for his apts.) and still no response to me, a woman, What should I do?

Submitted by Patty Andres on Thu, 2012-08-30 13:48
Small Claims Court - Civil Procedure. You may be able to do this without a lawyer. Make sure you are not asking for more money than the maxium amount allowed for small claims court - or it will be thrown out. Expect to pay up to $150 for filing fee & court costs. In my opinion, you HAVE to do this - to keep this creep from preying on other elderly people like yourself. Also, you have his name & address - since your neighbor continues to use him. So it's not like he has skipped town & can't be found. Stand up for yourself.

Submitted by anthony on Wed, 2012-10-10 21:41
when i am giving a estimate on top of a roof were a customer can not see i take pictures so they can see what i do

Submitted by Paulette Armandi on Fri, 2012-11-16 14:25
Boy oh boy, we did hire a door to door salesmen and storm chasers to boot. Bad decision which is too late now. Our insurance company agreed there was some storm damage. The roofing company is A- accredited with BBB, we called references given in our area. The roof looks sloppy along flashings joining levels of house. In lieu of replacing warped plywood they shingled over it!! Gutters bent and not fixed. Told by the roofer that the proper hardware was not used on the gutter when installed. I doubt it but! Oh, there was rain the second day of roofing and tarps were not properly placed on the non shingled portion so there are now water stains in the kitchen. Pictures have been taken of all areas. The company has not received payment yet. We are getting a second opinion as to what needs to be done. Salesman is fast talking and talks down to females.Thanks for listening.

Submitted by william seuffert on Thu, 2012-11-29 22:38
I had a high sales pressure team come when we had some storm damage. The neighbor went with this company and they did do a good job. how ever they put on my contract that if the insurance approves my claim they get the job. also on the contract they put down that the price would be LCV. They say I owe them 750.00 which is half my deductible but it is not written down any place. I am disabled and on SSDI I told them I could not afford the deductible and they said no problem don't let it worry you. I should have not gone with them any way now what I can't afford them money what can I do?

Submitted by Dan Pitts on Thu, 2013-03-14 07:22
The deductible is the customer's responsibility, and you need to pay it for two reasons: 1) That is the agreement one has between them and their insurance company, and in order for you to receive the recoverable depreciation check (holdback), one must prove to the insurance carrier what was spent. If you pay less, then the insurance company should and most likely will reduce the recoverable depreciation check by the amount the roof was discounted. Many people circumvent this by falsifying an invoice for insurance purposes. There is a name for that. It's called insurance fraud. 2). Insurance companies typically value property loss damages by utilizing a pricing database which is updated monthly, and is customized for your local market. Most often it is a program published by Xactware called Xactimate. This program is designed to allow a fair market overhead and profit for your contractor. If he discounts your roof, do you really believe that there are sufficient funds left over to do the job correctly? If so, why don't you keep all the money and just higher a fairy to replace your roof since you are already dillousional. Insurance companies are not in the business of overpaying for damages. They are there to get the customer back in a condition before the loss was not incurred. Not a penny more.

Submitted by Handy1 on Wed, 2012-12-05 16:06
Get some knowledge before hand; about the materials to be used and the installation process. You should always ask the roofer for a sample of the roofing material they will be installing. Make sure that it is the product you specified for the job. Make sure that product brought to the job is that product they install on the roof. If possible watch to see if it is installed correctly. Saddly; I was not able to be present when my mother had her roof installed. And I later found that the !*&%#$^ roofer installed modified bituman roofing instead of the specified EPDM rubber membrane roofing material. It won't last 1/3 the time that of a guaranteed EPDM rubber roof would. PVC roof material would even be better.

Submitted by Kondo Kev on Thu, 2012-12-20 04:44
Before hiring a roofer, or anyone & I mean anyone who's going to do any kind/type of "Home Improvements" to your home ALWAYS ASK them for 5 references of their previous jobs they've done recently. Not 15 years ago, at least 5 more recent jobs they completed. Make sure you have in your possession : the persons' name, their address & most importantly, their phone number ,so you can call them directly to check & see if the work that was done by the company you plan on hiring did a good job, & that they were satisfied. Also, a good thing to remember too is ask them if they cleaned up after "ALL" the work was completed. If you follow this simple set of questions to ask, you're going to be a happy customer with a happy homeowner inside your home,knowing your Home Improvement really was one !!!

Submitted by Henri Herring on Sat, 2013-01-05 12:44
I just had a new roof installed over one layer of existing roofing on a regular gable roof. I have water dripping from the edges of the end of my house it is just a drip but I think there should have been a flashing put on the edges. This is an insurance job from hail damage. I am not sure what to do or if I should ignore this situation ???? Thanks

Submitted by Erin on Tue, 2013-02-12 16:11
Call your insurance agency... they are the ones who are most interested in that being done correctly. The insurance inspector should come back out and check it and get it fixed.

Submitted by Assuredqualityc... on Sat, 2013-01-26 00:52
Make sure you understand manufacturers warranties.They don't guaranty shingle over shingle.Ask your contractor exactly how the installation process goes.EXACTLY!!!Then read the manufacturers specs on the package of shingles that are to be installed.There are different methods for different shingles.This will also void warranty.Most state laws require a one year workmanship warranty.Demand a longer warranty!!!If they have confidence in their work,this wont be a problem and they will be sure to do a great job.My warranty is TEN YEARS.I'M CONFIDENT IN MY ROOFS,THEY SHOULD BE TOO!!!!!

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