It’s very important to avoid roofing scams. With so many thousands of dollars hanging in the balance with the prospect of having your roof replaced, the following scams should be some of the main ones that you have to keep an eye out for:
- Probably the most common roofing scam you will encounter is the storm chaser scam. Reputable Interstate Roofing (https://interstateroof.com/) professionals warn us that roofers who claim that they offer legitimate and reliable services go door to door after a storm, providing their services to deal with urgent repairs that have to be done to avoid leaks and other roofing problems. In many cases, however, their expertise is not up to par with the costs associated with their services, and many of them aren’t even licensed roofers.
- The “mystery damage” scam is an old one, but it still works these days. A roofer might knock on your door claiming that they “couldn’t help but notice” the damage on your roof, and describing some “serious” red flags that have to be dealt with immediately. When they go up to take a look, in many cases they exaggerate the damage, claim there is damage when there is none, or even cause some damage themselves.
- The low starting bid scam is a classic, and it’s one of the reasons why legitimate roofers recommend that you always ask for a written quote. While the scammers might start out with a very low bid for your project, once they get to work they might claim there are a lot of “unforeseen problems” warranting a higher price, or they might even raise the price of the materials half way through the project’s completion.