It’s generally accepted that scams and fraud can affect people in just about any industry where a substantial amount of money can be made. Roofing scams are no exception, and they can be found just about everywhere, and it’s hard to avoid them unless you already have some knowledge as to what they entail and what the ones pulling them are trying to achieve.
One of the most common scam you’ll encounter in places like Texas, where sudden storms are quite common, is the storm chaser strategy. Roofers (or rather, regular people posing as roofing contractors) go from door to door advertising their skills, pointing out non-existing roof damage and sometimes even causing damage where there is none, just so they can land a job. In most cases, they will also charge a lot of money for their services, since they consider themselves to be “emergency” roofers.
Another common scam happens when a roofing technician is hired to do a job and doesn’t provide a written estimate. A lot of the time, they will inflate the prices by coming up with additional roofing work that “needs” to be done along the way.
Finally, you can also run into scammers who simply want to get your money without doing any type of work at all. They’ll pose as professional roofers and ask for a lot of money upfront, then they might move on and disappear, so you’ll be left without your repairs and without your money. So be sure to look for roofing companies like Lon Smith Roofing that are local and have years of experience for your roofing project.