Avoid Fly-By-Night Roofing Companies

Hurricane Harvey. Hurricane Irma. With more violent weather striking the country, and more damage being done to roofs, there are more fly-by-night roofing companies swooping in to take advantage of the unwary. These companies offer fast repairs, but what often happens is they don’t treat you, your property or your wallet with respect.

Here are some of the most common scams perpetrated by these companies:

• Demanding a large down payment, then disappearing with the money.
• Substituting cheap materials or make cosmetic repairs, but don’t fix the real problem.
• Causing intentional damage during the inspection, like using a screwdriver to create what appears to be hail damage then showing you photos of the damage they caused.
• Inflating or making up phony damage to run up the bill.
• Offering to pay the insurance deductible to win your business. A legitimate company doesn’t need to bribe you to win your business.
• Faking their identity. If someone shows up saying they are from your insurance company, be suspicious. Ask for identification and call your insurer to verify. Most insurance companies won’t come unless you’ve called them, as they have no way of knowing your roof has been damaged unless you alert them.

All these and many other scams are why selecting a reputable roofing company is so important. Before signing a contract or paying any money, do your homework. Find out if the company is licensed, bonded and insured, and check on any complaints with the Better Business Bureau.

Licensed
A roofing contractor license indicates that a company is licensed to work as a roofer. Be aware that every state has different rules and requirements for procuring a license. However, in most parts of the country, a roofing contractor license is very important because you can — with great confidence — know that you are working with a true professional with expertise specifically in the area of roof construction, maintenance and repair. Ask for a copy of their license and determine what type of license it is and find out what the licensing rules are in your state.

Insured
An insured roofing contractor has the proper amount of insurance to cover any problems that might arise. Ask your roofing contractor for a certificate of insurance that shows they have general liability and workers’ compensation. The last thing you want is for someone to fall off your roof. If the roofing company doesn’t have the proper insurance, you could be liable since the fall took place on your property.

Bonded
Last but not least, the roofing contractor you select should be bonded — particularly for commercial and industrial roofing projects because of the high dollar value of the materials and labor associated with the job. A bond is a surety that the company guarantees satisfactory completion of the work.

Ask the roofing company to provide references. Professional roofers won’t mind providing these, because they take pride in doing a good job for their clients. Call and talk to those references or previous clients to find out how well the roofer did the job.

Certifications & Awards
Check to see if your roofing company has any certifications or awards. For instance, Global Roofing Group recently received Carlisle’s 2017 Excellence in Single-Ply Award. It is one of the most prestigious awards in the roofing industry. We’ve installed 7,668,091 square feet of Carlisle’s single-ply roofing — a total of 65 Perfect 10 installations as judged by Carlisle’s final inspection process. We are very proud of the hard work and meticulous attention to detail our team brings to every job.