Homeowners Beware of Door to Door Sales Companies
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You may have heard of “Storm Chasers” on television – those folks who chase
weather events and film them. There is another definition of Storm Chaser and we
are concerned that many Charlotte and Concord Area homeowners are becoming
victims of this type of Storm Chasing scheme.
As you may be aware, there were recent hail storms
in our area. There were also hail storms in 2008 that damaged many roofs in our
area. There are companies around the U.S. who specialize in chasing this type of
work and are dubbed “Storm Chasers”.
They come into a storm damage area, hire or bring with them teams of high
pressure sales people to blitz neighborhoods, repeatedly going door to door and
pressuring the homeowner to allow them to file a claim on their roof for a
replacement. They insinuate that there is a short window of time to file a claim
(which is not true).
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The purpose is to scare
homeowners into a quick decision so that the Storm Chaser can get as much work
as quickly as possible and then, disappear from the storm area. While there have
been legitimate storm claims, the largest concern is regarding the quality of
the roof job that the homeowner receives. Historically companies that start up
to chase storm work often are out of business when the bulk of the work
is done or they have left the area for other, newer storm events. Problems that
occur as a result of faulty workmanship often do not show up for a few
years, after the company is no longer in business.
The roofing companies that have come in
from out of town or have convinced struggling construction companies to allow
the out of town chasers to use their name are numerous (it only requires a $10
Privilege License in Charlotte!). The chasers offer to handle the entire claim,
sometimes even posing as the homeowner to the insurance company. They offer to
fully handle the claim which is in reality leaving the customer out of the
decision and full understanding of what they are getting. Storm Chasers
generally do not offer any details of the work to be done and offer no written
WORKMANSHIP guarantees. Even if they do, a guarantee is worthless if the company
is no longer in business in our area.
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How can you protect yourself?
Contact H&S Roofing for a free roofing estimate today by calling us at 704-334-9934
or email us at sales@hsroofing.com
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