Triple Peaks Roofing Warns Cleveland Area Residents To Beware Of “Storm Chasers” Taking Advantage Of Recent Bad Weather

Residents in Elyria, North Ridgeville, Olmsted Falls, Berea, Middleburg Heights, Parma, Parma Heights, Seven Hills, North Royalton Broadview Heights, Brecksville, Independence, Valley View, Twinsburg, Lorain and other nearby communities that are being affected by the storms we’ve been having since April 2011 should beware of storm chasers out to take advantage of the bad weather.

Jeff and Angela Heitzenrater, owners of Triple Peaks Roofing & Construction, have repaired damaged done by storm chasers to homes in Avon Lake, Bay Village, Lakewood and Highland Heights – areas hit by severe hail last year – and they’ve already started getting calls from friends in the areas currently experiencing severe weather reporting that storm chasers have started knocking on doors in those neighborhoods.

“Many people have been and are getting scammed,” said Jeff Heitzenrater.  “Common scams range from taking deposits and disappearing with the money to doing shoddy work that doesn’t pass city inspection or won’t pass building codes. Some homeowners had to pay for expensive repairs or worse, whole new roofing systems this past winter and spring, while in other cases the company’s work was good but they are no longer around to provide any warranty work if needed.”

After their experiences helping people who had been scammed and seeing roofers make the Better Business Bureau’s Top 10 Scams and Rip-Offs of 2010 List, Jeff and Angela, who have an A rating from the BBB, decided they needed to do something to stop the swindling.

They started by focusing their trade show displays this year on consumer awareness.  They built a model roof with a multitude of common code violations and challenged visitors and other contractors to identify them, using the process to education visitors about the kind of costly oversights, common errors and shoddy work that have given the roofing industry a bad name.

To further consumer awareness, Jeff and Angela have produced a “Selecting a Contractor” worksheet and a “How to Identify a Storm Chaser” worksheet, available from Triple Peaks Roofing & Construction upon request, by calling 440-925-0386.  A complete “How to Avoid Getting Scammed” guide will be available on their website later this year.

Here are some ways to identify a storm chaser:

1)      If you see a lot of signs from a company that you’ve never seen before or ever heard of before, that’s probably because they weren’t around before.  You should be wary of any company that seems to appear out of thin air.

2)      A reputable company is not likely to show up on your door step and tell you that you need to get your roof fixed.  They’ll wait for you to call them.  Be wary of anyone that knocks on your door and tells you that you need work or leaves a flyer or door hanger on your porch.

3)      The same people that show up at your door might tell you that they can see damage to your roof from the street.  Unless there’s a chunk missing, that’s not likely.  Most damage is not visible from the ground. 

4)      If you see out-of-state plates, be suspicious.  These are a good indication the contractor will not be around for long to remedy any initial issues you may have with the work.  Obtaining a long-term warranty is one way to protect yourself, but you still need to be able to locate your contractor to make good on that warranty.

5)      Pay attention to titles.  Most reputable companies place a foreman on every job site.  If the most you see is a project manager, you should be concerned about the quality of the work being completed.

6)      You should ask to see their licensing and think twice about working with anyone who is not properly licensed, with liability and compensation insurance.  If a worker gets injured on your property and the contractor does not have liability and workers compensation insurance, you will be liable.

7)      You should ask to make sure that any materials being used have been paid for by the contractor.  There have been instances reported where a storm chaser will do the work and disappear without paying for materials, leaving the homeowner to cover that cost.