State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, proposed House Bill 3293 to create a voluntary state certification for roofer, hoping to end problems that crop up year after year in Texas.
First storms pound an area, such as the hail and rain that hit Denton and Collin counties Sunday, then roofers and other contractors swarm the area hoping to pick up business.
Overwhelmed homeowners quickly pick someone to fix their roof and may find themselves disappointed with expensive, shoddy — or incomplete — work.
“Look at what happened with (Sunday) night’s storms, golf-ball-size hail hitting residences, smashing roofs, breaking windows,” Capriglione said. “Within 24 hours those homeowners will be inundated by roofers who will say they can fix it and do a great job.
“I think some people will get snookered.”
Already, law enforcers in Denton, Argyle and other cities are tweeting out tips for homeowners to avoid being scammed by “storm chasers,” out-of-towners who follow storms and try to convince homeowners to hire them to fix their homes.
Many times those workers will do sub-par work, if they even stay long enough to complete the job.
State and law enforcement advice: Don’t pay cash or a down payment before materials arrive. And if estimators show up, but you didn’t call them, steer clear of them.
Hire local, established businesses you can trust, officials advise.
“We have a lot of storm chasing roofers who show up after storms hit,” said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas. “They are going to rip people off. They are trying to get some of that person’s insurance claim money.
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