Door to Door Roofers~

[gena264]

About 2 weeks ago the door bell rings and DH answers it. It turns out there are two guys at the door saying they are roofers and would like to assess our roof.

 As a slight background DH has a VERY hard time not listening to solicitors at the door, he hates to tell people no. About a month ago we had the garage door open and he was downstairs working on something. I saw someone walk to the garage and hear talking. I go downstairs to say hi (not sure who it was) and DH looks sheepish saying this guy is selling something ( I forget what it was now). He says he has to make a call and lets me handle it (which is pretty much our code for me to get rid of the person because he can't ). So I listen to the guy for a few minutes and realize this is nothing I am interested in and politely tell him no thanks. He persists, I say no thanks. He says your husband seemed interested , should I wait for him? I say again , no thank you, we wont be needing X.. he finally leaves..

So this brings me to the door to door roofers we had come by a few weeks ago. DH listens to whatever they had to say for about 5 minutes then he comes in and says that they are going to take pictures of our roof and they can get our insurance to pay for any damage!I knew that was a possible/probable scam since why would an insurance company just agree to pay for a new roof on a 16 year old home especially when there was no tornado or any type of 'act of god' situation that just occurred. DH said that the roofers told him that they have someone that works for them that calls the insurance company for us and 'knows the correct lingo' to get the new roof paid for. We went round and round with me telling him that I will not commit insurance fraud. DH genuinely didn't think it was fraud. So he goes back outside tells the roofers he will think about it and will call them if we are interested. Since then these roofers have rang our bell THREE separate times since then and we haven't answered either time. DH is too embarrassed to say no and I have been on the phone or working in the office .

I have decided when and if they ring again I will definitely be answering the door to tell them we are not interested. Is there any polite way to tell them I think they are pushy and I don't appreciate them coming by so often ? What can I say when they ask why we decided not to get our roof done? I want to tell them that I believe they are frauds , but I am pretty sure that would be rude..

[LeveeWoman]

I'd tell them to get of my property, and that I'd call the police if they showed up again.

[violinp]

"We don't want your business. Please do not come to our house again." It may not be "nice," but it gets the point across.

ETA POD to LeveeWoman

[doodlemor]

Of course these guys are scammers.  No legitimate company works this way.

All that you need to say is that you are not interested in a new roof, and that you will call the police if they come back.  Then say good day, and close the door. 

Don't engage at all with scammers, they are experienced liars.

[oceanus]

^What doodlemor said.

You don't owe them an explanation.

[WillyNilly]

I think your DH needs to work on some good "shut down" phrases that don't rely on you.  Perhaps "please mail me any relevant documentation and I'll have someone look it over." Or "I'm not making any commitments at this time." Yes its uncomfortable to learn, but he needs to.

As for how to shut these guys down, just say "we have discussed your proposal and we are not interested.  Do not come back, our minds won't change" and close the door. Direct and to the point is not nice, but it is also not rude.

[rose red]

If telling them you are not interesting doesn't work (and it often doesn't), I have told these scammers people we have friends in the construction business to check our roof (true), or that I work for my insurance company (untrue). 

[Thipu1]

Of course these guys are scammers.  No legitimate company works this way.

All that you need to say is that you are not interested in a new roof, and that you will call the police if they come back.  Then say good day, and close the door. 

Don't engage at all with scammers, they are experienced liars.

There is no polite way to handle a situation like this.  As other posters have said, this is an obvious scam and could warrant an alert to the police.

When I was a child, there was a group of people known as the Henderson's.  Every spring, they would infest the area with offers to repave driveways, repair roofs and do other important home
repairs for a low price.  Of course, the work was always very shoddy if not outright dangerous.

Old-timers knew about these grifters.  However, the county had a lot of new residents who were
 first-time home owners.  They were ripe for the picking. 

Once the Henderson's were detected, the police and the local radio station were alerted. The radio
station would provide daily alerts in their news shows and the police would keep an eye out at the entrance of new housing developments.           

[BeagleMommy]

If your husband is so opposed to saying "no" outright, have him ask for a business card so you or he can call them "when we're interested".  Nine times out of ten they will not have a business card to offer.

If you'd rather tell them to go away you can simply say "We're not interested in your services and please do not come back".  If they come back after that, call the police.

[gena264]

If your husband is so opposed to saying "no" outright, have him ask for a business card so you or he can call them "when we're interested".  Nine times out of ten they will not have a business card to offer.

If you'd rather tell them to go away you can simply say "We're not interested in your services and please do not come back".  If they come back after that, call the police.

That's funny you mention the business card. They actually did have one and a website with 'testimonials' ...still, I am put off by their persistence when DH says he told them HE would call them if we are interested...and the fact that they claim that our insurance will cover the 'damage'. When they took pictures of the roof and showed them to DH , he (DH) said that we did have some damage. I am sure that is normal wear and tear ..we do get hail where I live , so it could be previous hail damage. I can not see how an insurance company will pay for hail damage on a roof that occurred say, months ago, unless someone was lying and I want no part of that.

[strawbabies]

I don't have any etiquette advice, but just wanted to warn everybody about a new scam I heard about on the radio today.  A professional looking man with a polo shirt sporting an official looking logo comes to your door offering to give you a quote on yard work.  He asks you to show him around the property.  While the homeowner is outside with the man in the yard, his accomplice breaks in and robs the place.  One guy fell for it and $17,000 of his wife's jewelry was stolen.

I have a sign next to the front door saying "No Solicitors."  I also just don't open the front door if I look through the peephole and I don't know the person.  I feel it's too dangerous to open up the door for strangers.

[crella]

MIL fell for this. Many older Japanese houses have a shop or storehouse attached, and many built in the late 60s have a flat roof. Her storehouse was leaking a bit. These guys came around and told her that they'd seal it so well 'you could have goldfish up there'. She jumped, paid $5,000 to have it done, and it still leaked. The number on the business card was fake. Anybody can print up cards, and make a website. Worst of all is that she referred people to get a discount, so all her friends were mad at her.

[Luci]

I honestly don't think you need any etiquette advice. You just need to be firm and watching out for your own back. You don't have to yell or be verbally abusive or violent to do this.

If you have  a police force on any size, you should be able to call the station and ask about these people. They are not licensed and they are not bonded. That right there should be enough to prove it is a scam. (I know of a town with a 2-man police for, in which case the residents can call the county.)

Do they have a local address (in my area that would be within 30 mi. of town)? Are they in the phone book? History has shown that these guys offer a good deal, you might make a down payment pending insurance- sometimes even more so they can buy materials - start the shoddy job, and are gone and you have no recourse.  You might be stuf with an unfinished that really needs to be finished now, at your expense.

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/money/Avoid-being-door-to-door-scam-victim

http://chameleonmarketing.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/is-this-a-roofing-scam/

[gena264]

I honestly don't think you need any etiquette advice. You just need to be firm and watching out for your own back. You don't have to yell or be verbally abusive or violent to do this.

If you have  a police force on any size, you should be able to call the station and ask about these people. They are not licensed and they are not bonded. That right there should be enough to prove it is a scam. (I know of a town with a 2-man police for, in which case the residents can call the county.)

Do they have a local address (in my area that would be within 30 mi. of town)? Are they in the phone book? History has shown that these guys offer a good deal, you might make a down payment pending insurance- sometimes even more so they can buy materials - start the shoddy job, and are gone and you have no recourse.  You might be stuf with an unfinished that really needs to be finished now, at your expense.

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/money/Avoid-being-door-to-door-scam-victim

http://chameleonmarketing.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/is-this-a-roofing-scam/

Their address is somewhat local, about 40 minutes from my house. I just double checked their website and they are part of the BBB and have a good score...

[Luci]

I honestly don't think you need any etiquette advice. You just need to be firm and watching out for your own back. You don't have to yell or be verbally abusive or violent to do this.

If you have  a police force on any size, you should be able to call the station and ask about these people. They are not licensed and they are not bonded. That right there should be enough to prove it is a scam. (I know of a town with a 2-man police for, in which case the residents can call the county.)

Do they have a local address (in my area that would be within 30 mi. of town)? Are they in the phone book? History has shown that these guys offer a good deal, you might make a down payment pending insurance- sometimes even more so they can buy materials - start the shoddy job, and are gone and you have no recourse.  You might be stuf with an unfinished that really needs to be finished now, at your expense.

http://www.wivb.com/dpp/money/Avoid-being-door-to-door-scam-victim

http://chameleonmarketing.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/is-this-a-roofing-scam/

Their address is somewhat local, about 40 minutes from my house. I just double checked their website and they are part of the BBB and have a good score...

Did you check with the BBB? They can put anything in an ad. Are they bonded? Any injuries are on your insurance if not, and there is no guarantee to finish. I'd still not do it. I don't trust door to door salesmen unless they are wearing a Girl Scout Uniform.

Good luck.