Fighting the Good Fight Against Predatory Roofers by Tom Stratton, Tom & Jerry's Roofing

There is a significant lack of regulations or guidelines as they relate to the door-to-door roofing solicitors. We previously shared in an article about falsifying information that leads homeowners to call their insurance company to get a new roof. We hear about it happening too often. Unfortunately, by the time we hear about it, our residents and our neighbors here in the metro area and north Georgia have already been victimized. Not only were they declined for their new roof because there was not enough damage or no significant damage of any kind but typically, they are met with a demand letter from their insurance company. The demand letter will tell them upon renewal of their policy they will be cancelled if they do not either conduct repairs to the roof or replace the roof at their own cost to keep their policy in full effect. So, the predatory solicitations are leading to higher insurance rates for everyone and shining a spotlight on roofs which have not had any issues or active concerns. 

    This repeated issue that we see has led Tom and Jerry’s roofing to Washington D.C. Fortunately, we were able to have an audience with several Congressmen from Georgia as well as senators from Georgia. We were advocating for several National Roofing and trades issues; but also on the local level, we're drawing out the concern about predatory soliciting and how it affects the citizens of Georgia.

      We are all for people getting their roofs replaced by their insurance company when there is legitimate damage that's been established. The problem is the roofers who are either on purpose or accidentally not only damaging the reputation of ethical roofing contractors but also wreaking havoc in the insurance side of things.

    In the last legislative session of Georgia’s House, the bill was brought forward that would have made some changes in the field of licensing. It was voted down. No matter what the fancy salesman who knocked on your door told you, there is no licensing in the state of Georgia for roofing. Read that again—there is no licensing for roofers in the state of Georgia. You can test to receive national accreditation from NRCA or even GRA. You can obtain a business license but that is not a trade specific license. Currently, there is no trade specific licensing program in the state of Georgia that the state requires or mandates.

     As consumers ourselves, this is something that concerns us not just because it’s our field but because we expect a plumber, electrician, or HVAC technician to all be licensed as mandated by the state of Georgia. But why not roofing—the most important part of your home protecting you from elements? Certainly, we are not fans of “big government,” however there must be some level of accreditation that protects the citizens of a state from every schmuck with a truck who decides they want to be a roofer. Also, legislation that would protect clients from storm chasers and canvassers would also be beneficial and could help diminish some of the bite that the current predatory roofers have in the community.

    We need your help in taking this fight to our local state representatives and all the way to D.C. with the same issues as representatives of the national roofing council. Reach out to your local state representatives to let them know that the next time the state bill comes up for discussion, it should be voted in favor. We want to push for state licensing for the roofing trade in the next legislative session.