Door-canvasser / storm-chaser education — what to do at the door and afterward

When a contractor shows up at your door after a storm offering a free inspection or claiming they noticed damage from the street, slow down. The post-storm door-canvassing pattern follows a recognizable script: unsolicited arrival after a weather event, pressure to decide on the spot, a vague written contract with blanks for scope or price, a request for a deposit before or during the first visit, and vehicles with out-of-state plates or no visible local address. The first line of defense is simply not signing under pressure. Red flags to treat as disqualifying: refusal to provide proof of general liability insurance (a current Certificate of Insurance) or a verifiable Texas business registration, refusal to provide a written quote with itemized scope, pressure to sign before the contractor leaves, a request for a deposit without a fully executed contract, insistence on using a specific insurance adjuster or a preferred public adjuster, and vague statements like 'don't worry about the paperwork' or 'we'll figure out the details later.' A simple thing to say at the door works well: 'I don't make decisions at the door. Leave a written quote with your business name, proof of insurance, and contact information, and I'll call you if I'm interested.' Don't sign anything, don't hand over banking information, don't let anyone on your roof without a scheduled appointment, and don't let a contractor insert themselves into your insurance claim on your behalf. Afterward, vet any contractor you're genuinely interested in: verify RCAT membership, confirm an active Texas business registration, and look at independent reviews and complaint history. You generally have some right to cancel a contract signed at your home, but whether it applies depends on how the contract was documented — so if you've already signed and want out, the right move is to have a licensed Texas attorney review it rather than rely on a rule of thumb. This is the prevention side of post-storm contractor fraud; the companion entry on contractor abandonment and deposit recovery is the recovery side. [Source: Roofing Contractors Association of Texas; Better Business Bureau Texas]