After a storm
The crew that knocks after a storm is not always the crew you want.
After a widespread storm, crews arrive from outside the area and work door to door. Some are legitimate firms genuinely surging capacity; some are not. The signs that separate them are about paperwork and pressure rather than about vans and uniforms.
(888) 217-5329 Call about water damageConnects you with an independent contractor about new work. Calls may be recorded.
What should slow you down
A demand for a large deposit before work starts. A contract presented as urgent with no notice of cancellation attached. A request to sign over your insurance benefits. An offer to cover your deductible. A refusal to give a licence number. Any one of those is worth a pause; two together is an answer.
Covering a deductible sounds generous and is usually insurance fraud, with the homeowner as a participant rather than a victim.
The protections that exist for exactly this moment
Federal rules give a three-day cancellation right on contracts signed at your home, with a notice that has to be handed to you. Many states add anti-price-gouging rules during a declared emergency, and several add licensing requirements that get stricter rather than looser after a declaration.
The waiver of that cancellation right has to be written by you, in your handwriting, describing your emergency. A pre-printed waiver is not the thing the rule describes.
What legitimate surge capacity looks like
A firm licensed in your state, or working under a licensed local firm, with an entity name that matches the invoice and the insurance certificate. They will give you a number to check and will not mind you checking. They will also be honest about a queue rather than promising to start today.
Being from out of town is not a warning sign in itself. Every region relies on crews travelling in after a large event, and refusing all of them would leave you waiting weeks.
What to do at the door
The right move depends on what they are asking for.
- 01They want to inspect for nothing. Reasonable. Let them look, take their details, and sign nothing on the day.
- 02They want a deposit today. Ask why, ask what it buys, and compare with one other firm before paying anything substantial.
- 03They want your insurance benefits assigned. Decline. Emergency work can be authorised without it, and plenty of firms will.
- 04They offer to cover your deductible. End the conversation. That offer puts you inside the problem rather than outside it.
Connects you with an independent contractor about new work. Calls may be recorded.
What to ask before you agree to anything
Ask these of whoever turns up. A contractor who answers them plainly is the one you want; a contractor who will not is telling you something.
- 01What is your licence number in this state, and who holds it?
- 02Are you working under a local licensed firm, and which one?
- 03What deposit are you asking for and what does it cover?
- 04Where is my notice of cancellation?
- 05Is anything in this paperwork an assignment of my insurance benefits?
- 06When would you actually start, honestly, given how many calls you have?
Have this ready before you call
Three facts move the first minute past the formalities: what happened, when it started, and whether water is still moving. These add the detail that decides what gets loaded on the van.
- A note of who knocked, when, and what company they named
- A photograph of any card, van lettering or paperwork
- Whether a disaster declaration covers your area
- Your insurer and whether a claim is open
- Whether you have any quote at all to compare against
- Somewhere to put documents that is not the wet kitchen table
Connects you with an independent contractor about new work. Calls may be recorded.
Where these figures come from
Every number on this page is published by someone other than us, and each link goes to their own text rather than to a summary of it.