How to Avoid Being Scammed with Storm Damage Repairs

storm damage

With many area residents having experienced tornado damage to their home Wednesday morning, the Franklin Police Department wanted to share some information that might be helpful with protecting you from further loss or aggravation caused by people making unsolicited offers to repair your home. The information here is from the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance website.

Franklin residents who need to report damage can call Building & Neighborhood Services at (615) 794-7012, extension #6, or email [email protected] or [email protected]

From the State of Tennessee:
Beware of contractors making door-to-door or telephone solicitations offering to make repairs to roofs and other storm damage to your home. Often these contractors are high-pressure salesmen, without experienced employees, who get you to contract and then they hire inexperienced, unlicensed individuals as “subcontractors”.

Never sign over the insurance check; do not pay with cash, or pay the total charges before the work is complete. The Home Improvement law prohibits contractors from asking for a downpayment of more than 1/3 of the total contract. See also the new guidelines section required by roofing contractors performing work to be paid from insurance claims listed below in the “General Information”.

Check Out Before Hiring!
Before you hire anyone to perform any kind of construction or remodeling work to your home, be sure to check them out first before hiring. This includes making sure they are properly licensed with our Board (see section below to know “When is a License Required”). Many contractors will say and advertise that they are licensed, bonded and insured, however, this may be their county “Business License” which is easily obtainable by simply paying the $15.00 tax and nothing else; insurance does not cover poor workmanship; and a bond is rarely obtained unless the local permit office requires it.

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