Ontario man spends $40,000 in unnecessary roofing repairs after ‘free inspection’ scam

The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) issued a warning earlier this year to be cautious of companies going door-to-door offering to pave your driveway, do home renovations or check your roof.

Police say these are scam contractors who aim to trick you into expensive repairs under the guise of free inspections.

Richard Morris of Scarborough, Ont., said it was last month when his doorbell rang, and he answered to a contractor offering to do a free chimney inspection.

“They offered to give me an estimate to repair my chimney, and I didn’t see any harm in it,” Morris told CTV News. “Unbeknownst to me, they dumped a bunch of rubble by the side of the house, so it looked like they were working on the chimney when they weren’t.”

When the contractor got on the roof, Morris said, they claimed it was in terrible shape and in need of serious repairs. He said they ripped off the shingles and claimed the rafters were rotten and needed to be replaced, something they said would cost him $26,000.

Morris said he felt intimidated into going forward with the repairs because he was told if he didn’t allow them to do the work, they would contact the city and have his home condemned.

Morris said he ended up paying the scammers $30,000. He then had to pay another $10,000 to a legitimate company to repair his roof after the scammers left it in disrepair, he said.

“I was suspicious from the get-go. They would do damage and then they would want to repair the damage, and of course they had no intention of doing that,” said Morris. “$40,000 is a lot of money and it’s causing a lot of problems.”

The contractor Morris was scammed by was using the name of what appears to be a reputable company, but calls and emails made by CTV News to the company were not returned.

Morris said he filed a complaint with the Toronto Police Service, but he was told it was a civil matter.