Roofing Snow Jobs – Contractor Door-to-Door Sales
Door-to-Door Sales and the FTC Home Solicitation Sales Act So a contractor gets a call from a frantic homeowner in Massachusetts. She pleads with the contractor to come out right away and fix something. She says it is an emergency! The CNN “Severe Weather Forecast” predicted more heavy snow and warned that some roofs may need to be shoveled off. The contractor arrives to check out the situation; there is no real emergency but the owner is plainly motivated to hire the contractor to do building maintenance tasks right away. On the spot, the contractor sees an opportunity to make an easy buck, writes out a contract for $999, the owner happily signs (after all, she thinks it is an emergency), and the contractor gets started right away. Either not thinking about it or thinking that a) because the cost of the job was under $1,000; or b) because the services were technically not construction services; or c) because the owner said it was an emergency, the contractor did not provide the homeowner with the statutory 3-Day Notice of Cancellation Form. Big Mistake! Later that day the homeowner pays the $999 in cash and is given a receipt for the work. She …