Door-to-door home maintenance scams come back every year. Here's how they work.

Door-to-door home services pick up every spring and summer, and so do the scams that come with them.

Last year a homeowner in the east end wrote in about a roofing crew that showed up unannounced, started working on her roof, and pressured her to sign a contract on the spot. She held her ground and they left. Plenty of people don't, and it's easy to see why. Someone is already on a ladder, the pitch is fast, and the price is "today only."

A few things worth knowing before the next knock.

The three pressure tactics to watch for

Almost every door-to-door scam runs on one of three plays:

Today-only pricing

A real quote on a real job doesn't expire by sundown. If the price only holds if you sign now, the price is the trap.

Manufactured urgency about safety

"Your roof is going to leak this winter." "Your chimney is unsafe." "We noticed something dangerous from the street." Maybe true, almost never urgent. A real problem is still a real problem tomorrow, after you've had someone else look.

A cash deposit before paperwork

This is the one that actually costs people money. The contract is mostly for show, the scammer doesn't care whether the paperwork holds up in court, because they don't plan to be findable. What they want is cash or an e-transfer before they leave your driveway. Once that's gone, it's gone. No legitimate contractor needs money in hand before there's a written scope and a signed agreement. None.

A few lines that end the conversation cleanly:

• "Thanks for the info. I'll follow up if I need anything."

• "This isn't a good time. I have your details."

• "I'll be getting other quotes before I decide."

  
  

A Pro who's actually any good will hand you a card and go. A Pro who argues with any of those lines has told you what you needed to know.

How to vet someone before you hire

How far to go depends on the job. A $200 gutter cleaning doesn't need the same due diligence as a $40,000 roof. But for anything:

Check that they're a real business

A website with a real address, a phone number that rings, and proof of liability insurance. For trades that require a licence in Ontario (electrical, plumbing, HVAC, roofing in some municipalities), ask for the licence number and look it up. It takes two minutes.

Get references, and call them

Reviews tell you how the work went on a good day. References tell you whether the person would hire them again. For larger jobs, ask for two or three and actually call. Ask what went wrong, not just what went right, every job has something, and how a contractor handled it is the thing worth knowing.

Watch how they answer normal questions

Scope, timeline, payment schedule, what's in writing. A good tradesperson doesn't always have a polished sales process, but they'll explain the work plainly and won't get prickly about specifics. If asking basic questions feels like an imposition, that's the answer.

Double check the name on payment

Anyone can show you a website that is real, even if it doesn't belong to them. When you are sending electronic payments, double check that the name you are paying to aligns with the previous checks you have done.

If you've already signed something

Two pieces of Ontario law are worth knowing about, in cases where you have signed something for future work.

Some things can't legally be sold at your door at all

Since 2018, Ontario has banned unsolicited door-to-door sales of furnaces, air conditioners, air purifiers, water heaters, water filters and softeners, and duct cleaning. If someone got you to sign a contract for any of these at your door, the contract isn't enforceable. You don't owe them anything.

Everything else has a 10-day cooling-off period 

For other door-to-door contracts (roofing, windows, paving, siding, lawn care) you have ten days from the day you received a written copy to cancel, in writing, for any reason. If the contract is missing required information (price, cancellation rights, seller contact details), that window extends to a year. 

What none of this gets back is cash. If you handed someone $2,000 at the door and they drove off, the contract being unenforceable is cold comfort. The law helps you undo paperwork. It can't undo a payment to someone who isn't planning to be found.

That's why the rule at the door is the same regardless of what's legal: don't pay, don't sign, take the card, close the door.