On the doorstep
Six questions, two minutes, and the answers tell you most of it.
None of these are confrontational and all of them are normal. A firm that answers them plainly is the one you want; a firm that finds them irritating has told you something before touching your floor.
- 00What is your licence number?And which state issued it. You are going to look it up, and saying so is fine.
- 01What reading are you drying to?Dry is a number compared with unaffected material, not a judgement by hand.
- 02What comes out, and what stays?Ask them to point at each item rather than describe it.
- 03Is anything here an assignment of benefits?If yes, you may decline it and still have the work done.
Goes to an independent contractor. Nothing is booked until you say so. Calls may be recorded.
The two questions about money
How is equipment charged, and is the mitigation invoice separate from any repair? Equipment is billed per day it stands in the house, and a single undifferentiated total is where most disputes in this trade begin.
A firm that itemises by equipment and by day is easier to settle with, and easier for an adjuster to approve.
The answer that should end the conversation
An offer to cover your deductible. It sounds generous and is usually insurance fraud, with you as a participant rather than a victim. Thank them and close the door.
Close behind it: a demand for a large deposit before any work, and a contract presented as urgent with no notice of cancellation attached.
What you are entitled to be given
A notice of cancellation, in the same language as the contract, for anything signed at your home. Federal rules require it, and a waiver of the three-day right has to be written out by you in your own handwriting rather than ticked on a form.
Who asks
Whoever opens the door, but not everyone can sign afterwards.
- 01You own and live hereAsk all six, then decide. Nothing has to be signed in the first hour.
Ask them: will you start emergency work on a simple authorisation rather than a full contract? - 02You own and let it outBrief the tenant on what to ask and what not to sign, in writing, before anyone turns up.
- 03You rentAsk for identification, write down the company name, and sign nothing at all.
- 04A neighbour sent themA recommendation is not a licence check. Do both.
Goes to an independent contractor. Nothing is booked until you say so. Calls may be recorded.
Where these figures come from
Published by someone other than us. Each link goes to their own words rather than to our summary of them.