# "We're Just Doing a Job Up The Street"-Common Scam? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2012, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-just-doing-a-job-up-the-street-common-scam/628429 "2012-07-16T18:34:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-just-doing-a-job-up-the-street-common-scam/628429/21 "2012-07-17T06:21:03Z")
Okay, I can see the driveway thing. But can somebody explain to me how the roofing scam is going to work? I’m guessing you’re not going to have a guy show up at your door claiming to have a truckload of leftover shingles or tiles he’s offering to install for you that afternoon. But are there really enough people who have poured asphalt roofs on their homes to make this scam workable? If so, it must be a regional thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-just-doing-a-job-up-the-street-common-scam/628429/22 "2012-07-17T06:51:54Z")
> [@Arrendajo](#): > > Occasionally? This is a common enough scam that I would never hire anyone who came to my door soliciting work with this story. I never buy anything from anyone who solicits me, either at my door or on my phone. Yes, they might be honest businesses trying to get some work. But the odds are that they are trying to rip me off, either with an inflated price or by faking the work, or by not delivering at all. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-just-doing-a-job-up-the-street-common-scam/628429/23 "2012-07-17T06:53:13Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Okay, I can see the driveway thing. But can somebody explain to me how the roofing scam is going to work? I’m guessing you’re not going to have a guy show up at your door claiming to have a truckload of leftover shingles or tiles he’s offering to install for you that afternoon. But are there really enough people who have poured asphalt roofs on their homes to make this scam workable? If so, it must be a regional thing. They get some or all of the money up front, and discover that they need more material, or different tools, or they have to go eat lunch. And that’s the last you’ll see of them and your money. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-just-doing-a-job-up-the-street-common-scam/628429/24 "2012-07-17T08:18:54Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > They get some or all of the money up front, and discover that they need more material, or different tools, or they have to go eat lunch. And that’s the last you’ll see of them and your money. No, I know it’s a scam. I’m just trying to see how it’s even possible. You don’t just show up at somebody’s house and say “Hi, I’ve got a bunch of shingles in my truck. Do you want me to nail them up on your roof?” It would be like somebody offering to paint your house with some paint they had left over. Even if they are completely honest and the price is great, nobody is going to want their house changed to some random color. And who’s going to buy a story that somebody is offering to reshingle a roof in part of a day? That’s like somebody offering to build you a garage in an afternoon. Shingling a roof is a multi-day job even if you do a half-ass job of it. I realize it’s a con but a con has to have some plausibility to it in order to work. Otherwise you might as well just stick to burglary or mugging - crimes that don’t take any brainwork. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-just-doing-a-job-up-the-street-common-scam/628429/25 "2012-07-17T08:23:57Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Remember what the con men say: > > That means an honest man will recognize something too good to be true, but a dishonest one will think he’s the one who’s actually taking advantage of someone. Actually it can be really easy to con an honest man. They tend to be trusting. You’ve just got to use a different con then you’d use against a dishonest man. You con an honest man by convincing him he’s helping somebody and you con a dishonest man by convincing him he’s cheating somebody. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-just-doing-a-job-up-the-street-common-scam/628429/26 "2012-07-17T11:31:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > No, I know it’s a scam. I’m just trying to see how it’s even possible. You don’t just show up at somebody’s house and say “Hi, I’ve got a bunch of shingles in my truck. Do you want me to nail them up on your roof?” It would be like somebody offering to paint your house with some paint they had left over. Even if they are completely honest and the price is great, nobody is going to want their house changed to some random color. > > And who’s going to buy a story that somebody is offering to reshingle a roof in part of a day? That’s like somebody offering to build you a garage in an afternoon. Shingling a roof is a multi-day job even if you do a half-ass job of it. > > I realize it’s a con but a con has to have some plausibility to it in order to work. Otherwise you might as well just stick to burglary or mugging - crimes that don’t take any brainwork. The “leftover material” isn’t always part of the scam. Most roofing scams the scam roofers will knock on a door and say “you know you have some shingles missing from that last storm, you really ought to have someone redo your roof.” They then offer a very good price, get some cash upfront, climb up on the roof _maybe_ but don’t actually spend any money on materials or any real time up there then they leave never to return. [Read this](http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20101202-roofing-scam-targets-elderly-residents-in-east-dallas-nearby-towns.ece) and maybe you’ll get the picture. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-just-doing-a-job-up-the-street-common-scam/628429/27 "2012-07-17T11:41:37Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > To each their own… I “fell for” this several years ago with a landscaper. I’ve since hired him about six more times and so have many of my neighbors. He does great work, and it is fun watching his business evolve from a couple of guys with a truck and trailer to a company with multiple trucks, crews in uniforms, and a successful business. Plus, he gives me a great deal since I was one of his first customers. > > Maybe not everyone is a scam artist. Its common here as well to send sales guys out to places where you are working. You bunch up your roofs (everyone has hail damage at the same time) and then send out the sales team while the roofs are being worked on. If you stop by the house “up the street” they just finished, there is a new roof and the construction sign in the front yard. And if you stop by the house they are “doing today” they are finishing a roof (it only takes a day for a roof). Makes sense as it allows you to quickly get a referral. I’ve never heard the “extra materials” line and would have a problem with it. The math to re shingle a roof isn’t hard and a roofer should be able to estimate materials needed pretty closely - not be off by a factor greater than two that would allow you to do two roofs. Now, plenty of times it appears to be a scam. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-just-doing-a-job-up-the-street-common-scam/628429/28 "2012-07-17T12:39:02Z")
We get the door-to-door folks every now and then. Some are just regular salesmen trying to drum up business for their services. ADT, landscaping, FIOS, pest control, etc. These are not scams. However, we also get the “leftover materials” pitch which for the most part _are_ scams. But even if they are not (that is, they really will do what they say), the cover story is always bullshit. You and I both know the stuff you are schlepping around the neighborhood is your trade materials and not accidentally left over from some “job up the street.” I get that you want to get hired on for a job, but just be up front about it. You are lying to my face–why should I hire you? Another scam is the Thomasville furniture truck. Thomasville is a fairly high-end furniture maker. Good reputation. So when a semi rig with THOMASVILLE in big script letters rolls up and parks on my street, and a group of guys start hitting the houses door-to-door, I know something is fishy. The story is “hey, the warehouse sent us (to the wrong destination / with the wrong load) and we’ve got all this furniture we’ll let go cheap! Great deal! Come out to the truck and see for yourself!” Of course its not Thomasville brand furniture. It’s merely a truck from Thomasville, NC with cheap ass furniture they try to sell to dupes. We actually have a Thomasville furniture store in nearby Fairfax; I dropped by later that afternoon to confirm the scam (it was) and let them know that one of “those trucks” was working Gainesville. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-just-doing-a-job-up-the-street-common-scam/628429/29 "2012-07-17T12:49:32Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Actually it can be really easy to con an honest man. They tend to be trusting. You’ve just got to use a different con then you’d use against a dishonest man. You con an honest man by convincing him he’s helping somebody and you con a dishonest man by convincing him he’s cheating somebody. Did you read my rule? You have to be honest, and have common sense. An honest fool gets taken. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2012, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-just-doing-a-job-up-the-street-common-scam/628429/30 "2012-07-17T13:24:06Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > And who’s going to buy a story that somebody is offering to reshingle a roof in part of a day? That’s like somebody offering to build you a garage in an afternoon. Shingling a roof is a multi-day job even if you do a half-ass job of it. Guess it depends on the size of your roof and the size of the working crew. We had our entire roof stripped (3 layers of shingles thanks to the previous owners) and redone in about 9 hours, including the installation of a solar tube and the removal of a cheesy “cupola” over the garage. I think there were 6 or 7 guys working, and apart from a few stray nails and bits of old shingle, our yard was pristine when they left. Oh, and they weren’t door-to-door solicitors. Their bid was the best one we got. Now, if you’re talking 1 or 2 guys, yeah, they won’t be able to do it in a day. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/were-just-doing-a-job-up-the-street-common-scam/628429.md?page=1)