Mar 17, 2026
Colleen McMichael felt she was taken advantage of in January by two pushy salesmen that charged her nearly $50,000 to repair her allegedly destroyed roof.
The Etobicoke, ON resident told CTV News that two men knocked on her door at the beginning of the year and were selling an eavestrough repair service for $50 upfront (1). She agreed to have her eavestrough cleared out and let the men on her roof. Less than 10 minutes later, the men returned saying her roof was in shambles.
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The men told McMichael there was mould present, rotting wood, a hole and even an animal in the roof. They pressed her with the details and said a rush job costing $47,460 was necessary. The men also tried to persuade McMichael to pay thousands more to replace her eavestroughs.
“They were really pushing me and trying to frighten me that something devastating would happen to the roof and my house if I didn’t take care of it,” McMichael said.
Unfortunately, the men found McMichael in a self-described vulnerable state, telling the news outlet that the same day she was sold the services, she received “bad news” about her mother’s health and her own — she felt she was not thinking straight.
McMichael signed a contract with a company named Skycrest Roofing Experts according to CTV, and the men completed the job. But after they left, McMichael had a different roofer review the work completed. They said much of the work would have to be redone.
McMichael did not mince words when describing her story, saying she regrets handing over the $47,460 to the company.
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“I don’t have that kind of money, and I’ve been taken for a ride and it’s really impacted me,” she admits.
The dark side of door-to-door sales
Direct sales are a staple in the Canadian economy. In fact, recent data from the Direct Sellers Association shows there are more than 1.1 million independent sales consultants operating in nationwide, with over 200 companies sell their services using a direct selling model (2).
However, there are well-intention business practices and others that are much more nefarious. The positive kind of door-to-door sales involves warm interactions, careful conversations and tries to find value for customers. The negative kind — what McMichael experienced — involves high-pressure tactics and downright dishonesty.
In her case, McMichael fell prey to an unfortunate case of fear-based upselling. Instead of using reasonable language to help her understand the situation her roof was in, the salespeople emotionally pushed her into a corner.
The more pressing question is, did McMichael fall to a service scam?
It isn’t entirely clear if she was technically scammed, as the workers did complete the job as stated. However, the repairs she received were of low quality, according to roofing professional, which suggests that the business took advantage of her situation.
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The salespeople also used deceptive sales tactics to coax McMichael into paying a massive rush fee. It is unlikely a reputable contractor would push that hard for a service that someone actually needed. Instead, they would give a strong recommendation and allow the client to make a decision based off their professional insight.
Moreover, Skycrest Roofing Experts is almost non-existent online. The business has no Better Business Bureau record, no Google Maps listing, a website that isn’t functional (3) and no social media accounts. It’s unusual for a legitimate business to have no digital footprint.
Taken together, all of this evidence raises serious concerns about how Skycrest Roofing Experts conduct themselves.
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How you can avoid sketchy sales offers and scams
There is nothing worse than feeling like you’ve been taken advantage of, especially when it comes to your hard-earned money. Whether it’s an unethical sales tactic or an outright scam, it stings. But there are some tried-and-true ways you can sift out unfair business practices and spot a shady salesperson before you sign on the dotted line.
- Put the salesperson in the hot seat. Just because someone is at your door providing a sales pitch, it doesn’t mean they have to do all the talking. Inquire about their business, the project, and contract details to get a feeling for how organized they are. If you need more ideas for questions, the Canadian Home Builders' Association has a helpful list (4).
- Always get a second opinion. No matter how hard a salesperson pushes you to purchase, always get more than one estimate. Cross-checking offers between multiple companies quickly weeds out reputable businesses from those that aren’t.
- Watch for high-pressure sales tactics. Pay attention to salespeople who use a high sense of urgency, manipulation or even outright aggression as part of their sales pitch (5). Businesses that use these types of high-pressure tactics are usually not worth working with in the first place.
Bottom line
Door-to-door sales can quickly turn into a panic situation if a salesperson can successfully deceive a customer through emotional manipulation. A well-timed sense of urgency can pull the wool over the eyes of even the most vigilant consumer. The key antidote to such compelling exploitations? Always getting a second opinion before you sign the contract — and never, ever signing on the spot.
Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
CTV News (1); DSA (2); Skycrestroofing.ca (3); CHBA (4); SBDC (5)
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Brett Surbey is a corporate paralegal with KMSC Law LLP and freelance writer who has written for Yahoo Finance Canada, Success Magazine, Publishers Weekly, U.S. News & World Report, Forbes Advisor and multiple academic journals. He and his family live in northern Alberta, Canada.
