Be wary when hiring for hail repairs, province warns

In light of all the hail that fell this week, the Alberta government is now reminding people to be wary about who they hire to do repairs.

In Airdriealone, the estimated cost of damages is already in the millions.

That presents a big business opportunity for repair companies and scammers.

"Avoid any contractor that knocks to tell you they just happen to be doing some work in the area," said Marisol Mora, a public affairs officer with Service Alberta.

"It's better to wait and if you want to confirm that a contractor is actually licensed in our province and is able to take prepayments, you should go to the Service Alberta website and search for the business."

According to Calgary's Better Business Bureau, it's not unusual after big events like this to see repair scammers arriving to take advantage of people in a hurry to get the work done cheaply.

But Mora says it's worth it for the consumer to be patient and get the work done properly from a qualified person.