BBB warns of scams following Wisconsin storm damage

EAGLE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Tree removal services had a busy day in Eagle, pulling trees off yard, boats and several houses.

"Downed trees," Alpine Tree Service owner Jim Czys said. "Uprooted, turned over. The tree that we're doing over here has multiple holes in the roof. I've seen probably six to seven homes."

Several homeowners spent the day fixing their property and calling insurance companies.

"It's just devastating," Betty Eckstein said. "There is not anywhere, any house that does not have terrific damage."

The Better Business Bureau said some people want to take advantage of disaster. They say to be on the lookout for so called "storm chasers."

"They'll follow storms around," Wisconsin BBB CEO Jim Temmer said. "Depending on the time of year, wherever they are, and they'll go into damaged areas, and they'll knock on people's doors and they'll claim all sorts of stuff."

They advise against giving insurance checks directly to contractors, and following anyone claiming they are surveying home damage.

"Let me go up on your roof and take a look, and they’ll go up there, and they'll go up there, they may pull a few shingles off and damage something, or they'll have a photo from someone else's roof that was damaged, and they'll come back down and go, oh, you've got a big problem here," Temmer said.

The BBB said if someone claims they can fix your house for half the price of everyone else,  you should be skeptical. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.