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Old 11-03-2012, 08:31 AM
 
Location: Charlotte, NC
7,041 posts, read 14,951,226 times
Reputation: 2335

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So, earlier today while I was standing in my backyard interviewing a potential roofer, another guy comes through the house. (A friend was there & she thought that he was a co-worker of the guy that I was interviewing). Turns out that he is some random guy that came to "repair my roof". He had a work order to come to the house, which he showed me..without my name on it...but, with the correct address...to "nail down the shingles". A call to his office could not determine who sent him. He gave me his card, but, the name on the card did not match what was on his truck. The license plates were from SC. Unfortunately, I did not write down the name on the truck. Hmmm. Just grateful to God that I was at home....

Oh, and BTW, the liability insurance dec page that was given to me by the roofer (via the subcontractor) was a fraud. There was no insurance. Ever.

Yes, I am filing criminal charges. In the meantime, I get to buy myself a new roof.
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Old 11-03-2012, 09:09 AM
 
642 posts, read 1,163,856 times
Reputation: 641
This story goes from bad to worse. If you didn't have bad luck, you would have no luck at all, as the song line goes.

I have heard that random, itinerant roofers try to con homeowners into bogus roof repairs and it sounds as if you just had a visit from one.

The real downer here is that your insurance is bogus and invalid. I am so sorry to hear this. Really.

From what you say the only thing you can now do is to put your hand into your pocket and pull out a wad of money. A real bummer .
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Old 11-03-2012, 10:06 AM
 
3,914 posts, read 4,937,303 times
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I get the feeling there is a lot of insurance fraud taking place around the install of new roofs when hearing stories such as this.
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Old 11-03-2012, 10:13 AM
 
Location: Charlotte, NC
7,041 posts, read 14,951,226 times
Reputation: 2335
Quote:
Originally Posted by krokus View Post
This story goes from bad to worse. If you didn't have bad luck, you would have no luck at all, as the song line goes.

I have heard that random, itinerant roofers try to con homeowners into bogus roof repairs and it sounds as if you just had a visit from one.

The real downer here is that your insurance is bogus and invalid. I am so sorry to hear this. Really.

From what you say the only thing you can now do is to put your hand into your pocket and pull out a wad of money. A real bummer .
Yep, Thanks for your support.

PLEASE let my trials with this process be a learning experience for everyone. DO NOT let anyone work on your home without doing a LOT of homework first. Something as benign as having a roof replaced could end up costing you a lot of $$$$$.

Liability insurance must be verified. If you look at the right hand corner, it will tell you the name of the company. Call the number that you find on the internet (not a number on the declaration page, because, it could be fraudulent, too) and go through the drama of trying to speak to a real person to verify the insurance. It will be frustrating, but, worth it in the end.

Verify every document presented to you. Call the companies or go on the internet to verify things such as builder's licenses. Call the city to verify they have a business license. Of course, do the BBB thing and Angie's list, but, keep in mind, my contractor who has no license & no insurance was listed on both with very good ratings.

Don't just call the references that they give you (they can be bogus, too). See if you can find out other references, (maybe through a forum like this).

It will take you a lot of time to do all of this, but, it will be worth it in the end. Please learn from me.

YES, I am having to pay for a new roof on my own. I have exhausted all other means. I am not a wealthy person and this is going to put a pretty huge dent in my budget as I did not plan to do this. I am not asking for sympathy, just want others to be aware so that they are not caught in the same situation.
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Old 11-03-2012, 10:25 AM
 
642 posts, read 1,163,856 times
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A while back there was a TV program on, of all places, UK TV that dealt with bogus workers turning up to do work on people's houses. It is fairly common over here to answer the door and be confronted with a man or men who push very hard to do work such as new driveways, tree pruning, fence work, you name it.

All of this is completely unsolicited and you always get a very hard and sometimes threatening sell.

The program looked at this phenomenon more or less world-wide. In Sweden, we were told, the problem is rife and in the US, the most common work offered was for roofing work where tiles are not used.

Of course, these guys always have all the right papers that "prove" that they have all the qualifications and are fully certified by everyone from the Pope downwards. This is all total BS.

My own way of getting rid of these people is simply to thank them very much for thing of me (yeah, right) and to tell them that my wife's cousin actually runs a small company that does whatever it is that they are selling and that will get all kinds of crap from here if I let anyone else but her cousin do this work. I then make some comment about "I guess that your wife would be the same, eh guys", and smile at
them.

This has, so far, solved the problem for me.

I have said all this so that you know that you have no been singled out for special attention.
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Old 11-03-2012, 12:06 PM
 
3,183 posts, read 7,165,992 times
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Friends I will repeat what I have said about roofing companies before. When you hire anyone (especially with a crew you havent seen) you must have it in writing what you REQUIRE. You require a contract first , Then you require that EVERY PERSON who comes on to your property is insured and is A LEGAL CITIZEN PERMITTED TO WORK HERE. In the contract it should say that the roofing company will provide proof as to who the workers are and forfeit getting paid if they cant. Any up front legal company will have no problem with this.
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Old 11-03-2012, 12:22 PM
 
Location: Charlotte, NC
7,041 posts, read 14,951,226 times
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Thanks, Krokus. It really does help. I was thinking that I had some kind of "X" on my head or something!

Crestliner, I have no problem with undocumented workers...as long as they do the job that they are contracted to do...and do it properly. Assuming that they are covered by the insurance of their employer (and are not another sub contract job like was done to me) and everything else is legal...I could not care less. In fact, it makes me appreciate the initiative of the undocumented person IF, like I said, he does the job well and is covered by his employer. It is his employer's onus to keep everything legit as far as I am concerned. At least he is not out here doing all sorts of other unmentionable acts and is working to support his family. Becoming a citizen and coming to this country "legally" is very, very expensive and the waiting list is (many times) in excess of 10-15 years, depending upon the country that people are coming from. For many people living in situations that are beyond deplorable, that is a lifetime that they simply cannot wait for.

Now, I know that this is going to unleash a firestorm, but, as my grandmother and great grandfather were both undocumented people who worked very hard to provide for their families and do the jobs that most Americans wouldn't (even back in that day); I do not feel like I have any right to be a hardliner when it comes to that subject.

I will agree, however, that every document given to you by a company will require verification. DO NOTHING without a written contract and verify every word. Going with a bigger, more well-known company may cost more, but, will pay off in the end.
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Old 11-03-2012, 12:56 PM
 
642 posts, read 1,163,856 times
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I think the key here, at least this is what I do, is never to employ people who approach you. Better by far to seek out contractors yourself. At least you have some idea what you are getting into bey they licensed, insured or, just cheap.
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Old 11-03-2012, 01:34 PM
 
Location: Charlotte, NC
7,041 posts, read 14,951,226 times
Reputation: 2335
Quote:
Originally Posted by krokus View Post
I think the key here, at least this is what I do, is never to employ people who approach you. Better by far to seek out contractors yourself. At least you have some idea what you are getting into bey they licensed, insured or, just cheap.
EXACTLY!! And, even if you seek them out, still VERIFY, VERIFY, VERIFY! Anyone can buy an advert!
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Old 11-03-2012, 05:19 PM
 
7,126 posts, read 11,635,633 times
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I would add to this list.
First a little story. In the business of renovating 16 years I got got screwed twice. Once in Clt and this year in Sav. I did all CC suggests and they are valid points BUT it's not enough. Both times the reason was these two contractors were badly in need of money. Now! In CLT it was a HVAC contractor that had all right things going for him. Took a $3500 deposit with the contract and took off.Chased him for two months until I found him on a job site a few blocks outside of uptown. Over 2 months I got back $2500. and gave up.

The second SOB was worse. Big time background. Pictures of what he did in Sav. Awards. And I was using some guys that worked for him in the past on other buildings I was doing. Got back $5000 and "lost" (since I had to do the work over) about $3000 on the whole deal.

In both cases these guys needed cash/money to pay down other debt.So:
1) You need to find out what kind of shape they are in. Pay (yourself) for materials from his total estimated price. Hence, no need to pay upfront for material "he needs" to buy.
Ex: I am doing a HVAC job right now. Got 3 estimates. Low bid $8000. I pay his supplier with a credit card.All the materials belong to me. He does rough in he gets a third of the balance. He gets rough in inspection he gets the second third. He gets final inspection he gets final pay. Works like a charm.

AND----You get Reward points. Enough points and fly to an island and work off the stress.
LOL
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