August 19th Letter from State of
Alabama Attorney General Troy King
August 23rd, 2010
Here is an update on the progress or lack of, on the American
Shingle debacle. August 19th I received in the mail a letter from American
Shingle. It reads, "Dear American Shingle Client, American Shingle has
recently closed the Huntsville office. Please direct any correspondence to
the following:
American Shingle Customer Care - 1-877-424-5349
Owners:
Marty Pureber 813-764-3217 and Dewayne Dunko 813-943-5429.
There was no other information listed only a Thank You!
The very next day (August 20th) in the
mail comes another letter from American Shingle. It was not so vague, it
detailed the customer's name, address, what it was referencing (RE-Roof
deposit refund) and an account ID number.
It continued to read:
I have taken my concerns to the Mayor of
Athens, Dan Williams and to the City Attorney Shane Black. I have also filed
my complaint with the Better Business Bureau back in July, and have filed a
complaint with the State Attorney General Troy King, which I advise everyone
in my predicament to do.
To contact the BBB go to
www.northalabama.bbb.org call (256) 533-1640 - email
info@northalabama.bbb.org
- to file your information with the State Attorney General go to
www.ago.state.al.us/consumer.cfm read over the information listed on
this page, at the bottom is a link to the form to fill out on your
complaint, there is also a number you may call. Consumer Hotline:
1-800-392-5658 or 334-242-7334.
Upon contacting the claims department of
my insurance company, (Allstate Insurance), I was told I have 6 months to
replace my roof and to receive the remainder of the funds for my roof. The
claims department did continue to say, they have had several calls in the
past couple of weeks and are aware of the situation many of their clients
are in, so they will extend the time allowed, but the homeowner
must contact them to give the insurance company their information.
So, don't wait, contact your agent or your
claims office to make them aware that American Shingle was who you signed
your check over to and you are going to need extra time, probably a lot of
time. I doubt your insurance will give you the time it is going to take to
solve this possible case of fraud, but find out your options, soon!
The other information I've obtained is
from Channel 19. Here are some links:
www.whnt.com/videobeta/4ae98eb3-0908-4ad7-a7f5-63d00de2e103/News/American-Shingle-s-CEO-Responds-To-Complaints
www.whnt.com/news/whnt-american-shingle-081810,0,4717336.story
August 19th, 2010
The salesman who sold me my roof is currently out of work, and is also owed
money. He is a local resident and I don't hold any animosity against him. I
believe he honestly thought I would receive my roof as he promised. He also
informed me, Athens residents have received finished transactions, roofs had
been replaced as recent as the first week in August. That the customers were
happy with the workmanship and the company.
AA (using initials to keep from causing
him additional fallout) indicated I should request a refund when I was able
to get in touch with someone, and don't let them attempt to allow another
appointment date for a roof. He also defended the owners by saying, "I don't
think they took everyone's money and left for the Bahamas, I feel they are
looking for some investors to help get them back on their feet."
For everyone reading this and saying, "How
stupid to give over all that money before the work was completed or even
began", I say to you, these are smooth convincing salesmen. I was also
informed by my insurance company that it is a normal practice to give a
partial payment before the company begins work. I also contact the BBB to
learn they had a C+ rating and had NO COMPLAINTS! We do have photos of the
man (JA), who accepted our check, along with his tag number, but then again,
he too no longer works for American Shingle.
Be careful who you allow yourself to
trust, even in our town where we sometimes don't lock our cars or
homes, leave our purse in the grocery buggy while we shop and stop to help a
fellow in need, folks are not all they seem, or like we would like for them
to be. I don't like distrusting people and thinking everyone is out to
get over on me, but as it would appear, that is exactly what they are trying
to do.
I'll continue to update as I learn
more.... Teresa
July 22nd 2010
Monday, July 19th I received a letter in the mail stating my roof would be
rescheduled to September 17th 2010. Having just contacted the previous
Monday July 12 to confirm my roofing date I was very concerned I was about
to be scammed.
I contacted the man who first came out door to door, told him about the
letter, he said they were really behind, he said ‘I guess that is good for
us to have so much work, but not for the homeowner.’ He told me he would
contact customer care and let them know I needed an earlier date. When I
didn’t receive a call from customer care I contacted the Huntsville office,
the young lady said they had been misrepresented in the news and all they
want is to do the work they have promised, that they did have several
obstacles to arise and were behind, but everyone will receive the roofs
promised.
When I asked to speak with someone who could discuss an earlier date or a
refund of my money, she transferred me to a customer care line where when it
was finally answered, it was voice mail. I left a message and indicated I
needed my roofing work scheduled earlier than in September.
I then contacted my original salesman again, which this time he didn’t
answer, but only minutes passed when I did receive a call from a lady with
American Shingle, where she too explained they are working as quickly as
possible to do the work promised. I asked if they were giving refunds on the
money they have collected and she replied they would, but would like the
opportunity to do the work they were promised to do.
I explained I had a leak in my roof which was causing a mold to form and was
an unhealthy living situation. I explained I needed to have the roof
replaced so I could have the inside repaired. She told me I would have a
roofer to come and repair the area that was leaking yesterday (July 21st). I
inquired if that was going to be an extra expense to me since I didn’t want
a band-aid I wanted a roof! She replied no, this will be no cost to me, we
are concerned about the leak and the unhealthy situation it causes. Well,
her roofer never showed or called.
I am now concerned about the insurance company’s time table on dispersal of
the remainder of the money after the first check has been cashed. I will
check on the length of time the work has to be completed by. I have made my
insurance company aware of the low rating the roofing company has with the
BBB and he suggests I watch the work done and materials used and have an
inspector come out before the last payment is made.
I will continue to update this page with information as I learn more.
If there is anyone who has received a roof from American Shingle, contact me
teresa@athensplus.com and let me
know how your experience went. What type of work you received, was it done
in the time table scheduled, how long ago was the work done etc.
Teresa Todd
AthensPlus.com
Here is a video from Channel 2 in Nashville where they went to see
American Shingle about a homeowners inability to get her roof or her money,
on a segment called
"That's Messed Up"
There have been many residents
recently contacted by American Shingle to replace their damaged roofs, I am
one of those residents. Most companies are very reputable and dependable but it does
pay to do your homework.
I was contacted on April 22nd
by a representative of American Shingle who was in my neighborhood and noticed I needed a new roof. He
explained he was doing work in my area and felt he could get my insurance
company to provide funds for a new roof.
I asked the usual questions and asked for credentials, I also checked their
rating with the BBB which at the time was a C+.
Currently that rating has gone
from a C+ to a F in three months. I've yet to receive my roof, however it is
scheduled to be replaced July 23rd. When I contacted the company to inquire
of the drop of their status with the BBB, I was told, "It's impossible to
please everyone", "the number of complaints against our company is only 2%
of the number of roofs we have provided."
I'm still very concerned after learning of the rating drop of this company,
I will be advising the public of my satisfaction or dissatisfaction after
the work has been done.
I'm posting this information
in hopes of helping others to make an informed decision before handing over
monies to a company before the work has been done.
Teresa Todd
July 13th 2010
Below information is courtesy of the BBB
American Shingle, LLC Collects Insurance Money for Roof Repairs, but Fails
to Begin Promised Work
[July 12, 2010 Nashville, TN] BBB of Middle Tennessee warns consumers about
the business practices of American Shingle, LLC located at 475 Metroplex Dr,
Suite 105A in Nashville, headquartered in Atlanta, GA. The company uses the
phone numbers 615-349-1436 and 877- 599-1568.
This company has a serious pattern of pending complaints. Specifically,
complaints allege the company is going door-to-door claiming they can assist
with roof repair or replacement. The company offers to assist the consumer
in working with their insurance company to ensure the consumer is not
responsible for payment. Once the consumer's insurance company approves the
repairs, the consumer is provided with a check endorsed to both the consumer
and American Shingle. The company accepts payment (ranging from $3000 to
$8000) and promises to begin work immediately; however, complaints allege
once the check is signed over the company fails to return to complete the
job. In addition, the company pushes the original start date out another 2
to 3 months claiming they are overwhelmed with other work in the Nashville
area due to recent flooding. In cases where roof repair work was completed,
complaints allege poor workmanship and failure of the company to return to
correct the problems. Other complaints allege poor customer service and
failure of the company to refund money when they were unable to honor the
agreed upon contract.
This company maintains an F rating with the BBB in Atlanta, GA, where the
company is headquartered due to 50 complaints filed against the business,
length of time the company has been operating, and failure to resolve 1
complaint. BBB of Middle Tennessee has contacted the Nashville location
repeatedly to request their assistance in responding to and resolving the
nine pending complaints. While the company has acknowledged receipt of the
complaints most complaints remain pending without a response. Due to the
serious nature of pending complaints filed against the Nashville location,
this location currently maintains an NR (not rated) rating. Once BBB has
completed its conciliation process a rating will be issued for the Nashville
location.
While it is
common practice for insurance companies to endorse home repair checks to the
homeowner, repair company, and the consumer's mortgagor, BBB strongly
advises against providing payment in full prior to work commencement.
Consumers
should not make payment until after the first day of work, and only then
should one-third of the payment be made. Subsequent payments should be made
during the project contingent upon completion of a defined amount of work.
Do not make
the final payment or sign an affidavit of final release until you are
satisfied with the work, the work has been inspected, and you have proof
that any subcontractors and suppliers have received payment for their work.
Failure to do so could result in a lien against your home.
Here are some tips from the BBB on selecting a roofing company!
BBB has identified the following to be indications that a contractor may not
be interested in satisfying customers:
Check with
your Better Business Bureau
for a reliability report before doing business by calling (256) 533-1640
Consumers (800) 239-1642 Toll Free in North Alabama (256) 533-1177 Fax
info@northalabama.bbb.org or
go online at
www.BBB.org
