Local Roofing Company Scam on WSOCTV

http://www.wsoctv.com/money/24440545/detail.html

Jackie and Kerren Taylor said their roof is leaking from damage done during a hailstorm.

They said they made a $3,400 down payment to American Shingle Roofing, using an insurance check, to re-roof the house.

The payment was made in early May, the Taylors said, but the company told them it will be October before they get a new roof.

“Yeah, I'm angry because we can’t do anything about it,” Kerren Taylor said. “They [have] got our money.”

The Taylors said they asked for their money back, but were told they'd have to pay a 10 percent penalty fee.

They said they know others in their neighborhood who are in similar situations, stuck with damaged roofs months after signing contracts with American Shingle.

“You can walk the neighborhood and almost know who American Shingle got a hold of because the roofs aren't done,” Kerren Taylor said.

The Taylors’ complaint isn’t the first one Action 9 has gotten about American Shingle. Last week, an Action 9 story aired about Ella Frazier, who said she paid the company $4,800 up front, but waited three months without a new roof.

After Action 9 got involved in Frazier’s problem, the company overnighted a refund check to her.

The Better Business Bureau currently gives the company an ‘F’ rating.

“They've made a lot of promises on how they're going to improve things,” BBB President Tom Bartholomy said.

He said until the company makes those improvements, it will continue to have an ‘F’ rating.

Bartholomy said American Shingle has a sales staff selling lots of roofs, but not many roofers to do the jobs.

“They hire their roofers off of craigslist,” he said.

Action 9 contacted American Shingle and a spokesman said they were starting work in the Taylors’ neighborhood, but sent them a refund check.

Still, Jackie Taylor said the experience left him bitter.

“You don't do business this way,” he said.

To avoid trouble hiring roofers, Action 9’s Don Griffin recommends checking them out first with the BBB and not paying them until after you're satisfied with the work.