Consumer update.
IRMA came quickly but not without warning!
- This isn't about staying or leaving as Irma made her impending arrival known.
- The fact that FEMA never came out to check on us after our daughter called, because we were cut off while talking on the phone, after the storm hit, to see if we were alright.
- Or having to have 17 mature pines and palms removed leaving our property looking like a war zone.
- Or having no power or real hot food for 10 days.
NO!
The beginning of the problem started when we began to access any damage to our home. Yes, we were luckier than many when we realized the roof had tiles that were lifted, cracked or moved around. But the process of finding someone to make the repairs without taking advantage of us, was where it all began.
- Our regular roofer, I called who we learned to trust over the years; we certainly understood that there were many people with our same problem and that we needed to wait our turn.
- wouldn't come out to access the damage or let us know what could/should be done to make our roof hole again,
- told us without even looking at the roof that they needed 50% up front before they would even look, or help us with the insurance claim, scare tactics.
- So we felt forced to look elsewhere.
It started after we thought we had enough information and trust as we selected our contractor. There was much back and forth between the contractor who said, "you will not have to pay anything even the deductible" and our insurance carrier; later came to realize this was a play on words.
"As a consumer thrown into a very unfamiliar situation you find yourself prey and this contractor used that. "In May 2018 we gave the contractor 1/4 of the total contracted amount but they did not start until August 30, 2018.
- At that time they started to remove the old roof and prepare for the new going from tile to metal; which took them about 1 week when underlayment was installed over entire roof,
- metal delivered on September 11, 2018,
- so looks like we are well underway, right!!!!
Well on September 13, 2018 at 9:30 PM a large noise alerted us and we turned on the outdoor lighting; thinking it had to be a large tree. WRONG, our entire pool cage collapsed onto the pool area so we stared to take pictures.
The next morning we began to access what had happened only to find that the structure had been pried away from the roof then a saw was used around the entire structure which removed all support.
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| Saw marks |
Immediately called my insurance company and got 3 enclosure contractors to look at and send me quotes for the work to remove and replace the enclosure.
My insurance carrier has denied our claim because it was caused by the contractor.
So 60 days later and the contractor has refused to take responsibility even after our insurance company sent out an engineer to evaluate the situation. His findings were clear, confirmed by the many pictures and measurements he had taken; with that information he determined that the construction company was at fault so the insurance refused our claim.
Here is where we are;
- Fighting with a contractor whose workers were negligent in what they did to our enclosure. They have insurance for such things but are refusing to take responsibility.
- Attornies Morgan and Morgan and Sean King who advertise extensively here will not handle the dispute because the monitory value is not high enough for them.
- an unfinished roof, with a questionable area clearly visible from the front of our home.
- payment now at 50%.
My take away at this point;
- Don’t Panic!
- As long as nothing has landed on the roof and water is coming in, try to take a little time to evaluate the situation before spending any money.
- Try to be on the property or have someone you trust on the property when any work is being done,
- Select your contractor from the area where you live,
- DO NOT select a General contractor,
- Select a contractor specializing in your particular situation, ie roofer, plumber, electrician,
- DO NOT SELECT a larger company based all around the country,
- Check the internet for comments on any company you are considering,
- Be sure any disputes have been taken care of and if possible call the complainant for additional feed back,
