The Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennessee says complaints continue to pour in regarding the American Shingle roofing company.
The watch dog agency says the Atlanta-based company has an F-rating for allegedly taking customer insurance money and then not fixing roofs, or providing refunds in a timely manner.
Messed Up has learned of six families on Blue Springs Road, all in one cul-de-sac, who feel like they have been scammed.
Roxanne Turner lives in the 4800 block. Her neighbor around the corner is Kim Noseworthy.
The women have more in common than living on the same street.
Both women have American Shingle Roofing signs in their front yards. Both women are frustrated. Both women want their roofs fixed or their money returned.
Turner says she has been dealing with the Atlanta Roofing Co. since April 15. She says she’s had a blue tarp spread across her roof for months now.
“I’ve been waiting for three months,” she says.
“I got an appointment for June 9 and that got close, then [American Shingle] said it will be the end of June, then beginning of July, then the third week of July, now it is tomorrow. They put a dumpster in yard.”
Turner says she signed over $1,800 to the company in mid-April.
She says the excuses are wearing her out.
“The first time they could not do it, they said they were backed up from floods, and then they said they want to make sure materials were right, they didn’t want to use shoddy materials. They tell me they are backing it up again.”
I ask if she is mad.
“That is not the word. It is messed up,” she says.
About this time, Noseworthy arrives with her child in tow. The women seem to meet for the first time and immediately they have something in common.
“Like you I have one of those in my yard,” Noseworthy says pointing to the American Shingle sign in Turner’s front yard “They were supposed to do my job today. A week ago, they said it was pushed back to Sept 23, something about material and supply issues.”
Noseworthy says luckily her insurance company stopped payment on the check to American Shingle.
“What is it that is messed up? For me, they came out in March got our roof looked at, and an adjuster from insurance company said, ‘Yes, you need one,’ so it was approved. We got all our paperwork in, phone calls from project coordinator were made, we got the insurance check for $3,459.64, this is dated 5/21/10,” she says while holding out the check. “I am extremely frustrated. I thought this was legit. I heard nothing against them.”
The women are mad that they have one or two day roofing jobs and it is taking 90-days to get their roofs fixed.
I tell them they are just two unsatisfied customers in a cul-de-sac with four other alleged victims.
The women are sweating mad by this point and simply say over the top of one another, “Make it right. Fix my damn roof. Or give me my money back.”
That was Thursday.
Messed Up immediately hit the phones and email and began complaining in behalf of the people on Blue Springs Road.
Mrs. Turner reports those complaints paid off because by this weekend crews were on her roof.
As of Monday, August 2 her roof was half way done. By phone she says, “The back half is done and half the front is done. I think your calls definitely got them out here.”
Mrs. Noseworthy tells us that nobody from American Shingle has contacted her. She says it could be because her insurance company stopped payment on the check.
A woman who claims to run the roofing company on Turner’s roof refused to tell us her company’s name.
She said she subcontracts to American Shingle and she says that she has no direct contact with the main office.
When I asked about the coincidence of my calls and the roof being completed, she laughed and said it was a strange coincidence.
We’ll have more on this company and possible legislation to tighten control over the industry in future editions of “That is Messed Up.”
In the meantime, below are some other items we have learned about the company and its license with the state.
Andy,
I found out a little bit more information about American Shingle. The company is licensed through the Dept. of Commerce and Insurance’s Contractors Board. In order to be licensed, a company must have a $10,000 surety bond and if there are one or more employees, workers comp insurance.
Eight counties, including Davidson, require a home improvement contractor’s license for projects over $3,000 but less than $25,000.
Also, the contractor’s board and the consumer affairs division have each received one complaint against American Shingle.
Blake Fontenay
Communications Director
Tennessee Departments of Comptroller, State and Treasury
Multiple emails to American Shingle’s PR representative yielded this response:
Andy:
I sent these to our legal department, as I am out of the office this week.
Remember that Franklin suspect who police say swallowed drugs during an arrest? Read the story.
Authorities rushed Aaron Smith to the Williamson Medical Center emergency room where he underwent surgery to remove what officials say was crack cocaine.
Vanderbilt sent the $5,500 surgical bill to the Franklin police. Police officials told Messed Up the department would not use taxpayer money to pay this expense.
Many of you felt the prisoner should have at least received the bill.
We asked you to vote on the issue, and 86% of you said, send Aaron Smith or his family the bill.
In fact, not a single person voted that Vanderbilt should eat the expense.
Messed Up checked with Vanderbilt University Medical Center on this issue. According to officials, below is where the issue presently stands:
Andy,
The charges in their entirety have been sent to the responsible party. In this case, according to the Franklin Police Department, this is the patient. So this is where the matter currently stands. The complete charges have been sent to the patient.
Once we receive a denial in writing, we send the information to our legal department for their review. They will make a determination whether we need to follow-up with the Franklin Police Dept, Williamson County Jail, or continue to pursue payment from the patient.
Thank you,
John Howser
Director, Office of News and Communications
Trent Anderson writes:
Andy,
I have something for you that is truly messed up. There is a fairly new apartment complex in the Antioch area. It is a nice gated community. The problem is that in order to get through the gate you must search for the person’s name that you are attempting to visit. Once you hit any of the buttons you are electrocuted. It is not a little shock either. It is a good solid jolt that runs through your fingers and arm. I spoke to one of the apartment workers and he told me it was because of the electric lines that are in close proximity to the gate. My fear is that a young kid or an elderly person is going to be shocked and that it will cause harm. Imagine if someone is wearing a pace maker and is shocked. I would think that it could cause serious damage. Just thought you might be interested!
Trent,
We were interested and we investigated. Intrepid Photo Journalist Al Devine volunteered to push the buttons and touch the box. He was neither shocked nor injured. Perhaps it is fixed. It certainly was not malfunctioning as of 7/29/10.
Thanks for sending in your concern,
Messed Up Team
There is a political sign on the entrance ramp to I-40 west (in front of Summit Hospital). If you can’t park a vehicle there, except for emergencies, why is there a political sign there?
Jayson Wolbert writes:
I have been told by a bunch of people that these campaign signs are MESSED UP! What ever happened to the politicians who got off their butts and went door to door to meet their neighbors? I am running for office in Robertson
County and being responsible with money I have opted to not use signs.
While I go door to door handing out business cards it is just amazing how many people tell me “Thank You” when I tell them I am not putting out signs. In our town we have strict sign ordinances. Several businesses have been hurt by the inability to use signs; however the streets are littered with campaign signs. If you get the time drive through White House and look at our mess of signs. Please stop the mayhem and foolishness; these signs are just Messed Up!
Imagine going through life with a name so synonymous with a fictional character that it actually prevents you from doing every day things like joining Facebook or making hotel arrangements.
James Glenn Bond is a carpet store owner in Franklin. The 50-year-old says he was born two years before the first James Bond movie came out.
“My name is Bond, James Bond,” the Williamson County School board member said with a smile on his face.
Bond is running for reelection and like all candidates, getting exposure is important.
Holding a red sign that states, “Elect James Bond, Williamson County School Board District 12,” Bond tells Messed Up he is losing campaign signs at an alarming rate.
He says he’s probably out $400 on signs so far.
“People take them. They are a collector’s item. I started with 50 signs, now I have 13 left,” he said. “I lost 12 in one night.”
Bond says he had the same problem with missing campaign signs years ago, and tells me a funny story about that.
“I went into a house to measure. I own a carpet store, so I was measuring the floor, I walk in and I see one of my signs on this guy’s wall. I said dude that is my sign and he says, ‘What can I say?’ So we laughed. It was after the election so I signed the sign and sold the man some carpet,” he recalled.
I ask Bond if he called the police. He says he did but they didn’t initially treat the report very seriously.
“They said they can’t do anything unless someone is caught,” he said.
I call the police and ask about the police report for the stolen campaign signs.
Authorities tell me there is no police report on record.
I call Mr. Bond back and he said investigators called him to take a report after Messed Up got involved.
Bond says being James Bond causes problems for him outside the world of campaign signs.
“Every time the phone book comes out my wife gets crank phone calls. If I try to make a hotel reservation, it’s impossible. They think it’s a crank. I can’t even get a Facebook account. They say James Bond is fictional. Five hundred million people are on Facebook and I can’t get one.”
Why not change your name to “Jimmy” or “Jimbo” I ask.
“Because I was born James Bond,” he said.
“So I call out, ‘Hey Jimmy,’ you don’t even turn around?”
When the upstairs toilet sprang a leak, water seeped into the walls of the apartment below.
The downstairs resident ordered an environmental report that indicated black mold had formed in the kitchen and under a bathroom vanity.
Melissa Mangiagli (pronounced: Man-Jelly) lives in the apartment. The 30-year-old told Messed Up she is asthmatic and sensitive to mold.
“I know there is visible black mold and in the air,” she said. “I hired an environmental engineer. They told me it is black mold. I have allergies and asthma. I had a massive sinus infection.”
Mangiagli said she repeatedly asked the apartment management to remediate the problem, but she didn’t get the response she felt was necessary.
“They told me I was overreacting,” she recalled. “That it was not mold, that this was not serious. I wanted to say, ‘Yes it is!’”
Messed Up talked with corporate officials about Mangiagli’s situation.
By phone, Joey Bruce, director of maintenance for Venterra Realty in Houston, Texas, said, “We responded and repaired the leak. We tested the unit. The testing report was negative for mold. It came back for allergens and that kind of thing, but not black mold. Apparently after initial repairs, we didn’t know it was ongoing problem.”
Bruce also told Messed Up that contrary to what Mangiagli said, the apartment had no record of her calling in the operating system.
“When a resident calls,” Bruce continued over the phone, “the first thing we do is track it in the system. No request was entered.”
I told Mr. Bruce that I have reviewed Mangiagli’s private report and it indicates the presence of black mold.
The Better Business Bureau is warning all consumers tonight to be on guard against an Atlanta roofing company with an “F” rating and dozens of complaints in multiple states.
Messed Up has been looking into the American Shingle Company for several weeks.
We initially spoke with a woman who signed over a $4,300 dollar insurance check to the company in early June.
When she had 2nd thoughts, she cancelled her contract in 2 days, as the contract indicated she could. She claims the company said her money would be returned promptly. That was weeks ago and she is still waiting.
We called the company in behalf of Margaret Sweatt.
As it relates to Sweatt’s roof; Jamie Werner, a Public Relations official writes:
““Under our normal process we request that the customer sign a release of liability at which time we refund the customers money. We communicate regularly with all of our customers especially when there is a refund request. These refunds are handled by our accounting department and are processed in a timely manner. This may have been an oversight in accounting; her money will be promptly refunded.”
That communication from the PR lady was on Wednesday 7/21/10. As of Friday 7/23/10, Mrs. Sweatt tells MESSED UP she has had NO communication from the company.
That doesn’t surprise Greg Turner. The 42 year old worked for American Shingle for 5 months, from February till June.
“They said call yourself an insurance replacement specialist,” Turner says. “But what we were was really salesmen.”
According to the Rutherford County man, his job was simple; go to a neighborhood and convince homeowners they needed a new roof whether they needed one or not.
“Basically we would go find an area and knock on doors. It doesn’t matter if there is damage or not. Just get them on paper.”
“What was the bottom line?” I asked.
“To get as many people signed up as possible.”
Turner says it should only take a week at most to put on a roof. He says American Shingle is averaging an unacceptable 12-15 weeks.
Why so long?
According to Turner, American Shingle deliberately uses stall tactics to maximize profits earned on the insurance checks collected from home owners like Margaret Sweatt.
“I asked numerous times, if we could speed up the process to put on the roofs,” Turner says. “And this comes from the corporate office; they will not change it. They told me they put the money into an account and draw interest on it as long as they can. On a $5,000 roof, that is not much interest, but they want you to get 10 to 20 customers every week, and there are 20 other salesmen getting 15 to 20 people and that adds up and could mean millions in interest each year.”
“So you allege, they are about getting money into a pot, making interest and returning the interest?”
“Right, the idea is earn interest on the money. Now they will do the roof, but it takes forever, they don’t care some customers have major leaks going on.”
We asked P.R. person Jamie Werner in Atlanta about this allegation:
“In response to your last question, American Shingle does not receive interest on deposits collected from homeowners. The funds are used to install customer roofs or are refunded from one of the companies accounts.”
Kathleen Calligan at the BBB of Middle Tennessee says
“For a company to put money in anything other than an interest bearing account would be very unusual.”
The BBB says they have an F record … How do they respond?
And when asked about the BBB “F” rating; Jamie Werner has this to say:
“ASSI is working with the BBB to merge their rating. We currently have less than .005% complaints as compared to the number of customers. We have withdrawn our membership from the BBB in 4 markets because of this seemingly unfair evaluation. The BBB is currently trying to consolidate all markets into Atlanta for improved communication and a fair as well as an accurate rating.
We are confused by how the Nashville BBB has come to that conclusion, there is currently only one complaint registered with the BBB. All work will be performed as contracted and scheduled. Some customers have experienced delays due to the large volume of storm damage in their area and it is our commitment to the customer to use only trusted and quality installers.
Again as stated previously, we currently have less than .005% complaints as compared to the number of customers. We have withdrawn our membership from the BBB in 4 markets because of this seemingly unfair evaluation process. Any large organization will appear to have a large number of complaints but will in fact have a very low complaint ratio.
Kathleen Calligan responds thusly: “The BBB business rating algorithm does contain size of company element…but even if the company is a mega dollar business it’s the 50 complaints of the same nature that are important to customer satisfaction…Put the roof on or give the consumer a refund….If the company is this large and growing at such a fast rate…and that’s why they can’t perform the roofing jobs…why continue to solicit more customers?”
Mr. Turner says he came forward because he wants to help the customers he represented, some of whom are elderly.
Turner says he has his cell phone on and all his customers can call him day or night.
Turner says he was fired from the roofing company because he didn’t like how customers were being treated…when he stopped selling for a week…the company let him go. The company owes him close to $2,000 dollars he says.
When Messed Up visited the Metroplex office of American Shingle here in Nashville, we discovered a secretary in a Spartan room, with a desk and a computer. There was an ancillary room where a group of
people were inside apparently in a classroom like setting.
We asked Turner what they were doing in there. Turner says they were addressing issues, sales numbers and rehearsing their role playing.
Role Playing I asked.
Turner says they have come up with a script of issues consumers regularly have during the sales pitch, and the sales force practices these rebuttals to convince the homeowners to make a deal.
Click here to see the rebuttal list as supplied by Mr. Turner.
Stephen writes,
I sure wished you could have used my story about American Shingle. My request may have been one of many. I was just curious if others have contacted you besides the woman listed in the newscast. I want to thank you for highlighting the fraud of a company that American Shingle is. If there is any certain contact person or number you could share with me to get my deposit refunded, I sure would appreciate it. I have kept copies of e-mail from the company and talked to people at the local office, the Georgia office and two calls were transferred to North Carolina and Colorado. Evidently those have a racquet running in every state. (Just collect the money and do nothing else). Luckily my roof is not leaking but I do have shingles missing from wind and hail damage. I just want to get my $2,600+ deposit back and move on to a decent company that will actually come out and do the work. Please help me, if possible. THANKS again.
Andy,
Darn right they are messed up. I quit their company 2 weeks ago after realizing they were screwing my customers. The first roof that I sold 3 months ago still has not been installed and now that customer hates me; can you blame him?
Not only would they not take or return my customer’s calls, THEY WOULD NOT TALK TO ME ABOUT PROBLEMS EITHER!!! AND, I’ve been screwed out of pay.
Amazing. You are welcome to call on me, if you would like, for further.
Thank you so much for working on this story. I was beginning to feel like the Lone Ranger.
Thank you for your report on tonight’s (July 21, 2010) news.
I just sent the news link to
State Farm, Allstate, Liberty Mutual and USAA
I had 6 bogus claims filed by an employee of American Shingles this month.
Mostly all of the claims are from uninformed homeowners who thought this company had their best interest in mind
What was fortunate is none of these homeowners paid any money to this contractor.
The employee is (omitted) with American Shingles @ xxx-431-3582 this number is most likely a back line as she does answer directly.
On my last inspection in Clarksville this past Tuesday 7/20/2010 the salesperson from American Shingle called, asked the homeowner the name of the adjuster and quickly cancelled the appointment.
I had one claim from May who used American Shingle. The homeowner called to complain about the work…I had to send her to the BBB as it was too late for our office to step in and review the estimate before work began.
Please do not use my name since I am looking into predatory practices by several of these companies around Fort Campbell.
Many Thanks
Brenita writes,
The weekend of the flood a representative from American Shingle knocked on my door and asked me if I had hail or wind damage on my roof, and that they could work with my insurance company to get the roof fixed. American Shingle said they had a form signed and they were the only ones who could do the work. Since American Shingle claimed they were the only ones who could get my roof fixed with my insurance company I felt trapped in the deal. At that time I checked American Shingle with the BBB and their rating was o.k. so I decided to go alone with it and have them repair the roof. I had an adjuster from my insurance company come out and they determined that yes the roof needs to be repaired. My insurance company wrote me a check for an estimated $1,069 in damages. I then signed a contract with American Shingle and they originally told me they’d be back by my house in one week to begin the project. One week past and I heard nothing from American Shingle. So I called to ask when the work would begin and they told me it wouldn’t begin until September 9th. I was not happy with American Shingle changing the start date to four months later then I had anticipated. If I had not made the initiative to call them I wouldn’t have know they changed the date. After hearing about News 2’s consumer warning on American Shingle from my brother, I decided to cancel the deal. Today July 22, 2010 I called American Shingle and was transfer over and over to a voicemail, no one would speak with me regarding my issue. After numerous attempts I finally got someone on the phone. They tried to convince me to stay with them and just wait to get my roof fixed. Now my money is tied up with American Shingle and my house cannot wait to be fixed. As of now American Shingle said they are working on a refund. But I have not received it yet.
The Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennessee is issuing a consumer warning tonight about an Atlanta based roofing company.
The BBB says American Shingle LLC collects insurance money for roof repairs but fails to begin work as promised.
The July 12th press release from the watch dog agency indicates there are dozens of complaints in Georgia, and a growing number here in Tennessee.
The BBB gives the company an F rating.
Jamie Werner is the Public Relations Director for American Shingle.
By email we asked Werner bout the BBB rating and warning to consumers: Werner writes:
We are working very closely with the BBB in Atlanta and Fred Elsberry to resolve all outstanding issues that we currently may have. Our rating is currently based on an algorithm for a much smaller company. We have experienced explosive growth over the last year and are working to get our current revenue number included in the algorithm which will result in a higher rating.
We asked Werner about the company’s alleged track record for taking money and then not doing work.
Werner writes: If I am not mistaken, that “track record” was based off of one complaint. We do provide roofs to people and are working through a slight back log based on our explosive growth. We stay in constant contact with all of our customers.
Margaret Sweatt would beg to differ. After the floods, she says a sales associate from American Shingle approached her husband in the front yard of her Madison home. Sweatt says the man said he could work with Sweatt’s insurance company and help them get a new roof.
Sweatt said ok, and in no time, American Shingle was working with her insurance agent to make that happen. The insurance company wrote Sweatt a $4,300 dollar check, which Sweatt says she signed over to the company.
Sweatt says the contract allowed for her to cancel the deal within three days and she says she did. That was weeks ago, and she says no matter what she does, she cannot get satisfaction from the company.
“I called on the second business day,” Sweatt tells us. “And I said I want to cancel.”
“Why?” I ask.
“It just didn’t feel right,” she says.
She says a company spokesman told her they would send her a check in two to three weeks. Well it’s been almost two months and so far nothing.
“They are behind. I have called them numerous times. All I want is my money back.”
Jamie Werner of American Shingle has this to say about Margaret Sweatt’s case:
“This may have been an oversight in accounting; her money will be promptly refunded.”
The BBB says the company has over 50 complaints. Werner says: “We don’t believe that the number of complaints is that large when looked at in the context of a 75 million revenue company that has installed thousands of roofs. But please don’t misunderstand, we take every complaint seriously and want every customer to be happy. At the end of the day we are striving to have an A rating in every territory that we are in.”
by
Turner says she has been dealing with the Atlanta Roofing Co. since April 15. She says she’s had a blue tarp spread across her roof for months now.
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Allen Parchman writes:
“I went into a house to measure. I own a carpet store, so I was measuring the floor, I walk in and I see one of my signs on this guy’s wall. I said dude that is my sign and he says, ‘What can I say?’ So we laughed. It was after the election so I signed the sign and sold the man some carpet,” he recalled.
Bond says being James Bond causes problems for him outside the world of campaign signs.
When the upstairs toilet sprang a leak, water seeped into the walls of the apartment below.
We initially spoke with a woman who signed over a $4,300 dollar insurance check to the company in early June.
“They said call yourself an insurance replacement specialist,” Turner says. “But what we were was really salesmen.”
“I asked numerous times, if we could speed up the process to put on the roofs,” Turner says. “And this comes from the corporate office; they will not change it. They told me they put the money into an account and draw interest on it as long as they can. On a $5,000 roof, that is not much interest, but they want you to get 10 to 20 customers every week, and there are 20 other salesmen getting 15 to 20 people and that adds up and could mean millions in interest each year.”
We asked P.R. person Jamie Werner in Atlanta about this allegation:
We are confused by how the Nashville BBB has come to that conclusion, there is currently only one complaint registered with the BBB. All work will be performed as contracted and scheduled. Some customers have experienced delays due to the large volume of storm damage in their area and it is our commitment to the customer to use only trusted and quality installers.
this large and growing at such a fast rate…and that’s why they can’t perform the roofing jobs…why continue to solicit more customers?”
The BBB says American Shingle LLC collects insurance money for roof repairs but fails to begin work as promised.
Werner writes: If I am not mistaken, that “track record” was based off of one complaint. We do provide roofs to people and are working through a slight back log based on our explosive growth. We stay in constant contact with all of our customers.
“They are behind. I have called them numerous times. All I want is my money back.”
