Conroe residents get new roofs following scam – mySanAntonio.com

By Catherine Dominguez, cdominguez@hcnonline.com

Photo: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer

Conroe residents get new roofs following scam

For Tink and Bobbye Calfee, it's easy to see the red flags now.

Several months ago, the longtime Conroe couple put their trust in a local roofing company to repair the damage to their home in the Wedgewood subdivision off Longmire Road following storms that moved through the area in May of 2016. But after signing over an insurance check for $11,000, the Calfees were never able to get the company back to do the work.

And they weren't the only ones; two other homeowners in their neighborhood found themselves in the same situation.

According to Tink, representatives of the company came to their home after inspecting several other homes in the neighborhood and asked whether they could look at his roof. Tink agreed and learned he had damage to his home.

"They said I needed to get in touch with my insurance people to come out and look at it," said Tink, noting company officials said they wanted to be there when that happened. "We did that and the adjuster said, 'Yes you have roof damage.'"

Tink said he called multiple times but could never get the company to come back and do the roof.

The Calfees declined to give the name of the company since the issue is still under investigation.

"I just want (the roof done), but I think they should be put in jail," Bobbye said of the company that took their money.

Bill Harris, who lives across from the Calfees, said the same thing happened to him and he decided to reach out to law enforcement. Before long, a detective with the Conroe Police Department was talking to the homeowners and put them in touch with StormScamHelp.com.

"The roofer had been in the neighborhood working," Harris said of how he came in contact with the company. "It looked good and everything sounded great. I was tickled to death to get a new roof and I made the mistake and gave them money up front."

Harris, like the Calfees, was never able to get the roofer back to do the work.

StormScamHelp.com, contractor watchdog group, is making sure the Calfees and their neighbors are getting new roofs. According to Jessica Sloat, director of sales for Genesis Contractor Solutions and StormScamHelp.com, the roofing materials for the work has been donated by Georgia-based Atlas Roofing and the labor is begin provided by Cypress-based Always Great Service LLC.

"We step in and help homeowners who have been scammed by local contractors," Sloat said.

Sloat said she was contacted by Conroe PD about the issue and asked if we could help out. While Sloat didn't have statistics, she added roofing scams are among the most prevalent with homeowners.

According to InsuranceFraud.org, no single agency collects fraud statistics but the site noted fraud comprises about 10 percent of property-casualty insurance losses and loss adjustment expenses each year and property-casualty fraud equals about $32 billion each year.

Diane Peoples, marketing and communications manager with Atlas Roofing, said the effort is good for homeowners and the roofing business. "We think it is really important to help our contractor differentiate themselves in the market," Peoples said. "We want to see the reputation of the industry elevate."

As for Harris and the Calfees, they just want others to learn from their mistakes and never pay for contracting work up front. Both agree they are lucky to get the help from StormScamHelp.com.

"All this money I thought I would have to beg, borrow or steal to get a roof, I didn't have to do after all," Harris said.

For more information, visit http://www.StormScamHelp.com.

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Conroe residents get new roofs following scam - mySanAntonio.com