ComplaintsforAvenue Road Roofing

• Initial Complaint

  27/04/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  *Dec 24 2021 : Initial phone call was made to the company asking for a service call about a roof leak. * December 26th: Follow up call made to request inspection in which a call back was promised *December 28th: Second follow up call made to request inspection in which a call back was promised *Jan 6 2022 : Third follow up call made request for inspection of the roof leak was after no reply was made. Multiple urgent requests were made following up to the Jan 6 request *Jan 12, 2022: first reply received from Avenue Rd Roofing - A quote was provided including a scope of work to repair the roof. It was noted that if the repair was minor it would be completed onsite. The invoice included a visual inspection, removing some deck boards and cleaning up the workspace for $2,858.90. - We promptly paid $250 as requested once the quote was received so the work could begin. We reached out continually over the next month to understand when work would commence with no response. *February 15th 2022: We were advised that they could not proceed to fix the roof due to the railings attached to the roof deck. It took multiple emails and phone calls until we were finally told this, to which we then had to scramble to try and find a company that can remove the glass railing. We were left in the dark and felt very ignored, especially since they hounded us for the deposit then disappeared. *Days went by asking for the new quote as well as a timeline so we could understand the proposed scope of work required to fix the leak and there was no reply. *A total of 6 weeks from the initial call passed until we had an answer, and we suffered with the leak. Understandably, this work is weather dependent but the lack of communication became more and more infuriating. *Feb 15 2022: Two contractors arrived to look at the roof. They were at the house for no more than an hour and no repair was made. To our disappointment we were then given another quote for over $3,800 and when asked to speak to the supervisor about the scope of work in further detail we were not responded well. The complete lack of customer service and transparency in their billing is nothing shy of **** and confusing. *When simply asked to please detail the work completed at our property, the manager argued he cannot provide that because their system isn't capable. Finding that hard to believe, I explained why my request was such so I could present the invoice to my condo board for a clear explanation of work completed onsite. When the amount billed to us was in question, he became extremely defensive and argued with me. I wanted clarity on how a visual inspection could cost $2,800 since no work was completed. He then explained that I am paying for the time of two workers, from the time they leave their homes and check in at the office, collect the job description, drive to the site, do the 'work' and return back to office. To which I replied, can you please note the hours then on the invoice so I can pay for the correct services rendered. *March 15th 2022: A month has passed and no correct invoice was sent to me. When discussed again, a new figure was created by the manager of $1,056 but no mention of being billed for time. *March 15th 2022: I wrote to their accounts receivable department explaining my position, where I recounted the numerous times I asked for the correct billing to be noted as well as a new invoice sent to me outlining the actual work that was completed. *April 15th, 2022: Another month had passed with no reply to my email in which I specifically asked to please check their accounting and contact me if they felt more funds beyond my initial $250 deposit was required. No response. *Current Status : The company began to call me again asking for money owed on the invoice, yet I still do not have the correct one. No invoice was prepared for me stating that I was being charged for the TIME of the workers, since no actual work was done. *I have spoken to the accounts receivable department and explained why there has been a delay in my payment, and further explained my frustration and concerns for their managers lack of transparency. She took my notes down and said she would contact me shortly. *The manager then called as a follow up, and proceeded to yell at me on the phone saying this was my fault for not saying I needed an invoice for my condo board. He was **** and ********** and left me so upset my husband had to complete the call. He was ************** and continued to place blame on me where in fact I asked numerous times for a simple explanation on the invoice so I could SEE what I was paying for. The invoices I received made no mention of TIME for work, and he said so himself, it was the hourly wage x2 workers for the time spent driving to my house, spending an hour looking (not doing any work) and then driving back to the office that I was expected to pay for. *All I had asked is that this cost be reflected for my own billing and so I could share the correct invoice with my condo board and he reacted in a very **** way. This experience has been awful. We felt completely taken for a ride with regards to incorrect billing, lack of transparency and explanation of timelines and the expectation for us, the homeowner, to be faced with the task of removing the glass railing ourselves. We will never be using them in the future and we have warned all our friends of the concerns surrounding the quoting process, billing process and lack of professional customer service this company has shown. Our ask is that we are exempt from paying the outstanding balance they have invoiced us for ($802.03) for the complete disregard for transparency, customer care and timelines surrounding this roof leak that STILL persists. We have not resolved the issue since Dec 24 2021, and we will be taking our business elsewhere.

  

  Business response

  06/07/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2022/06/06) */ Regarding Complaint Case # ******* (Ref #XX-XXXXXXX-XXXXXXX-X-XXX) From : AVENUE ROAD ROOFING(r) (Craig B. G.M. XXXX)XXX-XXXX ******** Response To Complaint: Preface: my apology to BBB for later acknowledgement of the matter as I have recently returned to work ******************************. ARR(r) did reach out to client over a month ago when initial complaint was received to acknowledge her and offer her a resolution of the matter. Upon my review of the file and interview of staff involved, I conclude that statements and accusations made were not completely accurate. There is trail of e-mails which verify the facts in the situation. Below is a summary of events and communication which can be verified by those e-mails. Our objective is to have happy clients willing to refer our services. We are prepared to wipe out her bill if she will remove this negative review. Here are timelines/ responses: 1) Client says she contacted us on Dec 24th,December 26th, December 28th Jan.6th/2022. A): our office was closed for a two week X-mas shutdown with staff returning to work on Jan6th at which point the client was called back. (VM message indicated our shut down schedule and communicated an emergency contact number for existing client's with actual work in progress). We later learned that the actual property owner/ complainant; was in South America at the time and a friend had actually called our company requesting service on her behalf. 2) January 12th/2022: Our estimator J.M. had previously contacted who we thought was the client ( but later learned was the friend,tenant or housesitter)(******)to arrange to gain access and supply an estimate. The written estimate was supplied on January12th/2022. 3) The estimate was based on a team being dispatched to remove snow, lift deck boards and inspect the roof beneath. It was noted that if the area required minor repair the team would attempt to fix on the same occasion. 4) Client claims they had to wait for contact: The contract appears to be signed back on January 12th, was processed through Sales admin. and reviewed by Production Manager that week and supplied to Production Dept. on January 19th. On jan.27th Production scheduler contacts client to advise of scheduling of delivery based on weather. On jan.29th, P.M, e-mailed, called and texted to client ready to go soon. Jan.31st team of two technicians are dispatched. 5) On Jan.27th our Accounting dept. requests and processes a $250 deposit from the client. On January 31st ;(actual client **) writes backto our accounting thanking them for an update on processing the deposit." Hi Jason thank-you for the update. Really appreciate how things are moving along so far......" 6) Feb 2nd; Our PM. Calls client to notify all investigative work completed, and asks if all satisfactory and advises job will be sent to accounting for final billing. Accounting e-mails client and tenant repeating and forwarding final invoice with invitation to mail us a cheque or contact for online banking if preferred. 7) On Feb 7th at 11:23 pm ****** (tenant?) emails our P.S. to say that milder weather has prompted water ingress on the flat and requesting revised estimate for remedial work.8:30 am on Feb.8th ;our P.M replies by e-mail and requests estimator to reach out with cost for next steps. 8) On Feb.8th our estimator JM emails client to advise railing must come off by glass railing pro to permit metal flashings to be removed and permit water=proofing membrane to cover wall. Client advised to find such a contractor. 9) Feb 10th tenant?******* replies saying she will look into such a vendor and asks if we know someone (email). 10) Feb 11th ******* emails to advises JM that she has a railing contractor and inquires about our timing to complete any further work. JM acknowledges her that he will look into it with Production and will prepare an estimate for remedial work. 11) Feb 12th; ******* emails JM to find out if quote ready.(Saturday) 12) Feb13th (Sunday);emails JM if quote is ready suggesting 5 weeks have gone by since dec 24th when she made first call- RED FLAG 13) Monday Feb.14th JM supplies estimate by e-mail to ******* & client **. 14) Client says on Feb 15th two contractors show up and stay no more than one hour. Not us (ARR) no one was dispatched from our company.inspection work already done in January. 15) February 14th (Monday), JM e-mails estimate to *******. ** e-mails back acknowledging receipt and comments "this is great and I"ll circle back asap". JM replies we can start on Tuesday or Wed if that can work for railing contractor. 16) According to JM (estimator); he called, emailed and texted in an effort to get the client to sign an agreement after being hounded to provide an estimate, and then he received the following e-mail: 17 ) Client and friend/tenant ghost our estimator in spite of many attempts to contact and receive a signed agreement to (proceed with the work.at least two weeks go by. 18) Saturday February 26th: ******* writes in an e-mail "Just chatted briefly with ********* we all need to jump on a call Monday as team please and thank you.This process has been painful and lacked transparency in billing and before anything else is signed we need to connect together. Thanks and apologies for the tone, we're all just a little tried at this point" RED FLAG#2 19) On Monday Feb28th; ** (owner) e-mails John asking him to review cost for original invoice and then break down the invoice."I need clarity today" 20) Our estimator speaks to client and agrees to have bill adjusted downward in light of less manpower and time required as originally anticipated, and repair attempt not possible in light of requiring major repair work needed and subsequent estimate had been provided. A revised bill was sent to client with a substantial reduction reflected. Our estimator learns client intends to submit bill to condo corp to pay the bill. States the condo corp wants the bill broken down by hourly billing. JM complies although not our model of billing . 21) March 11th - Our finance dept. e-mails client as we have still not received payment for revised invoice. 22) March 25th client ** finally replies to Finance dept. that she wants bill broken down in spite of the fact that her bill has been reduced to $800.JM. follows up with client by phone and client says she never received itemized bill that he sent her. JM says client speaks over him not allowing him to speak and he interjects and then man listening in (perhaps husband) intervenes on call) 23) April 21st account Dept. sends revised invoice once again. 24) April 27th - BBB notifies ARR of complaint. 25) April 28th I call client personally in an effort to resolve. No answer. In summary: we are prepared to cancel the bill if the client will remove the negative review. We have wasted an extraordinary amount of time and resources for no pay other than the initial $250 deposit received. The BBB is welcome to inspect the e-mails which supports the summary of events detailed above. Thank-you for your assistance in resolving the matter. Please advise if we should scan you copies Consumer Response /* (3000, 14, 2022/06/10) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) After receiving this response I requested to remove the review on the BBB website. I have been told it cannot be done as it goes against the BBB terms and the Consumer Protection Act. I did try however by both calling the office and emailing in an attempt to meet the request of Avenue Road Roofing. The issue at hand is the lack of transparency in billing. On the Avenue Road Website it states that both free estimates are offered as well as 'detailed' inspection reports (***************). My first invoice was for $2800 which I questioned once the inspection was completed since it seemed extremely high for merely looking at my roof. When asked for further details to explain the costs I was met an unwillingness to do so. I was later issued a new invoice for a lesser amount of $1000 (************) but still with no explanation as to how the costs were broken down. During a phone conversation it was explained to me that I was paying for travel time, 2 workers and their hourly rate, something that was never disclosed or mentioned any invoice. I asked for this to be written on the new invoice for my own records and so I could present it to my condo board but I was met with resistance and told the system does not allow for such line items to be added. As previously stated, I feel that the $250 deposit that I initially paid should satisfy any payment required to Avenue Road Roofing. No work was done and I was not made aware of any billing that pertains to time travelled, number of workers or number of hours spent to complete the inspection which is what I later learned to be the true costs of my invoice amount. This explanation was eventually added to my final invoice after the fact. I was not told about any of these costs prior to the inspection taking place nor when the invoice was sent. Therefore the newly added or 'explained' information on the final invoice pertaining to these costs reiterates the lack of transparency in billing and I do not wish to pay said invoice. Business Response /* (4000, 16, 2022/06/15) */ To: BBB *********************** Re:Case#XXXXXXX Dear Customer: We regret that you are unsatisfied with the "transparency" of our billing. We however did provide a written proposal describing the work to be done for a specified price. Due to winter conditions, the estimator calculated for a number of persons and an amount of time anticipated to remove snow, inspect beneath decking, and if minor; attempt repairs on the spot. As a result; our estimator made you aware that a larger scope of work was required, and supplied you with a detailed written estimate for the work required. You learned that railings needed to be removed to accommodate membrane installation over wall areas, and that a separate vendor specializing in such work was required as we are not glaziers. Accompanying both estimates was our standard terms of agreement page; which our clients are required to read and sign to acknowledge that they have read and understand what is being done including any unforeseen items such as wood repairs as a detailed and specified price. You did in fact have time to study and acknowledge, and you agreed to the initial written estimate supplied. In fact; we had to change the name on the agreement and have you sign it when we learned that your designate person was not actually the property owner. After completing the inspection work within four days of our Production division receiving the work order, the investigative work was completed. You were supplied with a written scope of work to remedy the issue, and in light of less manpower and time for the inspection; our estimator willingly agreed to reduce the original estimate amount and instructed our billing dept. to supply a revised invoice for service rendered which you were provided. We are aware that our proposals are compliant and typical with industry standards. Further to note is that in spite of follow up efforts after supplying the written estimate and inquiring about final payment for the original work; our estimator received a reply two weeks later and then he was asked to break down the estimate when he was informed that your intention was to supply the information to your Condo board for payment. You told him they wanted billing broken down in a particular fashion. He advised that he could not break it down in the manner you wished as estimates are computer generated using our proprietary software. We do not break out estimates into parts and labour as say a mechanic would who marks up materials and charges a markup on labour man hours. Typical in the roofing industry are written items forming a scope of work and a fixed price for scope of work rendered. We believe that is when you became upset with our estimator when he advised he could not change the estimate format,and that is where things went off the rails. All correspondence up until this point speaks to cordial communications. We do not believe we deserve the negative review provided to the BBB and for that reason we asked you to retract the review and we would forgive the monies that remain owing as what you wanted. After consultation with the BBB we learned that they keep all reviews deserved or otherwise noted on their site for transparency purposes. We agree that this is good, and so we no longer request you to remove your comments. We will however forgive your bill as a token of good faith even though we do not agree with the negative assertions levied against our company in light of e-mail and telephone evidence we have offered to the BBB for review. Our goal is to focus on having have satisfied clients as a majority which we have had over forty-five years. Although we may disagree with your comments in this event; we remain open to criticism generally, as we are certainly not perfect, we will reflect on your comments, as we always have room to improve in our business. CB/ARR(r) Consumer Response /* (2000, 19, 2022/06/21) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

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