ComplaintsforGuns N' Hoses Roofing & Contracting

• Initial Complaint

  09/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired ******* ****** (proprietor of Guns N Hoses) to replace my roof after her team did some temporary repairs following a windstorm in May/22. She provided me with tile colour options, but when I made my selection, she said that the colour I wanted was no longer available and had to be ordered from a different supplier at an increased cost. I agreed to the extra cost, and she sent a new invoice to me on July 14/22. On July 18, we both signed a very detailed contract. I made the down payment requested, and the work commenced in mid-August. NOTE: The contract had been revised several times before I agreed to sign it, and I noticed that each time a revision was made, there was no previous version available for comparison. So in order to determine if everything we discussed was accurately represented, I had to re-read the contract in its entirety each time she made corrections to it. I decided then to make pdf's of both the invoice and contract. The job was done with only minor details remaining to do, and ******* agreed to leave 3 full bundles of unopened tiles and an ice shield pack in my backyard. I submitted the final payment according to the invoice/contract we had signed. When I requested my receipt, ******* told me that she would be making some minor changes to the invoice. I asked her politely not to change it. She then informed me that I was responsible for the cost of all materials, delivery, disposal, labour, Contractor’s overhead and profit...to which I reminded her that our contract also included a Change Orders clause that specified that any changes in costs must be agreed to in writing...but that I was open to discussion. That's when she became nasty, She took back the extra tiles, did shabby work on my downspout, and informed me that if I didn't pay the remaining balance, there would be no receipt and that this invalidated my warranty.

  Business response

  20/09/2022

  As contracted by Ms. ***** to replace her roof she was provided with colour options to select from. She had selected ******** **** which was provided by the *** manufacturer. Upon verifying the order with the supplier I was informed that this colour would no longer be available in coming months in our region and our supplier would no longer be stocking this colour. At this time the contract with Ms. ***** was already signed with colour stated in the signed documents as seen in Section 2. Labour & Materials, bullet 10 and 11.
  
  I made Ms. ***** aware of this as soon as I was informed which happened to be the day material was delivered. When I placed this order, the receptionist was not aware of upper managements changes to inventory. We were lucky enough to be supplied with the last of their ******** **** materials to fulfill the contract.
  
  To clarify, the original order of material was not ordered from a different supplier at and increased cost nor war Ms. ***** informed of such matters. The original estimate was for a different manufacturer of ***** ******* materials at a lower cost. When Ms. ***** made her colour selection we learned that the initial orange tone she requested from ***** ******* was not available in our region but only the west coast regions. She had selected the ******** **** by *** which was an increased price. The new (second) estimate was provided and accepted via email by Ms. ***** virtually. This estimate was an increase of price in comparison to the ***** ******* estimate. The deposit amount was based on the estimate.
  
  Ms. ***** had made multiple requests for minor details of wording to be adjusted in our contract and we were able to come to an agreement on these details and signed our contract.
  
  The deposit amounts included the initial 10% of the estimate at contract signing and then the outstanding balance of deposit for material, disposal and deliveries estimated 7 days prior to estimated start date (weather often changes our preferred start dates). Ms. ***** made all deposit payments as needed.
  
  Touching base on the terms and conditions listed in the estimate Ms. ***** accpeted.
  
  "Please note all prices are subject to increase without notice in accordance with market increases. All prices are estimated and may not be exact upon the final invoice."
  
  The above Legal Terms & Conditions are listed on the estimate initially provided to Ms. ***** in which she accepted. Moving forward to our contract, there seems to be a misunderstanding as to the definition of "change order". Please see the attached definition. A change order is work that is added to or deleted from the original scope of work of a contract. Depending on the magnitude of the change, it may or may not alter the original contract amount and/or completion date. A change order may force a new project to handle significant changes to the current project.
  
  No change order was required as the scope of work in Section 2 was not changed or altered as no amounts were provided in our contract. Our contract was for replacement and warranty of the entire roof. I did advise Ms. ***** that Change Orders refer to changes of work such as skylights being installed, sheds and additions fixed to the house. Change Orders no not include price increases related to the scope of work already set out in the contract. If we did not complete the cap shingles on the area of the roof, 2 large sections of her roof would not qualify for the Manufacturer or Installation warranties as the roof would not be complete.
  
  Upon notice of substantial completion to Ms. *****, she had requested any left over material to be left in her back yard. I had ordered extra bundles of shingles that were available (out of my own expense) in case of a minor shortage, however cap shingles were not available. I left the extra bundles of material and ice shield in Ms. ***** back yard where she advised. And kept the extra bundles of shingles for overstock as they could not be returned to the supplier as they were final sale given they would no longer be stocked. I advised Ms. ***** there would be additional charges if she wanted the additional bundles I had ordered out of my own expense extra, she later advised she did not want this increase and advised I would take these extra 3 bundles with me, and so I did.
  
  In Section 7 - Warranties, our contract clearly states the following in paragraph 2.
  The Homeowner will pay for all material, labour and profit in addition to the contract price in order to maintain the manufacturer’s warranty as well as the Contractor’s installation warranty. Should the Homeowner not comply, the Company reserves the right to void the 10 year workmanship/installation warranty.
  
  Nearing completion I came to learn that we were short cap shingles and more labour for the additional cap shingles to complete the project would be required. With 2 witnesses present I informed Ms. ***** a small additional portion of material would be required to complete the project. I would have to verify my documents but I believe we picked up an additional 4 bundles of material at an increased cost from a different supplier that had the same colour in stock. Upon completion the invoice was slightly increased by an amount under $300.00 for both labour and material. This amount was in fact reduced by 50% of what the contract cost was. We recognize that the estimate was slightly off and paid out of pocket for 50% of the material and 50% of labour.
  
  In section 6 Payment Schedule of our contract, you will see that the end cost is not disclosed or fixed as the final invoice may differ in price either up or down. In Ms. ***** case additional materials were required.
  
  Ms. ***** had contacted me reminding me of a piece of chicken fence listed in our contract to be corrected and that she was unhappy with the downspout adjustment she had requested. This downspout adjustment was directed to be done differently several times and upon completion she advised it was "ugly". I had offered to come back and attached the chicken fence to prevent squirrels intruding as mentioned in our contract as well as correct the downspout.
  
  However, as mentioned in Section 6 - Payment Schedules, If payments due to the Contractor are not paid in accordance with the payment schedule set out in this contract, the Contractor may suspend work until the scheduled payment is received.
  
  
  Upon notification by the Contractor, of substantial completion, the Homeowner will pay the Contractor the balance of the contract within 7 business days of the invoice date. The Homeowner acknowledges and agrees to pay a late fee of 1% daily on the balance owing beginning on the 8th day onward.
  
  We have not yet added the 1% daily interest on the outstanding balance in hopes we can come to a mutual agreement to resolve this situation. In addition, I reserve the right to suspend work until payment has been made in full.
  
  In hopes to satisfy Ms. *****, I humbly offer to reduce the outstanding balance of $293.83 to $200.00. Upon payment I will install the 1 piece of chicken fence and correct the downspout with the supplied materials left behind. 2 5ft pieces and 1 10ft piece.
  
  

  Customer response

  23/09/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: 

  I am not satisfied with Ms. ******’s (not so) humble offer and will try to address her points as best I can (please see attached document).

  Sept 23, 2022
  I am not satisfied with Ms. ******’s (not so) humble offer and will try to address her points as best I can.
  1. Shingles
  I agree, and already stated that I had accepted the extra cost for the blue shingles; the reason I mentioned this in my statement was to illustrate the expectation of disclosure regarding additional costs beyond the original invoice.
  However, in terms of being lucky to be supplied with the last of those materials, I do not agree; and I did relate this to Ms. ****** when she so happily informed me that they have been discontinued, after already having supplied them. This now puts me in a bad position should the need to replace any shingles arise in the future.
  This is something else that should have been disclosed to me before making the purchase; but believing that her intensions at the time were good, I did not wish to make an issue of it. I simply requested any leftovers to remain with me. 
  Ms. ****** also states that she advised me there would be additional charges if I wanted the additional bundles…this is not quite true. 
  She advised me that if I wanted her to order additional bundles, there would be a charge for it. I declined; but nevertheless, 3 unopened bundles were leftover after the roof was covered.
  This, again, illustrates why I should reasonably have expected to be apprised of extra costs.
  Ms. ****** did originally place the 3 unopened bundles in my backyard, but later changed her mind after I challenged the unexpected invoice increase (and said she could have them back instead of charging me for the increase). She did take them back, even while complaining that she could not be refunded for them.
  2. Invoice
  Ms. ****** states that the deposit amount I paid was based on the estimate including the increased price for the blue shingles. This is inaccurate: the invoice (invoice-roof-downpmt) wherein the deposit amount is declared (5,466.38) clearly indicates the Invoice total (12,667.16) prior to the blue shingles cost. 
  Note: I was alarmed to discover that the original contract and invoice were no longer available following revisions made by Ms. ******. Luckily, I had already copied them to my files for reference.
  3. Terms
  Ms. ****** illustrates: 
  "Please note all prices are subject to increase without notice in accordance with market increases. All prices are estimated and may not be exact upon the final invoice."
  However, the change is costs added to my invoice had nothing to do with market increases.
  Ms. ****** interprets Change Order to her own personal advantage. The following is from my research:
  A change order represents a mutual agreement to change the work, schedule, price, or other term of the contract.
  Frankly, I don’t think a Change order should have been required for this job; a simple professional courtesy in disclosure would likely have sufficed. Ms. ****** neither informed me of nor discussed any additional costs; even though she was prompted and given ample opportunity to do so. She simply tried to force those costs on me by telling me my warranty was no longer valid if I didn’t pay. 
  Ms. ****** states: Ms. ***** had made multiple requests for minor details of wording to be adjusted in our contract
  Note: I had requested 3 times that the 50-yr warranty be included and/or put back in the contract (after discovering it missing following other revisions). I also told her that this was the primary reason I chose her company to do my job.
  4. Completion of work vs interest fee
  Ms. ****** states that she has not charged 1% daily interest on the balance owing in hopes of arriving at a mutual agreement. However, the job is not yet completed: Chicken wire and downspout remain outstanding.
  5. Resolution:
  a) The invoice indicates that I paid for 12 W Valley 8’ length @ $29.87 + tax, but Ms. ****** took back 4 of them. Value: $135.01 (Note: they are not black or brown, they are blue)
  b) 3 bundles of blue shingles are costed @ $45.16 + tax. Value: 153.09
  Total value: $288.10
  If Ms. ****** returns the items above (4 W Valleys + 3 bundles of blue shingles), I will pay the balance of the invoice and be satisfied.
  (She may also retrieve her bucket of nails if she wishes.)
   
  
  

  Please reference invoices previously attached as required.
  
  

  Sincerely,
  
  ********* *****

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