ComplaintsforAmerican Home Tech, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  05/14/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Had roof replaced by American home Tech water wasn't Leaking from side wall before but after replacing roof it starts Leaking water and American home Tech saying, its Leaking from side wall because of construction issues while home got built. If water Leaking from wall is due to Construction, then why it wasn't leaking before Roof got replaced and start leaking after roof got replaced . please someone help me to have this get fixed while i had paid in full for all services. Thanks ***** *****

  

  Business response

  05/14/2024

  Hello *** *****, 
  We are well aware of your frustrations and are experiencing the same. We have been out multiple times to attempt to address this for you. If there was something with the roof that we could fix, we would have done it by now. We have replaced whole roofs for serious mistakes in the past. This is not an issue of our integrity or willingness to correct any wrongs. Let's look at how we've handled this so far.
  

  6/1/23: Roof Build
  7/3/23: You first report the leak.
  We were out that week and thought it may be from a piece of flashing. This was fixed.
  7/19/23: You report continued leaking.
  7/20/23: We respond with an attic inspection. Our tech’s note says, “Found the leak, it's coming in the back lower section on the J channel above the roof to wall flashing. Not sure if we caused it but I said I will try and seal it up for him. Also I'm going to screw his rain diverter back in”
  3/15/24: You report the leak is back in the same spot.
  Our Senior Project Manager comes by the very same day. You state this only happens with high-wind driven rain. We observe the siding is lapped two different ways, that you don’t have the protective house wrap behind your siding at the top where your j-channel meets the fascia metal, and that there was a big gap in this area. Again, we attempt to seal an area for you that has nothing to do with the roof. Our Senior PM concludes, “If that doesn’t cure the leak then, it needs housewrap because of the directional rain.”
  4/4/24: You report the leak is still there. Again stating this only happens with high winds.
  4/5/24: We again inspect your attic and decide to attempt to seal more areas relating to the siding. 
  4/23/24: You report the leak is still active. 
  We offer you a quote to repair where we believe the leak is coming from.

  We do completely understand your frustrations. We don’t know why this issue only occurred after the roof installation. We have attempted many fixes, and it is frustrating that we could not help, but you cannot deny that we have attempted to go above and beyond in helping you address this. 
  Even if this separate area of your home did begin leaking due to the excessive vibrations and weight redistribution during the roof installation, we cannot be held liable. We do thousands of roofs in a year, and this issue does not occur. The construction of your siding and fascia should be done in such a way that remains watertight regardless of a roof installation. The lack of house wrap leaves your sided walls vulnerable to water.
  
  We have exhausted all options we can provide within your roof warranty. If you’d like us to attempt further repairs relating to this case, it will have to incur charges. Here are your options moving forward:
  
  1. Accept our proposal to repair your siding. This area would then also be warrantied, and we would stand behind it as strongly as we have shown to stand behind our roof. 
  2. Hire a third party certified inspector to evaluate our work and assess the leak. If they conclude there has been any malpractice on our end, we will perform the prescribed repairs and reimburse you for the inspection. 

  This is all more than fair. We are sorry that you are experiencing this problem with your home. We truly want it to be resolved. If there is anything we have done wrong, we want to make it right. We hope that you find our attitude and dedication to resolving this matter acceptable.
  
  Sincerely,
  American Home Tech

  Customer response

  05/31/2024

  
  
  
  The Business Technician came on Thursday 05/30/2024 to fix issue, He said that he found Leaking area and Fixed it but still waiting to get some rain and I will let you know if issue is fixed or not. Please don’t close complaint if possible.
  
  Thanks

  

  Business response

  06/03/2024

  We have gone back out and attempted another warranty repair on the property. We hope this solves the issues. If there is no further leaking, we will repair the interior water damage. If it continues to leak, we will be of the same opinion that this issue is not due to any fault of our roof installation. 

• Initial Complaint

  12/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I originally entered into a contract with this company in the Fall of 2021 to repair fire damaged deck and siding. After several issues and failures that do not need to be elaborated upon in this complaint, the company finally finished all work around June of 2022. After many corrections to invoices, the final outstanding payment amount was determined to be $5,668.70 after a final credit of $1,500 was honored for work that was not performed. Final payment of $5,668.70 was made directly to and accepted by an American Home Tech associate that visited my home on August 17, 2022. Now, I am receiving calls from American Home Tech telling me that I have an outstanding balance of $1,500.00 that needs to be paid. According to the associates with which I have spoken, they do not have record of the $1,500.00 credit that was applied in August of 2022. Attached messages show the conversation related to the $1,500.00 credit and the final amount owed to be $5,668.70. Not wishing to elaborate on my full experience with this company on a public forum, I hope that these messages are sufficient for resolution.

  

  Business response

  12/07/2023

  Mr. *******
  Yes, this message is quite sufficient. We are sorry for where we have been lacking throughout this process. Thank you for your patience with us as we resolve your account. The original final pay off amount was incorrect because it mistakenly did not account for the $1,000 refund we had issued you. Also, the employee who communicated this $1,500 credit to you did not leave record of it in our system. That credit is now applied, and we have also credited an additional $1,000 to make up for our accounting mistake and close out your invoices. Thank you for bringing this additional information to the table. We hope that you see we have done all we can to treat you as family and leave you a happy customer.
  
  Best,
  American Home Tech

  Customer response

  12/07/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ** ********* and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. There are good people that work at this company, both in the office and in the field.  Despite any issues that I may have experienced, they always made things right in the end and always acted in good faith.  They do go through every effort to treat customers right and fairly.   
  
  Regards,
  
  *** ******
  

• Initial Complaint

  08/25/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I contracted American Home tech to place a new roof on our home and to put on new siding plus a couple other smaller jobs. Do not do business with this company. It has been 12 months and they are still not done with this job. They asked me when starting the job if I wanted to pay upfront or after the job was done. I told them once the job was done. I did though provide them with one of the insurance checks. My husband told them to talk to him to set up appointments and talk to me about payments once the job was done. This job was under both of our names. The staff is very rude which was uncalled for since I was being professional. When I talked to Joel one of the managers he said that he saw we cancelled twice on them. I advised the first time we cancelled was because they were wanting to paint outside at the end of November. The temperatures were too cold to paint. We were going to have them fix the water damage we have inside the garage. The garage roof is sagging. They gave us an estimate of 3800.00. They sent someone out for that job and he said he was there to paint the ceiling and that’s all. This is when we cancelled the second time. We still have vinyl that was done half fast. The outlets have no covers on them that makes me concern it could cause a fire. There are problems with the black trim. They also was so rough on our windows they did a half fast job on caulking and it looks like crap around the windows and doors. I also told them about my concern on one part of the roof. They have set up appointments where no one showed up or the techs came by with none of the necessary tools to do the job. I had a meeting with Joel which he did follow up one time and said they had me scheduled this week. They never showed. I called Joel 2 or 3 times and left messages on his machine. I also contacted the owner thru the phone. At least the employees that answered said they were going to transfer me to still have not heard back. If you read their reviews online there has been reviews of customers paying them and them not finishing the job. All I want to do is have the job completed the right way so I can pay them which I think is a pretty easy request.

  

  Business response

  08/29/2023

  We are currently on a good page with ******* and *****, though it has proved to be a bumpy road completing this project. Between some miscommunications and lack of preparedness, the final touches have been delayed for an extended period. The miscommunications begin with only two of the scheduled monthly payments clearing. These payments were scheduled to continue over 5 years, and there is an additional around $10,000 of insurance money that will not be released until the project is completely finished. We considered this substantial leverage to complete the job and saw no reason for payments to have been cancelled. While we interpreted this as bad faith, ***** and ******* simply wanted the final touches of the work completed. Multiple failed attempts to address their concerns ingrained our reluctance to continue work. These attempts were more miscommunications where we showed up to continue a specific part of the project while they had expectations of a different part. Multiple trips to the home with no resolution gave us further reason to halt finalizing the work. As for the missed calls to Joel, after which this complaint was filed, he was not in the office during that week. 
  
  ****** came in again after this complaint to discuss resolutions. At this time, we have resumed their payment plan, and that portion is scheduled to be resolved over the next year. This is very acceptable to us and shows good faith. The ~$10,000 portion is still withheld by the insurer and will not be released until we have addressed the issues with the work and send in the necessary documentation. Work is expected to be completed within a month. Now that we are on the same page with plans for the outstanding balance, we hope to swiftly address the concerns ******* and ***** have and provide closure to both parties. The prolonging of a project is not something we wish for any of our customers, and we are eager to get this resolved. 

• Initial Complaint

  06/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We hired this company to help us with an insurance claim for our roof and siding. They came out and met with insurance adjusters and started the process of working with the insurance company and have since stopped any contact with us. We reached out to the gentlemen that were helping us but they are no longer with the company. We started this process last October/November it is now June and want answers.

  

  Business response

  06/30/2022

  Once this complaint was received, we immediately began to address the situation with the customer. Communication was not effectively transitioned after previous employees' separation. This was explained and accepted. A resolution has been reached, and we are excited for the opportunity to keep our customer happy.

  Customer response

  07/01/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  The business, I feel is working diligently to rectify the situation. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ****
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/24/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I signed a contract that would allow American Home * Tech to represent me with my Insurance Company for replacement or repairs to my roof. As we began to move through the process I became uneasy with the way that they were operating due to what they had told me that they could do for me such as get not only new roofing but have my home completely resided. That's when I began to feel like this was just an attack on my insurance. So I pulled back from the transaction which they (American Home Tech) informed me that I was obligated to paid them 25% up on cancellation of the agreement. They even went as far as to contact me by phone and threaten me by turning me in to the City of *********** Code Enforcement Office with false information which they follow up by sending me a Adjudication Order dated 11/15,2021 which has been rescinded once I met with the inspector ******* ******* which he informed me it appears someone is after me because they had contacted his office by phone and sent pictures. I acknowledge that I'm not sure who did this I'm only making an assumption that it was someone under the employment of AHT.

  

  Business response

  11/29/2021

  Dear BBB, 
  Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us and allow us to look over this complaint. We are familiar with the Property Owner’s (PO) file and have taken time as a company to review the events that have led to this. We do understand that *** **  is upset about the contract cancellation fee and running into difficulties with the City of ***********. We raise no contention to his feelings and wish to achieve a resolution he finds acceptable. 
  The PO entered into contract with us on 9/4/2021. Attached is the contract for the replacement of his roof contingent upon it’s full coverage from his insurance company. We fulfilled our duties by mediating the adjuster’s inspection on 10/6/2021 and facilitating the writing of the estimate while working hand in hand with his insurer sending photos and details. With everything in order, we scheduled our Pre-Build Meeting for 10/20/2021 to finalize the details and get a build date. It is here *** ** stated he was not going to pay his deductible. 
  Our representative called him the next day and was told the cancellation was due to the idea that we were attempting to take advantage of the insurer and take more money than needed. We considered offering a layover to save him money. This is where old shingles remain on the home with the new installed on top, but this was not a possibility due to the preexisting two layers. A home may only have the weight of two layers at any time. We shared the codes with him that stated this. On 11/6/2021 we filed for the cancellation fee.
  To address the pain points in this story; It is required by law that the insured pay their deductible, and we do not budge when it comes to fraud or the highly regulated insurance industry. While we work out creative solutions for customers when available, we can never simply not collect the deductible. Not only do the financials need to be balanced, but this would be unfair to all of our other customers who do pay the fractional cost for their new home improvement.
  
  We do evaluate the whole property during our inspections. Seeing many claims secure siding coverage, our representative would not have been out of place depicting the potential for the same on *** **’s home. Due to the installation process of the roof, replacing a flashing that lies behind the siding would have required us to remove and replace the siding sections against the shingles. This may have started a process that would get the siding replaced and paid for by the insurer if we had installed the roof. This is not to “attack” insurance companies. We do our jobs well, and that means securing what our customers deserve from their insurer--a safe and reliable home. We are quite reasonable in all of our dealings and multiple insurers have expressed their gratitude for not being a contractor who throws everything against the wall to see what sticks. We work with the same people on a daily basis and value maintaining those relationships just as much as those with our customers. 
  American Home Tech does not subscribe to the call to the Code Enforcement Office. Putting effort into making the lives of others harder goes against all we believe. This being said, our representative has admitted to it. He states he was concerned about our reputation. He saw other contractors performing the illegitimate layover while checking up on one of our jobs down the street. In fear of *** ** using our contract to tie us to the violation if he were caught, our representative reached out to the building department. We have investigated this and have decided he was not out of place. The City of *********** has a well defined and enforced permitting process in which we must be registered, have a contractor license specific to the city, and renew it on a yearly basis. Encountering a hiccup with them would hamper the job progress of our other customers in the area. We have reached back out to *** ******* today (11/29/2021) in our investigation for any additional information, but have not received a call back yet.
  
  While none of this above makes the situation better, hopefully it brings understanding. Currently the 25% cancellation fee leaves an invoice of $2,425.03. We do not believe there is any justification in reducing it. The time and effort put into investigating staff and managing this complaint only adds to the resources we have expended for *** **. That being said, we are willing to reduce it to $1,500 to help cover the expenses. We do sincerely apologize for the inconvenience toward the customer, and truly do not mean to have made him feel attacked--it was never our intention.

  Customer response

  12/02/2021

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ** ****** **

  I've reject this response because as you've stated your representative not only contacted the code enforcement office, he had called me to threaten me with the action that was taken. If he had did his job properly he would at lest known how many layers of shingles were on my roof. Since he didn't the information that he had relayed to the code enforcement office was invalid which instead of them coming out to my residence to determine if it was true, they excepted the word of your representative and issued a adjudication Order which now has been rescinded because they were no violations. Further more these are the actions that made me feel uneasy with this process. To many representative with different responses.

  

  Business response

  12/02/2021

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  We understand the **** frustration, and are sympathetic to him feeling threatened. We do not believe we have acted out of turn, but want this resolved immediately for the sake of both parties. Assuming the PO agrees to not further disparage American Home Tech, we will void the cancellation fee. We want the best not just for our customers, but each individual we have an impact on. We see only loss of value in continuing to expound on our actions. Being said, we have included reasons for the confidence in our authenticity below for your reference.
  Regards,
  American Home Tech
  We believe we have not misconducted ourselves in this case. The attached email displays our representatives' intentions. This was sent, we assume, after the phone call that made the PO feel threatened. In reading it, we only see the intent to educate and help the PO towards the best solution for his home.
  
  We received a call back from *** ******* yesterday. He confirmed that the home had only one layer of shingles according to his inspection. Based on our thorough and recorded inspection, we still disagree. The only conclusion is that *** ******* either did not perform a thorough inspection, or posted fraudulent observations. If you go to the **** home today, there will be three layers on it. We bear no ill feelings for this conclusion. We want to see other’s lives made better, not worse. Please review our evidence for confidently saying a layover is illegitimate and damaging to the home. Each point below explains an attached photo.
  
  -The general condition of the roof is too poor to consider a layover in the first place. The patches around the penetrations and flashings are not permanent. It's highly recommended all these pieces be installed new. Any previous leaks are likely to come back, and the multiple layers will make finding and addressing any issues difficult.
  
  -The drip edge from the upper layer lays on top of the lowest layer, hiding it from plain view. Normally, a lower layer is seen along the perimeter of the home beneath the upper, but on this home the flashing must be manually lifted to see the lower layer. We believe this is what gave *** ******* justification claiming only one preexisting layer.
  
  -The gutter apron is the same type of flashing, but on the eaves of the home. Unmanipulated, no lower layer is visible. (This photo was excluded due to only having the ability to upload 4 documents)
  
  -Under the gutter apron, a second layer can be clearly seen, along with a whole lower set of gutter apron.
  
  We firmly believe the restoration of this home has been mishandled by the PO, *** *******, and the contractor who did end up performing the illegitimate work. The home's overall condition will suffer because of this. 
  Not only this, but the work performed does not coincide with the work approved on the claim we were managing. In choosing to perform subpar work, the PO will not be using the insurance funds as they are allocated, nor completing the work as outlined. This will allow him to proffit monetarily from the insurance claim, and we believe this is his motivation for breaking the contract. This has put him in a precarious situation. Best case, since the insurer paid for a full replacement and this was not performed, any future claims on the roof will not provide full coverage. Worst case, the PO will be investigated for insurance fraud. He can mitigate this by contacting the insurer. He should let them know the exact scope of work performed on his home so they may adjust the scope of work. This will in turn reduce their payout to the appropriate amount. Though, the insurer will be amiss if they come across the third layer, and we are unsure of how that situation would be handled.
  We are only guilty of doing the best we can to share our expertise. We wish the PO the best, and do hope the sourness of this situation has not caused too much frustration during the holiday season. We hope that he can consider this resolved based on the agreement to completely void the cancellation and may even recommend us in the future.
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/05/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I placed a $1,000 deposit after being told I have roof damage to my shingles. They gave me a date when the supposed storm damage occurred to tell the insurance company however I can not totally agree with that assessment. My circumstances have changed in my divorce so I had to cancel the roof from being completed. I called to see about getting a partial refund atleast since the work was never completed and was told that I would not be receiving any monies back. American Home Tech did not complete 1k worth of work but has no problem keeping the money. Megan from Accounts Receivable was rude when speaking with her and has no empathy in regards to people and life circumstances.

  

  Business response

  11/12/2021

  Dear BBB, 

  Thank you for taking the time to reach out to us and allow us to look over this complaint. We are familiar with the Property Owner’s (PO) file and have taken time as a company to review the events that have led to this. We do understand that *** **  is upset regarding the deposit that we have kept, and we raise no contention to his feelings. 

  On the day of his build, October 22, 2021, we were completely prepared to install his new roofing system. We sent out a roof crew as well as one of our own project managers. Upon knocking on the door to the residence, **** ** answered the door and was quite confused as to why we were there at all. She had no knowledge of the roof being scheduled to be replaced. We attempted to reach *** ** multiple times and did not get any response.

  **** ** expressed to us that she had not heard from *** ** in quite some time, and did not know where he was or how to contact him. After **** ** explained the intricacies of their current marital situation and her surprise at our purpose of coming to the home, we came to the conclusion that we would not complete the new roof installation. 

  Soon after that same morning, we received a call from *** ** to our office, and he stated that he was out of town on business and lost his phone. He provided his new number and asked us if we could postpone the installation of his new roof indefinitely. We obliged, and asked him to contact us when he was prepared to continue or close out his file.

  When we enter into a contract with our clients, there is a contingency agreement that they sign. This agreement states that if we secure insurance coverage and they choose to cancel the contract after the 72 hour right of rescission period, we are owed 25% cancellation fee on any contract. The reason for this is that we order custom materials, block off time in our production calendar to complete the job, staff a team dedicated to managing their claim, and reserve one of our roofing crews to install the new roof. 

  We very rarely pursue the extent of our contingency agreement in cases of cancellations, but this cancellation was made on the day of the build after many hours had already been dedicated to giving the property owner our best service. Ahead of the build we have a team of three to five people in our office that manage every file, including this one. We push claims through insurance companies and do our best to represent the best interests of our homeowners.

  Along with these overhead costs incurred, we had also already spent time and money organizing the delivery of materials and the presence of both a roofing crew and a project manager. The roofing crew missed out on a day’s work and pay, and additionally we incurred the expense of paying  them a trip cost. Given this, we feel that it is unfair to give a complete refund.

  The job was estimated by his insurance company to cost $5,094.23, so we would have been owed $1,273.56 had we chosen to pursue the full extent of the clause that Mr. property owner signed with our company. Due to the intimacy and delicate nature of the divorce, we chose to keep the deductible amount of $1,000 rather than pursue either of the property owners for the remaining balance of $273.56.
  We do, though, acknowledge the difficult time being experienced by the PO, and due to this, we will translate the contingency to a 10% fee rather than a 25% fee. This comes out to a total of $509.43. This will yield the PO a refund amount of $490.57. We believe that this is fair considering the costs we have incurred filing and handling the property claim, preparing to install a new roof on the residence, and sending multiple employees and materials to and from the property several times. 

  We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this has caused during the property owner’s current struggles, as well as any rudeness he may have received from our representatives. We truly believe that behavior was not meant to be presented as hostile, but merely defending our company’s right to pursue the stipulations of our contingency agreement.
  We hope this resolution is to the satisfaction of the property owner.
  

  Sincerely,

  American Home Tech

  Customer response

  11/18/2021

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  
  American Hometech was paid by only myself *** **. When American Hometech wrote and mailed the check to "address on file" they decided to include **** on the check as well. However I personally paid the $1,000 deposit on 9/24 and have a bank statement to prove it. AHT never made a valid effort in the processing of the check to ensure it was returned properly. I called Monday and was told they have to wait for someone to fly in and sign off on the checks. I told them to call me when done and I would personally pick up. However I received a call on Tuesday stating they mailed the check. When ask for details was then told I needed to wait 2 days until the accounting lady returned. Called Thursday and was told Ms. PO was added to check as instructed by attorney. This money was never hers to begin with. Accounting lady said as far a she is concerned AHT is done with this matter. No fair resolution to myself 
  Regards,
  
  ******* ****
  

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