DigitalChainsaw
Junior Member
I live in Saint Petersburg, Florida. This may be premature, but judging from the experience I've had so far with this roofing company and its owner, I really want to be prepared to hit the ground running if my deposit isn't refunded as I requested. Below is an e-mail I sent to the company yesterday, which tells most of the story:
Let this e-mail serve as notice: I am cancelling my contract due to your company's gross underperformance. Our roofing permit was not applied for in person on the 19th of February as promised to us by Mr. Prince on February 16th, the date our contract was signed, nor by Mr. Kennedy, who alternately stated that he had the ability to apply for the license online. We had explained this was an urgent matter, as our current homeowner's insurance would be dropping us on February 21st and a new roof permit was required by our insurance broker to find a new insurance carrier. Mr. Kennedy then stated, "I hate to say this, but you can tell your insurance that the roof is done" or if our broker needed more information he would write us a letter explaining the work to be done to pass on to our insurance broker. Needless to say, I did not take Mr. Kennedy's advice to give fraudulent statements to my insurance broker. When I called Mr. Prince on February 26th he said he was not in the office at that time, but he would have the permit e-mailed to me at this address when he got back to the office later that day. We waited several days and called his cell number on March 1st, leaving a voice mail inquiring as to the permit's whereabouts. Our call was returned by Mr. Gene Kennedy on March 5th, who left a voice mail on my cell phone. When I finally spoke to Mr. Kennedy on March 6th, he assured me the permit would be e-mailed that day, which it was not. March 8th, a person from Saltwater Home Resources called me saying she did not have my e-mail address, which I had given to Mr. Kennedy personally at our contract signing. Finally, I received an e-mail attached copy of our permit dated March 7th, proving that not only was our permit not applied for by Mr. Prince or Mr. Kennedy on the day they promised, but Mr. Prince lied when asked about it a week after. This, in addition to Mr. Kennedy's dubious claim of rain delays being the cause of exceeding the 2-3 week time frame of starting our job (excluding the day of this writing, it has rained on a total of 4 occasions in our area in the ensuing 5 weeks since our contract was signed), are more than enough to site underperformance as a valid reason for dissolving this contract.
I want a refund of my $3000 deposit minus the $140 license fee for a total of $2860. No restocking fees can be assessed to me because no materials have ever arrived at my home, the proposed jobsite. I am not liable for any "liquidated damages" per condition 13 of my contract because no work has been performed and your company has incurred no expense on my behalf. Further, I do not want any employee of Saltwater Home Resources OR Kennedy Construction Groups on my property again. Please e-mail me to let me know when and how my refund will be sent to me, as I prefer any and all of our further correspondence to be in writing. Thank you for your attention regarding this matter.
________________________________________________
Since sending this, I have had some fairly extensive text correspondence with the company owner, Gene Kennedy (real name is Melvin E. Kennedy) wherein he makes, among many other (I believe) bogus statements, a claim that he has purchased materials for my roof and that they are sitting in his warehouse. His company's promotional literature states "Saltwater orders materials and has them delivered to your home", which I took a picture of and sent to him, stating that since no materials had ever arrived at my home, either his statement or his advertising is false. He then says he will refund my money after I sign a "cancellation agreement" that he will have his staff e-mail me in the morning. I sent an e-mail to his office late in the evening on 3/24/2013 so it would be seen by his office personnel first thing the following morning and waited until approx. 1 pm on 3/25; no e-mail, no cancellation agreement. I called the office, got voicemail, left a message, and still no reply. I then typed a termination of contract agreement on behalf of my wife and myself, had both of our signatures notarized on it at our bank, sent it to his office via return receipt certified mail, and additionally sent it to the his and his consultant's e-mail addresses as an attachment. Included in the termination letter was the refund amount that I expected within 5 business days ($2860) before I file complaints with the Pinellas Construction Licensing Board, and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Now that you know the majority of this story, what should I be prepared to do legally if he defaults on returning my deposit? Can I pursue him for damages relating to the considerable stress and mental anguish I and my family have suffered due to his company’s negligence and delay in attaining a permit and starting my job? Can I file charges of false advertising, citing his own written contradiction of his ad literature, and his company’s bogus claim by its president Everte Farnell that if I call the office Monday through Friday “between 9 and 5” I will not get voice mail, but if I should happen to I will get a call back within 3 hours? Mr. Farnell also states in the promotional literature, “If for any reason you are not 100% satisfied with everything we do, I want you to call me on my personal cell phone at 941-799-1504, and leave me a message. You WILL get a call back and your problem WILL be resolved, I promise!” (Capitalization as written in the ad). I called and left a message regarding my dissatisfaction on 3/24/2013, and I have yet to receive a call back.
Another fun fact: While watching his company’s dvd of testimonials that came with the large folder of promotional material, my wife and I noticed a married couple giving a gushing testimonial about how professional the company was when they did their roof. The man in the video is a former employer and personal friend of my wife and myself, and he is not, nor has he ever been married to the woman he is seen next to in the video. Whether they knew each other before this staged, bogus video I do not know, but I do know they have never owned a house together, although they refer multiple times to the great job the company did on “our” roof. In actuality, he and his real wife were married in 1998 and are still married with two children to this day. Doesn’t really apply to me directly, but could this be a separate false advertising charge that the state would pursue? There is no disclaimer stating they are actors anywhere in the video or in any of the printed contents surrounding it.
Let this e-mail serve as notice: I am cancelling my contract due to your company's gross underperformance. Our roofing permit was not applied for in person on the 19th of February as promised to us by Mr. Prince on February 16th, the date our contract was signed, nor by Mr. Kennedy, who alternately stated that he had the ability to apply for the license online. We had explained this was an urgent matter, as our current homeowner's insurance would be dropping us on February 21st and a new roof permit was required by our insurance broker to find a new insurance carrier. Mr. Kennedy then stated, "I hate to say this, but you can tell your insurance that the roof is done" or if our broker needed more information he would write us a letter explaining the work to be done to pass on to our insurance broker. Needless to say, I did not take Mr. Kennedy's advice to give fraudulent statements to my insurance broker. When I called Mr. Prince on February 26th he said he was not in the office at that time, but he would have the permit e-mailed to me at this address when he got back to the office later that day. We waited several days and called his cell number on March 1st, leaving a voice mail inquiring as to the permit's whereabouts. Our call was returned by Mr. Gene Kennedy on March 5th, who left a voice mail on my cell phone. When I finally spoke to Mr. Kennedy on March 6th, he assured me the permit would be e-mailed that day, which it was not. March 8th, a person from Saltwater Home Resources called me saying she did not have my e-mail address, which I had given to Mr. Kennedy personally at our contract signing. Finally, I received an e-mail attached copy of our permit dated March 7th, proving that not only was our permit not applied for by Mr. Prince or Mr. Kennedy on the day they promised, but Mr. Prince lied when asked about it a week after. This, in addition to Mr. Kennedy's dubious claim of rain delays being the cause of exceeding the 2-3 week time frame of starting our job (excluding the day of this writing, it has rained on a total of 4 occasions in our area in the ensuing 5 weeks since our contract was signed), are more than enough to site underperformance as a valid reason for dissolving this contract.
I want a refund of my $3000 deposit minus the $140 license fee for a total of $2860. No restocking fees can be assessed to me because no materials have ever arrived at my home, the proposed jobsite. I am not liable for any "liquidated damages" per condition 13 of my contract because no work has been performed and your company has incurred no expense on my behalf. Further, I do not want any employee of Saltwater Home Resources OR Kennedy Construction Groups on my property again. Please e-mail me to let me know when and how my refund will be sent to me, as I prefer any and all of our further correspondence to be in writing. Thank you for your attention regarding this matter.
________________________________________________
Since sending this, I have had some fairly extensive text correspondence with the company owner, Gene Kennedy (real name is Melvin E. Kennedy) wherein he makes, among many other (I believe) bogus statements, a claim that he has purchased materials for my roof and that they are sitting in his warehouse. His company's promotional literature states "Saltwater orders materials and has them delivered to your home", which I took a picture of and sent to him, stating that since no materials had ever arrived at my home, either his statement or his advertising is false. He then says he will refund my money after I sign a "cancellation agreement" that he will have his staff e-mail me in the morning. I sent an e-mail to his office late in the evening on 3/24/2013 so it would be seen by his office personnel first thing the following morning and waited until approx. 1 pm on 3/25; no e-mail, no cancellation agreement. I called the office, got voicemail, left a message, and still no reply. I then typed a termination of contract agreement on behalf of my wife and myself, had both of our signatures notarized on it at our bank, sent it to his office via return receipt certified mail, and additionally sent it to the his and his consultant's e-mail addresses as an attachment. Included in the termination letter was the refund amount that I expected within 5 business days ($2860) before I file complaints with the Pinellas Construction Licensing Board, and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Now that you know the majority of this story, what should I be prepared to do legally if he defaults on returning my deposit? Can I pursue him for damages relating to the considerable stress and mental anguish I and my family have suffered due to his company’s negligence and delay in attaining a permit and starting my job? Can I file charges of false advertising, citing his own written contradiction of his ad literature, and his company’s bogus claim by its president Everte Farnell that if I call the office Monday through Friday “between 9 and 5” I will not get voice mail, but if I should happen to I will get a call back within 3 hours? Mr. Farnell also states in the promotional literature, “If for any reason you are not 100% satisfied with everything we do, I want you to call me on my personal cell phone at 941-799-1504, and leave me a message. You WILL get a call back and your problem WILL be resolved, I promise!” (Capitalization as written in the ad). I called and left a message regarding my dissatisfaction on 3/24/2013, and I have yet to receive a call back.
Another fun fact: While watching his company’s dvd of testimonials that came with the large folder of promotional material, my wife and I noticed a married couple giving a gushing testimonial about how professional the company was when they did their roof. The man in the video is a former employer and personal friend of my wife and myself, and he is not, nor has he ever been married to the woman he is seen next to in the video. Whether they knew each other before this staged, bogus video I do not know, but I do know they have never owned a house together, although they refer multiple times to the great job the company did on “our” roof. In actuality, he and his real wife were married in 1998 and are still married with two children to this day. Doesn’t really apply to me directly, but could this be a separate false advertising charge that the state would pursue? There is no disclaimer stating they are actors anywhere in the video or in any of the printed contents surrounding it.