Roofing Company does lousy job and turns remaining balance to coll agency

[mparkes]

What is the name of your state? WA

My wife and I were our own general contractor for our new home we have built. Two years ago We sub'd out the roofing work to a company for approx $20,000. We had paid them approx $15,000 and there was a remaing balance of about 5,000 that we owed them, but there were many problems with the job they did, and we told them verbally, that we were not going to pay the balance due until they came back and fixed the problems. Well that was the last we heard from them. They never came back, never called, never billed us - for two years. Meanwhile we took it upon ourselves to correct the problems the roffers left and hirted other subs to come in and repair their mistakes. All of this out of our own pocket.

Now... 2 years later we get a letter from a collection agancy in CA for the balance due the original roofer! We were floored! So now we are trying to figure out what to do, do we just explain everything to the debt collector, do we file a suit against the roofer??? HELP!

[seniorjudge]

Ask the collection agency to file a lawsuit against you and you can point out all the problems in that lawsuit.

[racer72]

Originally Posted by mparkes

What is the name of your state? WA

My wife and I were our own general contractor for our new home we have built. Two years ago We sub'd out the roofing work to a company for approx $20,000. We had paid them approx $15,000 and there was a remaing balance of about 5,000 that we owed them, but there were many problems with the job they did, and we told them verbally, that we were not going to pay the balance due until they came back and fixed the problems. Well that was the last we heard from them. They never came back, never called, never billed us - for two years. Meanwhile we took it upon ourselves to correct the problems the roffers left and hirted other subs to come in and repair their mistakes. All of this out of our own pocket.

Now... 2 years later we get a letter from a collection agancy in CA for the balance due the original roofer! We were floored! So now we are trying to figure out what to do, do we just explain everything to the debt collector, do we file a suit against the roofer??? HELP!

Now you are going to get a lesson in contract law. You had a legal contract to pay a business $20,000. They did not do the job the way you want it done. Now your question is, who has the legal authority to determine that the contract language was not completed per contract and that 25% of the contract should be voided?
a)Your aunt Martha.
b)A superior court judge that serves in your jurisdiction or the one specified in the contract.
c)You.
d)The owner of the collection agency.

If you answer was anything but b, you lose. There were options to settle this in the past but it's too late now. If you are lucky you will get a judge that is sympathetic to your situation and may dismiss the lawsuit but don't hang your hat on it. Very likely the only evidence against you will be a signed contract and proof of partial payment. I would suggest talking to a local attorney and discussing your options.

[CraigFL]

Great answer Racer.... In my business it seems like most customers answer "c" (or "a"), then we have to work toward "b".

[mparkes]

Thanks Racer and others
I am sure we will just pay the collection agency off and be done with it. Our mistake.

But... in looking back how SHOULD we have handled the situation?

We contract in writing for a roof.
Roofer builds roof with:

- flashing not attached to house (which eventualy led to water leaks inside our home, documented with photos)
- shingles that that have more rows on one side of the roof than the other
- Roofer doesn't clean up debris left from the build as stated in contract.

Homeowner looks at the job and requests that roofer correct the problems, clean up the mess. Roofer ignores request. States you owe me $5000.

Should we have just paid him off and chalked it up as money down the drain?

I just want to LEARN something and avoid this issue from recurring!

thanks all -

Originally Posted by racer72

Now you are going to get a lesson in contract law. You had a legal contract to pay a business $20,000. They did not do the job the way you want it done. Now your question is, who has the legal authority to determine that the contract language was not completed per contract and that 25% of the contract should be voided?
a)Your aunt Martha.
b)A superior court judge that serves in your jurisdiction or the one specified in the contract.
c)You.
d)The owner of the collection agency.

If you answer was anything but b, you lose. There were options to settle this in the past but it's too late now. If you are lucky you will get a judge that is sympathetic to your situation and may dismiss the lawsuit but don't hang your hat on it. Very likely the only evidence against you will be a signed contract and proof of partial payment. I would suggest talking to a local attorney and discussing your options.

[CraigFL]

You need to work it out with the roofer after paying them(to show good faith). If it can't be worked out with them, a third party may be necessary --- Better Business Bureau or escalate to a court/judge... The sooner the better after the roof is put in. I would have had a trird party roof installer analyze it and provide an opinion as well as an estimate to fix.

[FlyingRon]

Originally Posted by CraigFL

You need to work it out with the roofer after paying them(to show good faith). If it can't be worked out with them, a third party may be necessary --- Better Business Bureau or escalate to a court/judge... The sooner the better after the roof is put in. I would have had a trird party roof installer analyze it and provide an opinion as well as an estimate to fix.

The better business bureau is a complete waste of time. They don't arbitrate, they just record complaints. It presumes that the business wants to cooperate (obviously they don't at this point).

[racer72]

What you should have done was paid the contract in full then sue the roofer for lack of performance. If the roofer was licensed and bonded, collecting on the judgment would have been easy if you were to have won. It also appears the roofer was smart enough to wait out the 2 year statute of limitations for you to sue him.

[CraigFL]

Originally Posted by FlyingRon

The better business bureau is a complete waste of time. They don't arbitrate, they just record complaints. It presumes that the business wants to cooperate (obviously they don't at this point).

Actually, that was my response as to what he could have done better at the time-- not now.

I am a member of the BBB and think it's always worthwhile for people to try to resolve their dispute this way. The BBB attempts to be a third party to resolve the problem even if the business is not a member. If the business is a member, they are required to resolve the dispute or face losing their membership. If they are not a member and they refuse, they are reported to a list of uncooperative businesses. It's a much better route to take before you actually have to sue in court.

[StephenH]

You might consider filing a compliant with your the contractors license board in your state about the lousy job and their actions.

[mparkes]

I just wanted to follow up and let the forum know how this turned out.

We got an attorney and disputed the debt with the collection agency. To make a long story short, the contractor took the debt back from collections and after a few phone calls with our attorney agreed to drop the matter.