FORT MILL, S.C. -- Neighbors in Fort Mill say they used a neighbor's recommendation to hire a roofer and got nothing but headaches because that roofer wouldn't come back after he was already paid.
It was late June when this hail of a storm rolled through the north end of Fort Mill. It was fast, but strong, and left a lot of damage in the Audubon Park neighborhood.
Justin Anderson's house was riddled with holes and the roof was likewise torn up. Justin recalls, "It was golf ball size. I mean golf ball sized hail!"
Same thing for Jesse Hobart's house. He lives next door.
So on a neighbor's recommendation, Justin and Jesse hired M&P Roofing out of Hickory. That neighbor had used roofer Mike Adcock before and said good things, so they didn't check the company beyond that.
Justin recalls Mike by remembering a smooth talker and says "I'll give it to ya, he's quite a salesman. Neighbor Jesse Hobart said, "He claimed he'd have it done in two weeks."
Justin paid Mike 7 grand, and Jesse paid him $3,800, but the work didn't start in July, August or in September, and that's when Justin and Jesse finally contacted me. I checked M&P Roofing a little deeper and I found an "F" rating from the Better Business Bureau for not settling complaints, even though their website claimed they were BBB accredited. Turns out, that wasn't true.
Tom Bartholomy, President of the Charlotte better Business Bureau says, "They need to stop using our logo. Next step for us is legal action."
The I-Team called and talked to roofer Mike Adcock. He said he was backlogged and didn't want to be on camera.
After my call, Mike finally did start working on Jesse's roof, so we stopped by, uninvited and unexpected to take a peek. We even took a look at the roof ourselves and held mike accountable for the almost four month wait.
Why the delay? We asked him. Mike said, "The rain, man -- was backed up cause of weather."
Maybe, but I checked with Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich, who tells me the summer was not unusually wet. In fact it only rained 27 of 92 days. I also pressed Mike about that BBB rating, which is an "F." Mike would only say "that's not something I'm proud of, but yeah, just can't satisfy everyone."
But I'll tell you who is satisfied. Within days, Mike finished Jesse's roof. Justin, he just wanted his money back, and so true to his word, roofer Mike refunded Justin his $7,000.
Here's the take-away from this story:
Don't just take your friend or neighbor's word. Do your own independent research on the companies you hire.
You can check their BBB complaint history at www.bbb.org, and their rating.
You should also search for criminal records in both the county and state systems.
For North Carolina, click here.
For South Carolina, click here.
For Mecklenburg County, click here.
For York County, click here.