BBB accreditation not always enough to avoid bad roofers

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A critical and expensive home repair is leaving people covered with problems. Bad roofing work is becoming more common around the Louisville area. Even customers who thought they had done their homework are finding themselves out thousands of dollars.

It's usually peaceful at the Happy Tails Pet Resort in Lanesville, Indiana. But things got all bent out of shape after Judy Marksbury hired Sterling Contracting to install a new roof.

Marksbury started seeing the problems early on.

"They went to put the screw in to hold the metal down, and they didn't hit a stud," said Marksbury. "So they pulled it out put silicone in it and went in another location to find a stud."

Marksbury said the roof, which she said was bent, broken, and just bad workmanship, started leaking. Jason Sterling, the owner of Sterling Contracting, promised to fix things. Then Marksbury said Sterling asked for additional $9,000 for materials. That was in addition to the $11,000 she had already paid him. Admitting she shouldn't have, Marksbury decided to throw good money after bad.

Charlie Mattingly, president of the Better Business Bureau president said upfront payments are always a problem with roofing companies. If a roofing contractor doesn't have money for supplies Mattingly said that is a huge red flag. Reputable roofing companies, said Mattingly, should only ask to get paid after the job is complete.

The BBB also says you should:

• Shop around.
• Be wary of door to door roofers offering discounts for left over materials.
• Get everything in writing.
• Do your research on the company you end up hiring.

Marksbury thought she did. Sterling Contracting had the Better Business Bureau seal of approval.

Mattingly said doing your homework reduces your risk, but you can never guarantee you're not going to have a problem.

In fact, the Louisville BBB just revoked the accreditation of Sterling Contracting, along with three other roofing companies cited for ongoing problems. It might make you wonder why there are so many bad roofers these days.

Mattingly said a wave of severe weather in 2012 led to a string of new roofing companies popping up around town. Unlike plumbers and electricians, roofers in Kentucky and Indiana do not have to be licensed, so Mattingly said they don't always know what they're doing.

Sterling Contracting seemed to think they knew what they were doing. The owner posted pictures of the project to the company's Facebook page.

When reached by phone, Jason Sterling said, "I think the work was done timely and done well. There were a few issues but those were addressed."

In a letter from Sterling's attorney, the company offered to come back and make repairs. Instead, Marksbury, who resigned herself to the fact the first job had gone to the dogs, hired someone else to finish her roof.

"It's a shame," said Marksbury. "It's a shame you can't trust people to do what they say they are going to do."

If you're wondering how the BBB ends up putting its seal on problem companies, the accreditation process is an inexact science. Companies are vetted through records at kept the Secretary of State and Google searches for complaints listed online.

However, Mattingly said newer companies don't have a track record - good or bad - to check into.

Mattingly also said even good companies can fall on hard times and get into trouble. The owner of Daniel's Roofing, one of the companies that lost its accreditation, said he was a BBB member for 13 years. He called the issue that led to his revocation a miscommunication that has since been corrected with the homeowner.

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