COMMONWEALTH ROOFING

During a rainstorm in late December, I observed water leaking into my garage around my chimneyOn December 31st, I called Commonwealth Roofing to ask for an evaluation / cost estimate to address the issueI was told by the customer service representative that they could schedule an estimator to come out, but that it might be a while (more than weeks) before they could get to the houseShe suggested that instead I get on their work schedule to get the repair expeditedShe said that they would send out a work crew to evaluateIf the job could be done for $or less, then they would go ahead and do the repairIf it would cost more than $350, then they would provide me with an estimate for the workShe said that a work crew would be at the house in about 1/to weeksI thought this was acceptable so I agreed to thisNearly weeks passed, twice as long as I had been told, and I had heard nothing from themSo sometime early in the week of January 25, I called them back to find out the status of the scheduled workI was told by the rep that she would look into it and would get back to meThey did call back a bit later and told me someone could come out a couple of days later on Thursday January 28, which they didI was not at home, but my wife wasWhen the man came down from the roof, he told my wife that the chimney flashing needed to be replaced, and he would have to go back to the office, but they would contact me with an estimateI waited through most of the afternoon, but I did not hear anything, so I called themPerhaps they would have called if I would have waited longer, but after their lack of responsiveness after the initial scheduling, I decided to be pro-active and contact themThe rep said that she would get the information and call me back, which she did with a quote of "no more than $1000." She also said that if that was acceptable, that they could possibly get to the repair the next dayI decided at the time to go ahead with the repair to get it over withThey also said they would email pictures of the problem, which they did that same dayThe email said that they would try to get to the repair either late on Friday after they completed a mandatory job, or if not, early on the next MondayAfter thinking about it for a bit, I decided to call them back (either late Thursday or early Friday; I think it was early Friday morning) and tell them that I decided to hold off on the repairFor one, I thought it would be wise to get a couple more estimates just to see how they lined up with each otherAlso, I wasn't completely happy with the thought that if they came, it would be toward the end of the day on FridayNot that I am questioning the quality of their work or anything of the sort, but in general, if you are talking about something as important as a roof, then you would rather it not potentially be rushed with an eye toward the weekendAgain, that is not an accusation; just something for my own peace of mindI called and received a couple more bids from other roofersOne was right in line with Commonwealth's; the other was a bit cheaperI have no real complaints thereOn February 16, I received an invoice from Commonwealth for $for technicians for hours each (initial service run)I called them on February to try to understand what I was being billed forI was informed that the workers had caulked areas where they had seen space, and I was being billed for thatThis was the first time that I was aware that they had done any actual workI asked why this was done, and I was asked in reply if I had not pre-authorized the work crew to do workMy stance is: Well, no, not exactlyI authorized them to fix the roof if the repair would be $or less or to provide me with an estimate if the repair would cost moreThis is what I was initially toldIf caulking was the only repair needed, then why tell me that I would be provided an estimate? At the moment, this issue is unresolvedThat is, the bill is unpaidWhen I got off the phone with their representative last Wednesday, she said that she would talk to the technician and get back to me later that dayShe has never called me backI talked to my wife to make sure that she did not authorize any temporary repairMy wife has no recollection of them ever mentioning any repair, though they may have said something as they were leaving when they said they would have to give us an estimateShe is 100% certain that they did not speak to her about getting permission to do any patchwork beforehandThey only spoke to her when they were leavingMy complaint is this: My agreement with them was to either fix the roof at a cost of $or less, or to provide me with an estimate for the repair of the roofTheir argument seems to be that I agreed to let them work, and thereby take whatever temporary measures they saw fitThey say that they caulked the area to "make sure I was taken care of" or something to that effect, even though they were planning to come out the very next day to do the work (and no rain was forecasted)The worker did not come down and explain the situation once he made the evaluationHe did the caulking, and when done, told us we needed all of the flashing replacedThey say that they would have written off the cost of the caulking work if I had accepted their estimateOf course I have found that since I didn't accept their estimate, then they would bill me for doing the caulking and claim that I authorized them to workPerhaps it is an honest mistake or poor communication on their partBut honestly, it is hard not to see this as an underhanded way to charge someone when all that was really desired was an estimate or a finished jobI called two other roofersBoth of them sent someone out within a couple of days who evaluated the roof and provided me an estimateThe cost to me? NothingSimple and straightforwardThat is what I wantedI think that is what all customers wantI post this review to warn others to be wary of any pre-authorization agreementI think if a business is going to operate according to this procedure, then they should communicate with customers at every stepThe worker should have come down from the roof and provided the diagnosis and perhaps offered the temporary patch as an option with the explanation of the possible expenseAs it is, communication with this company has been extremely poor at almost every step, from the initial scheduling to attempting to resolve our differences with regard to this job

During a rainstorm in late December, I observed water leaking into my garage around my chimney. On December 31st, I called Commonwealth Roofing to ask for an evaluation / cost estimate to address the issue. I was told by the customer service representative that they could schedule an estimator to come out, but that it might be a while (more than 2 weeks) before they could get to the house. She suggested that instead I get on their work schedule to get the repair expedited. She said that they would send out a work crew to evaluate. If the job could be done for $350 or less, then they would go ahead and do the repair. If it would cost more than $350, then they would provide me with an estimate for the work. She said that a work crew would be at the house in about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. I thought this was acceptable so I agreed to this.
Nearly 4 weeks passed, twice as long as I had been told, and I had heard nothing from them. So sometime early in the week of January 25, I called them back to find out the status of the scheduled work. I was told by the rep that she would look into it and would get back to me. They did call back a bit later and told me someone could come out a couple of days later on Thursday January 28, which they did. I was not at home, but my wife was. When the man came down from the roof, he told my wife that the chimney flashing needed to be replaced, and he would have to go back to the office, but they would contact me with an estimate. I waited through most of the afternoon, but I did not hear anything, so I called them. Perhaps they would have called if I would have waited longer, but after their lack of responsiveness after the initial scheduling, I decided to be pro-active and contact them. The rep said that she would get the information and call me back, which she did with a quote of "no more than $1000." She also said that if that was acceptable, that they could possibly get to the repair the next day. I decided at the time to go ahead with the repair to get it over with. They also said they would email pictures of the problem, which they did that same day. The email said that they would try to get to the repair either late on Friday after they completed a mandatory job, or if not, early on the next Monday.
After thinking about it for a bit, I decided to call them back (either late Thursday or early Friday; I think it was early Friday morning) and tell them that I decided to hold off on the repair. For one, I thought it would be wise to get a couple more estimates just to see how they lined up with each other. Also, I wasn't completely happy with the thought that if they came, it would be toward the end of the day on Friday. Not that I am questioning the quality of their work or anything of the sort, but in general, if you are talking about something as important as a roof, then you would rather it not potentially be rushed with an eye toward the weekend. Again, that is not an accusation; just something for my own peace of mind.
I called and received a couple more bids from other roofers. One was right in line with Commonwealth's; the other was a bit cheaper. I have no real complaints there.
On February 16, I received an invoice from Commonwealth for $145.60 for 2 technicians for 1.12 hours each (initial service run). I called them on February 17 to try to understand what I was being billed for. I was informed that the workers had caulked areas where they had seen space, and I was being billed for that. This was the first time that I was aware that they had done any actual work. I asked why this was done, and I was asked in reply if I had not pre-authorized the work crew to do work. My stance is: Well, no, not exactly. I authorized them to fix the roof if the repair would be $350 or less or to provide me with an estimate if the repair would cost more. This is what I was initially told. If caulking was the only repair needed, then why tell me that I would be provided an estimate?
At the moment, this issue is unresolved. That is, the bill is unpaid. When I got off the phone with their representative last Wednesday, she said that she would talk to the technician and get back to me later that day. She has never called me back. I talked to my wife to make sure that she did not authorize any temporary repair. My wife has no recollection of them ever mentioning any repair, though they may have said something as they were leaving when they said they would have to give us an estimate. She is 100% certain that they did not speak to her about getting permission to do any patchwork beforehand. They only spoke to her when they were leaving.
My complaint is this: My agreement with them was to either fix the roof at a cost of $350 or less, or to provide me with an estimate for the repair of the roof. Their argument seems to be that I agreed to let them work, and thereby take whatever temporary measures they saw fit. They say that they caulked the area to "make sure I was taken care of" or something to that effect, even though they were planning to come out the very next day to do the work (and no rain was forecasted). The worker did not come down and explain the situation once he made the evaluation. He did the caulking, and when done, told us we needed all of the flashing replaced. They say that they would have written off the cost of the caulking work if I had accepted their estimate. Of course I have found that since I didn't accept their estimate, then they would bill me for doing the caulking and claim that I authorized them to work. Perhaps it is an honest mistake or poor communication on their part. But honestly, it is hard not to see this as an underhanded way to charge someone when all that was really desired was an estimate or a finished job. I called two other roofers. Both of them sent someone out within a couple of days who evaluated the roof and provided me an estimate. The cost to me? Nothing. Simple and straightforward. That is what I wanted. I think that is what all customers want.
I post this review to warn others to be wary of any pre-authorization agreement. I think if a business is going to operate according to this procedure, then they should communicate with customers at every step. The worker should have come down from the roof and provided the diagnosis and perhaps offered the temporary patch as an option with the explanation of the possible expense. As it is, communication with this company has been extremely poor at almost every step, from the initial scheduling to attempting to resolve our differences with regard to this job.