Roofing Scam Takes Thousands from Arkansas Homewoners
By: Deedra Wilson, KARK 4 News
Updated: October 31, 2012
Money is tight these days, hard to come by and the last thing you need is some company taking advantage of your hard earned dollars.
A Conway County homeowner says that's exactly what happened to him. He says he was bilked out of thousands of dollars by a roofing company.
"I'm a retired first sergeant and I was always telling my people to watch out for people trying to beat them out of their money," says Melvin Vick.
Vick spent 23 years in the military and never thought he'd get taken for his hard earned cash.
"I was bent out of shape to be honest with you, I could use other words, but I won't, but I was saying man how could I have been had like this," he says.
Vick explains that he needed his roof fixed after the Vilonia storm last year, so when someone from American Shingle and siding in Little Rock pulled up to his home, he thought, 'this is too easy.'
"He asked me if I had insurance, I said yes," Vick explains.
An adjuster came out and gave an estimate of about $6,000 to fix the roof.
"In the meantime American Shingle told me when you get the check, give us a call and we'll pick it up," Vick says.
That's about all he says the company did.
"They gave me a date that they were going to repair my roof and they said watch out for a dumpster," he says.
Vick kept looking for months and no one from American Shingle ever showed up to repair his roof.
"One day I called and the call went from the Little Rock office to Florida, I said I must have the wrong number here, you know?," Vick explains.
The next call went to an office in Atlanta.
"I said, look just send me my money," recalls Vick.
By then it was too late, the Arkansas Attorney General had already found out American Shingle and Siding was duping homeowners out of their money.
"The Attorney General said guess what? These guys are out of business, they are gone," Vick says.
To the rescue, Arkansas Roofing Kompany, yes, with a K in Conway.
"We have been helping a lot of people that were victims of American Shingle, Conway Roofing and a couple of other companies, that actually came into Arkansas during the hail storm, and took advantage of a lot of people," says Debbie Goodwin.
She adds, "It's important for homeowners to check out the roofing company.
Contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is also a good idea. One of the big things we asked is, do they have a physical address?
Great ways to be proactive, but in Vick's case, it was a little too late.
"This company dotted every I, and crossed every T and they knew what they were doing," he says.
A Conway County homeowner says that's exactly what happened to him. He says he was bilked out of thousands of dollars by a roofing company.
"I'm a retired first sergeant and I was always telling my people to watch out for people trying to beat them out of their money," says Melvin Vick.
Vick spent 23 years in the military and never thought he'd get taken for his hard earned cash.
"I was bent out of shape to be honest with you, I could use other words, but I won't, but I was saying man how could I have been had like this," he says.
Vick explains that he needed his roof fixed after the Vilonia storm last year, so when someone from American Shingle and siding in Little Rock pulled up to his home, he thought, 'this is too easy.'
"He asked me if I had insurance, I said yes," Vick explains.
An adjuster came out and gave an estimate of about $6,000 to fix the roof.
"In the meantime American Shingle told me when you get the check, give us a call and we'll pick it up," Vick says.
That's about all he says the company did.
"They gave me a date that they were going to repair my roof and they said watch out for a dumpster," he says.
Vick kept looking for months and no one from American Shingle ever showed up to repair his roof.
"One day I called and the call went from the Little Rock office to Florida, I said I must have the wrong number here, you know?," Vick explains.
The next call went to an office in Atlanta.
"I said, look just send me my money," recalls Vick.
By then it was too late, the Arkansas Attorney General had already found out American Shingle and Siding was duping homeowners out of their money.
"The Attorney General said guess what? These guys are out of business, they are gone," Vick says.
To the rescue, Arkansas Roofing Kompany, yes, with a K in Conway.
"We have been helping a lot of people that were victims of American Shingle, Conway Roofing and a couple of other companies, that actually came into Arkansas during the hail storm, and took advantage of a lot of people," says Debbie Goodwin.
She adds, "It's important for homeowners to check out the roofing company.
Contact the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is also a good idea. One of the big things we asked is, do they have a physical address?
Great ways to be proactive, but in Vick's case, it was a little too late.
"This company dotted every I, and crossed every T and they knew what they were doing," he says.
