- Jurisdiction
- New Hampshire
Background: This is in New Hampshire. I saw water stains in my ceiling after a thunder storm. My roof was 22 years old. Since I was leaving for a trip overseas the next day, I called a bunch of roofing companies that showed up in Google, trying to get someone to come out that day and address the leaks. No one was available except this one guy, Diego (not the real name), a 5-star roofing contractor with 80+ reviews. He came and checked the roof and said there's wind damage to the roof and it's missing a shingle. Diego further stated that the my current roof uses 37-inch shingles and they were discontinued and cannot be repaired to code. He said that in a case like this he's helped several customers receive insurance coverage for the whole roof replacement, and the customers paid only deductible.
I said that sounds good, but can you just make it not leak? Then he said he can do that but he'd like to ensure that he'd get to do the rest of the roof, and wanted me to sign a contract. I said I wouldn't want to replace the whole roof if the insurance claim doesn't cover it. He said that's fine, he'll just do the work covered by the claim. I thought that sounds fair and could get my leaks addressed, so I decided to call my insurance to file a claim, and sign the contract.
The signed contract is attached. I have to admit I wasn't paying attention and basically just followed his direction to initial and sign. In the attachment, I cover all the personal/business info. The small gray boxes cover either Diego's or my initial. No covered boxes are dollar amount. The only dollar amount in the contract is the $1 in a couple of places which are not covered.
I paid him the $1 and then he started covering the damaged roof temporarily. I wasn't watching when he did his work. I checked his work after he left and found that the portion he covered was nowhere near the area right above the water stains in my ceiling. I immediately texted Diego for an explanation. He didn't reply. But it's already 8pm and I could understand why he didn't.
First thing the next morning, before I boarded my flight to a foreign country, I texted Diego (before I lose my texting during the flight), asking him to return to cover the portion of the roof right above the water stains. When I landed 6 hours later, I got his text saying that it's covered well and there should be no leaks. I was quite upset by his non-answer and I was thinking how I could back out of the contract and seek other help. So I asked my kid to text me a copy of the contract I signed. After reviewing it closely, I think I am on the hook for the whole roof job even if my claim is rejected by the insurance, and I will be on the hook for whatever amount Diego is going to charge me for the whole roof replacement.
My questions to all the gurus in this forum:
1. Is the situation as dire as I read it?
2. Are there holes in the contract that I could use to get out of it?
3. If I can't get out of it completely, how can I remedy the situation to make it less harmful?
4. Under 'customer information', there is the claim number. If I withdraw the claim, would that void the contract?
Thanks!
I said that sounds good, but can you just make it not leak? Then he said he can do that but he'd like to ensure that he'd get to do the rest of the roof, and wanted me to sign a contract. I said I wouldn't want to replace the whole roof if the insurance claim doesn't cover it. He said that's fine, he'll just do the work covered by the claim. I thought that sounds fair and could get my leaks addressed, so I decided to call my insurance to file a claim, and sign the contract.
The signed contract is attached. I have to admit I wasn't paying attention and basically just followed his direction to initial and sign. In the attachment, I cover all the personal/business info. The small gray boxes cover either Diego's or my initial. No covered boxes are dollar amount. The only dollar amount in the contract is the $1 in a couple of places which are not covered.
I paid him the $1 and then he started covering the damaged roof temporarily. I wasn't watching when he did his work. I checked his work after he left and found that the portion he covered was nowhere near the area right above the water stains in my ceiling. I immediately texted Diego for an explanation. He didn't reply. But it's already 8pm and I could understand why he didn't.
First thing the next morning, before I boarded my flight to a foreign country, I texted Diego (before I lose my texting during the flight), asking him to return to cover the portion of the roof right above the water stains. When I landed 6 hours later, I got his text saying that it's covered well and there should be no leaks. I was quite upset by his non-answer and I was thinking how I could back out of the contract and seek other help. So I asked my kid to text me a copy of the contract I signed. After reviewing it closely, I think I am on the hook for the whole roof job even if my claim is rejected by the insurance, and I will be on the hook for whatever amount Diego is going to charge me for the whole roof replacement.
My questions to all the gurus in this forum:
1. Is the situation as dire as I read it?
2. Are there holes in the contract that I could use to get out of it?
3. If I can't get out of it completely, how can I remedy the situation to make it less harmful?
4. Under 'customer information', there is the claim number. If I withdraw the claim, would that void the contract?
Thanks!
