Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  05/04/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In March, 2022 I had Bronson Roofing to my house to get an estimate on a roof replacement. They later emailed me the quote and I emailed back a few questions I had before proceeding. The owner called me to answer those questions. I was satisfied at that point. I signed the contract and emailed it back to them to proceed with the job. They responded stating that a 50% down payment was due. I responded saying that the contract stated no payment was due until the job was complete. They apologized for the error and sent a new contract. I said I would mail a check and they stated they were no longer accepting checks and only wires. So I transferred $3,795 to them. I called and texted the owner that day (a Friday) to make sure he got my wire. He called me back on Monday stating nothing was due and I explained the secretary stated otherwise. After several more phone calls, it was determined (or so they claim) that their email was hacked in the midst of these exchanges and it was not them I was communicating with (even though it was their email address and in the string of emails with the quotes). My bank tried to recall the wire unsuccessfully. I then asked the owner to at the very least split the loss with me. He claimed that he would not because then he would be "doing the job for free" and that "actually your job has gone up $400" even though my original quote would still have been valid. He refused to take any responsibility for this, and he told me it was all my fault even though it was THEIR email that, supposedly, got hacked. At this point, I am not even convinced that their email being hacked is true and this isn't some sort of scam to wire them money and then claim they were hacked knowing there are no avenues to get money back. Extremely dishonest and unethical, even if it is true and they were hacked, he took no responsibility.

  Business response

  05/17/2022

  To the customer who wrote a complaint on BBB about Bronson Roofing inc. 

  We sent a proposal for a new roof by email.  On everyone of our proposals we clearly state payment is to be made in cash/check on completion.  Due on Completion. Please pay from this contract at completion of work. (3 Times).

  By signing the above you agree to the terms of this contract.  Which you signed 3-30-2022 and emailed back.

  Neil also talked to you over the phone when you picked out the color. At that time you asked him " do you want me to send you half the money".  He said, "no, you can pay us when the job is completed."  We have never asked any customer in 44 yrs. to pay any amount of money up front and have years of contracts to prove it.

  There are scammers out there which no one has control, no matter how much Protection you have, they will find a way to scam, which we do have to best protection out there.  We called Comcast and if we were hacked there is no way to stop this other than change our password.

  It was your decision to wire money to a bank in Tennessee.

  If this happened we are truly sorry but feel you should have read the proposal and realized wiring money is not our way of payment and Neil told you over the phone himself.

  We have been in business for 44 yrs. and have never had this happen because we don't accept this kind of payment.

  Sincerely,

  Bronson Roofing Inc.
  

  Customer response

  05/18/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
  
  I received no resolution from this business. Not even an apology. This business owner is delusional. The telephone conversation they state took place but there was ZERO talk of money. He is telling himself that was the case to make himself feel better about the situation. In addition, the original proposal I received stated that no money was due which is why I questioned it. I received a response from THEIR email address with a new proposal, on their letterhead, with his e-signature. How would I have known this was from a hacker? In addition, how would I know their prior business practices for 44 years? The account I wired money to was in their business name. Banks require proof of identification to open an account. How would a fraudster open a bank account with their business name? This business owner is fraudulent, unethical, immoral and shows zero remorse that this happened to one of their customers. It's truly remarkable that people like this exist. And then people wonder why people don't use small businesses. This is why. I trusted the BBB rating for this company. I even double checked the BBB rating before I wired them money. I felt safe to do so. There is one of two things going on here. The first is that they are claiming they were hacked and weren't and are running away with my money. Or they were hacked. Which is THEIR fault. If you are running a business, you should be updating your password regularly, have double authentication set up, etc. There are many steps you can take to protect your identity. Also, if this is true, then I fell victim because of their neglect. How they don't even feel remotely bad about this is astounding. They really couldn't take an $1800 hit? I find that hard to believe. The irony is that I know 3 other people that were waiting on my roof to be done to use this business. So right off the bat, they lost those customers. It would have been more in their interest to take this hit than to lose future business. I hope and pray that nobody else falls victim to this company. Their BBB rating should be changed. I will also be posting on every public forum I can think of to warn people of this business. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ******* ******

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩