We had Equity One replace the roof two years ago. They did a very poor job as we have had leaks from two locations. I just tried to call their 800 phone number from the current website and the call won't go through. These guys are a storm chasing company looking to cash in on insurance money. Be very careful!
Consumer Complaints & Reviews
My roof was replaced on December of 2009 due to hail storm. I reported leaking roof on September 10th and had several handyman come to repair it but none was successful. Equity One no longer return my calls. My roof still leaks a year later yet it is still under its two-year warranty.
The roof has been completed for a few months now but as the days got hotter, I noticed my house was not cooling like it used to so I called the AC people.They did find a problem but it did not correct the heat buildup in my garage and attic.On my third call to the Equity One Roofing warranty, I finally got someone to come out to inspect the inside of my attic.
I believe his name is Monty and he was very cordial as he informed me that my ridge vents were not installed correctly. He said they would be fixed, that was on July 28th. I don't expect to be repaired instantly but he has not returned my last 2 phone calls to even give me an approximate start date.
When our home in Albany was hit with a major hail storm last year, Gary ** of Equity One came to my door and asked if I would be interested in having my home exterior inspected for hail damage. I agreed to let him look, and soon, he was on my roof, taking photos and documenting all of the damage to the home. He was well-dressed and very professional. He was able to confirm that I had severe hail damage on my roof and gutter system, and he explained how Equity One walks the entire job from front to back through, so I don't have to. He said he would be my representation through the entire claims process.
I agreed to let him do the job. He kept his word. He met with the adjusters on my roof two days later and got the claims process started. They started on my roof two days later. Insurance companies usually pay in two checks, the first to get the job started, and the second upon completion. So when the first insurance check came in, I called Gary, and he told me to hold onto the money, as his company never takes any payments until the job was done.
The job was done by the next day, and my roof looked great. I had a 30-year shingle on my roof, and I couldn't have been happier with the service. Gary met with the insurance adjuster and did the final walk-through with him. I never had to do a thing, and I never paid a penny for my new roof. I wanted to share a good experience for once!
These two men came to my house very well dressed and very professional and asked me if it was okay to look at my roof for hail damage. I agreed. Ten minutes later they came down and asked about my insurance company/coverage. We talked awhile and they showed me this contract labeled Damage Report. Skeptical at first, they walked me through the front and back of the contract so I agreed to file a claim and sign the contract. Three days later my friend told me to google them because some negative things came up about the company. All I could think was what did I get myself into.
But, as promised they were here before the insurance adjuster and one of them was on the roof with him and the other stayed down and talked with me. The insurance adjuster accepted the roof and cut me a check. No more than 30mins. afterwards did I have the color, type of shingle and time picked out for the build of the roof. As promised they were in and out all day for the build to make sure everything was going well.
Their crew cleaned up very well, and on top of that they came back and fine combed my yard and driveway for nails, trash, etc. I gave them the first check and 2 weeks later I got my second check and they came and picked it up. I couldn't be happier with how the customer service was and how they treated me. I just thought I would post this due to the negative remarks I have seen here and let people know that I was 100% satisfied with Equity One Exteriors.
Agent Vanessa drove up looking to find hail-damaged roofs. She handed my husband a paper labeled in huge letters, "Damage Report." When my husband asked what it was, she replied that it was "just to let them contact the insurance company." He signed it (stupid). Turns out that the back of the paper is full of incredibly binding, one-sided terms and contract agreement demands--saying that it can't be changed unless in writing and signed by both parties. Of course, they won't agree to change these terms.
Repeated attempts to get an exact cost went unresolved. Vanessa repeatedly only pointed to "this and this and this," and never once put an exact cost on a paper. We listened to her spiel on the condition--they will do the whole roof, not a part, and for no more money than what the insurance company will pay, if any. Yet, their paper only mentioned doing that part of roof which was covered by the insurance. We were to "trust" that once on the roof, they would do it all.
Vanessa lied once saying that she saw the insurance total, and that it was enough to do the whole roof--not telling us that it was actually only for about 70% of roof or so. I told her she was not to ask for any more money then. I called the insurance company to thank them for the check, told them what she said, and they told me that it was not for the whole roof.
A few days later, Vanessa called me. I taped the conversation given her sneaky and deceptive actions as far as not giving a firm price and pointing to things insurance paid for but wasn't roof damage (yard stuff damaged). She admitted that behind my back, she called the insuramce agent and tried to get him to give more money for the repair, not even asking him to reevaluate the part he thought was not damaged.
Solely calling to get more money in the company's pocket, yet still not even writing the cost down or giving a paper saying that they will do the whole roof. I knew it was because once they got on the roof, they would hit us up for hundreds more if we wanted the rest of the roof done, since their contract said all that money was for the repairs. Also, we had nothing in writing saying that they would actually do the whole roof. It was to be done free since the insurance was so generous in the first place.
Remember that the Damage Report stated that any changes had to be in writing, and even with that, anything discussed might be lies, too, unless they are in writing. So we're agreeing that she can lie and get no straight answers to anything--yet, we somehow believe that we were getting an honest contract for work! I told her on the phone that she was not to contact them for more money, and that I had warned them she might call. She tried to act like she had done it to "help" us, but the insurance company said specifically that she did not call trying to get the rest of the roof reevaluated. She only wanted more money for the parts she already had under contract for. Soft fraud, which I had looked up and knew she was setting us up for, so I taped her and kept records to prove it. She wanted to drop by and discuss things now, but we never heard from her again. Her manager, Mark ** called and tried to fish around for information. I told him that I taped her.
Their papers also said that they were members of the Better Business Bureau, when they are not. But they cleverly have also a notice that they are members of the Guilderland guild. And it is funny that when you call them, since the BBB can't give you any information on them, the lady who answers gushes foolishly and heartily about the wonderful work they do--amazing, caring, incredible people, did roof for her boss and she can't stop being so amazed and in awe about how wonderful it is, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Wow. It's a roof, not the second coming of Christ. You think that they were given cheaper rates, free roofs, something else, to have them talk up the business to make you forget they are not members of the BBB--yet they are so wonderful that they feel the need to lie about that fact, and hide contracts on the backs of innocent-looking "Damage Reports." I turned things over to the DA's office in Albany, and surprise, they refused to even go for mediation, preferring to hide in shame as they had no answers to explain why Vanessa felt the need to try insurance fraud instead of giving us the one thing we wanted --a contract for X dollars to re-roof our house. Period.
Why? Because our damage was used to try to scam our insurance company. They had little interest in actually giving us a fair price and get assurance that the whole roof would be done. Yet the guild goes out of their way to help them latch onto innocent people simply trying to find out about the company before hiring them. Or check them out when they are tricked into signing their badly written report/contract.
In fact, Vanessa never even did a damage assessment. The paper remains blank in every place when any damage was supposed to be noted. Clearly, because it didn't matter. They were after excessive insurance money. Yet they want 25% of the contract amount (but won't tell you what that is) if you cancel, and $75 per hour for extra work they do on the roof--when they refused to write what they will do. No limit to how much your roof will ultimately cost you. I might still sue for $500 for a bad contract--I was told by someone that I could.
