JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The I-TEAM is hearing from more customers who say they have paid thousands of dollars to a Jacksonville roofing company for work that has not been completed, months after the checks were written.
Robert and Geneva Wilson are retired, and said they didn’t even think they needed a new roof. But on April 9, 2017, a worker with Superior Roofing and Restoration knocked on the door of their Westside home and told them they needed a new roof. According to News4Jax archives, a bad storm had moved through the area five days earlier. The Wilsons told the I-TEAM they took the company’s word about the roof, and two months later, wrote a check for $9,429.
Ten months later, the Wilsons said they can’t even get workers with Superior Roofing and Restoration to call them back. They wish they could take back the moment when they wrote that check to the company.
“How does that make you feel?” asked I-TEAM investigator Tarik Minor. “Like we’ve been taken,” said Geneva Wilson.
Robert Wilson repeatedly went to Superior Roofing’s office on Waller Road.
“I went there four times, and each time it was a different story,” he said, adding he heard excuse after excuse. Making matters worse, Robert Wilson found out that Superior Roofing requested additional money from his insurance carrier, claiming workers had underestimated their building expenses. However, Wilson said a representative from the insurance company told him the couple had overpaid.
The I-TEAM called contractor Michael Beard, of Superior Roofing, to try to help the Wilsons get their money back. Beard didn’t return Minor’s call, but corresponded by text message. The I-TEAM started by asking about the Wilsons’ deposit:
Beard: "They are scheduled to have there (sic) roof done (in) next couple of weeks and there (sic) special order skylight is sitting our office.”
Beard: “Send me ur (sic) email and I will send u (sic) a whole schedule."
Minor: "They don't want there (sic) roof done… they want their money back”
Minor: “It’s been a year”
Beard: "Then I will schedule them for a refund and see if I can get rid of this power vent.”
Beard: “And again. Yes it has been a year but we have had 2 hurricanes and ever (sic) roofer is out a very long time."
Minor: "Ok. But according to the elderly couple - they paid their deposit before the hurricane"
Beard: "We have had a hurricane each of past two years. Once the last one hit everyone that had emergencies were done first, ie. Trees on home and holes in roofs, Not the people that needed a roof 10 years ago but just decided it was time. It doesn't matter we will refund them."
The Wilsons said their next step is to press criminal charges, if they don’t get their money back.
“They need to be put in jail, I'm going to the police next,” Geneva Wilson said. “It’s not fair that they just take people's money, you know, just like that, and nothing gets done, nothing happens to them."
Beard couldn’t give the I-TEAM a specific date as to when he will refund the Wilsons’ money, but he said it will be soon. As the I-TEAM reported last week, Superior Roofing and Restoration made the same promise to a Navy veteran who paid an $8,300 deposit for work that was never started. The I-TEAM will follow up on the promises Superior Roofing has made to these customers.
In the meantime, the company’s rating with the Better Business Bureau remains an F. The BBB has also posted an alert labeled a “Pattern of Complaint.” The BBB wrote that customers reported paying for work that was not completed and not being able to get answers from the company.
In addition to profiles on businesses, BBB's website offers advice for consumers on hiring a roofing contractor in Florida.
You can also check the state’s website to make sure the business is licensed by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.