So the contractor didn’t tell me how much the roofs was going to cost. He agreed whatever I get from the insurance company he will do it for that. On the contract I signed said he got the check the insurance company sent me. No extra money. I told them I’m on a set budget and have no money. Which is 100% true im so broke. The insurance company took out the deductible which was 1000 for each roof. After the roofers was done he said I owed them extra $2000 for the deductible. It wasn’t even on the contract I signed. What do I do. I need help. I’m in ohio is this legal. I’m so confused and upset. I have nothing already.
You thought you were getting a totally free roof?
You thought you didnt have to pay the deductible??
You didnt know about your deductible?
The amount you are obligated to pay…
Are you serious?
What, are you 16 or something?
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Every roof I have gotten the insurance company took out the deductible. The replacement of the roof was either the same price after the deductible or cheaper. I didn’t know the contractor was charging more than the check that I received he told me that what I was given was enough. Now after signing the paperwork and paying him. He is saying I owe him the deductible I paid the insurance company.
You’ve been working with flakes. Every roof you’ve gotten? How many insurance claims have you filed?
Sorry I didn’t read closely enough. You paid your deductible to the insurance company?
Yes I paid my insurance company my deductible and I’ve had 3 claims in the past. I have never had this happen before.
Some states require a contract be clear on the price to be legal. I would never, never start a project without a scope of work and a cost listed and the terms of payment. I would have explained your insurance claim to you. Terms are listed clearly on the written contract. Your insurance policy lays out your portion of responsibility after a claim. You are legally bound to pay your deductible of an insured loss. As much of a loser as your roofer is, you learned a hard, $2k lesson. Ask for a payment plan. Read your policy. Your deductible is paid to the contractor.
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In my case, homeowners ASSUMED I was waiving their deductible (which I can’t do anyways). They refused to pay, said I waived it (never did, not once) and treated me as the enemy.
I lost a thousand or more dollars on slim enough margins already.
I could buy several houses for the money still owed to me today for my work.
BUT … that money will never show up at my door
A deductible is YOUR’S to pay and PART of the amount that the insurance company is willing to pay.
Roofing is hard enough. And a new for a grand is still a fantastic deal.
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Sounds like OP paid the insurance $2000 already. If the terms of the contract does not specify you pay him anything and he simply gets the checks from insurance then you owe him nothing.
If this is how I think it is. Contractor bills insurance company for $10,000. You pay insurance company $2000 and insurance company pays contractor that $2,000 plus the additional $8,000 to equal the $10,000 contractor charges.
Sounds like the contractor is trying to pull a fast one and dupe you out of an extra $2,000.
Except the insurance company doesn’t pay the contractor. The way it works just using general numbers is the insurance company values the damage/loss at $15,000, the customer has a $2,000 deductible so is left with $13,000 to do a job that is valued at $15,000. The insurance company does not cut a check to the contractor, they send money to the homeowner and the homeowner pays the contractor.
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Hmmm, I have never dealt wit that type of claim. I know like an automobile claim you pay the deductible to the insurance and the insurance pays the company. You can choose to get an estimate and take the cash minus deductible.
Depending on what is actually happening here and how the contract is written would determine whether contractor has a valid claim to that extra $2,000.
I agree and sympathize with a fellow roofer. However, if you have been burned that much you need to make big time changes in the way you do business. We do an equal balance of new work to reroof and I NEVER have anything in my 60 day column. Do work, get paid, repeat.
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Thats not what I’m saying. Im saying that they told me it will cost me 18k to do both roofs my insurance gave me 20k. And then my insurance company before sending out my checks took the 2k insurance deductible out and sent me 18k for the contractor. I paid them and then a month after the job the contractor said I owe him the 2k deductible as well. I’m in ohio and I just want to know if it’s legal. Its been over 90 days since we paid them. Now they are threatening me saying that my roof warranty is void and my roof is sagging now and they won’t even come look at till I pay them my deductible.
Amber_roz, what is the contract total on your contract? It must be written somewhere in the agreement.
Your roof sagging is prob a bluff. To put fear in you. Im not sure about your insurance problem, I have zero experience in that. But for a roof to magically start sagging 3 months after finished doesnt sound real. And if you dont legally owe them anything and everything was paid for, then they have to warranty the roof for 5 years by law.
I am not a lawyer
I do know that some contractors will play around with WAIVING the deductible to sale a job.
As I understand it though, the contractor has nothing to do with any deductible. That is between you and the insurance company.
If the guy charged 18k upfront though and wants and additional 4k just cause … yeah that’s a crappy way to do things.
You owe the deductible
she never paid her deductible the claim was paid less her deductible she is responsible to pay the roofer her deductible
Ignore the you are not sixteen nonsense. Trust yourself!
I’m looking at this also, before signing anything. The deductible was subtracted from the amount the insurance was going to give me for my roof. The roofer says I have more than 9000.00 available, simply added the deductible amount of 2000.00, so there “will be enough” to do the roof.
Well, the deductible has been paid, so, why would I pay that again, on a separate contract, to the roofer automatically? Both the roofer and the insurance rattle this off as if something is wrong with me when I questioned this.
The insurance agent said it was in the contract to add the deductible to the check amount when making an agreement with the roofer. I said I only wanted to spend the insurance money which looks to be 9000.00. Later, when pressed, they said, well, then you will have to find a roofer that will stay within the expense of the insurance amount sent via a 1st and later 2nd check equaling 9000.00. That’s not consistent.
More interesting is that the insurance company makes it very clear that the contract I enter in with the roofing company is strictly between me and the roofer. That leaves more leeway than one thinks me thinks.
I have a friend that is letting the roofer handle everything like you, with the same insurance company as mine. We are going to look at the numbers I have for my roof tonight. She used to be an IRS business tax person, so should be interesting what she thinks.
And it is issues like this that make insurance related work such a pain is the arse. Both contractors and insureds use the deductible as a negotiating tool and both get into a ridiculous squabble of justifying fraud. A deductible is a contracted obligation within the insurance agreement and is the responsibility of the policy holder to pay.
The fix is for the deductible be paid to the insurer “in trust” for disbursement to the contractor after proof of completion. Until the deductible is paid, no insurance proceeds should be released. This, IMO, would eliminate the fraud problems associated with deductibles and this sort of nonsense. If you cannot afford the deductible, you simply should not be issued the policy, nor should it have been sold to you in the first place. This methodology is used in the investment field when assessing risk tolerance.
High deductibles are often a red flag because they commonly signal financial stress.
A policy holder’s choice of deductible level was their choice and not the burden of the contractor … unless the contractor is desperate and stupidly embraces that burden.
The grief expressed in this squabble is well deserved by both parties. Each seems to want to scam the other and pathetically cries victim when they are handed the shorter straw.
Maybe an ethics forum would be a better place to air nonsense like this.