When the roof of Robert and Priscilla James’ house in Aurora was damaged by hail, James set about looking for a contractor that would install a new roof. The company that he found, Mastercraft Exteriors, said it would repair the roof but told him that would need the fee up-front in order to purchase materials.
James, had never paid a contractor up front before and he was skeptical, but reluctantly he gave the company an insurance check for $7,142. He was told a crew would come to repair the roof in late October. But no one ever came.
“They just took my money and ran with it,” James said.
To make matters worse, Priscilla James had a heart attack in October and was recovering from the ordeal. Being scammed just added to the couple’s stress.
James filed a report with the Aurora Police Department about the company, and later spoke to Denver7 about his experience. Denver7 found that Mastercraft Exteriors had a pattern of defrauding clients in the Denver area, with at least 10 other people having been ripped off. The company is being investigated by the Aurora Police Department.
When IkeJon Nissen saw James’ story on the news, he felt moved to help. Nissen is the owner of Berthoud-based roofing company Roof Link. He contacted Denver7 and told them that he would install a new roof for James for free.
James was skeptical that the offer was really true after his negative experience with Mastercraft. But on Thursday, Nissen and his crew showed up and installed a new roof with hail-resistant shingles in just one day. Nissen brought his whole company to the house on Friday so that they could meet the Jameses, and on Saturday the company installed new gutters. Friday happen to be James’ 80th birthday, and the company brought him a cake — though the biggest present was the new roof.
“It really makes the house stand out,” James said.
Roof Link will invoice the Jameses insurance company for the cost so that they can get the remainder of the $7,142 as a refund, Nissen said.
Roof Link’s supplier, American Roofing Supply in Loveland, also stepped up to help. After Nissen told sales representative Brandy McCain what the supplies were for, the company offered him a discount price on all the materials for James’ roof.
James said that Nissen and his team’s generosity helped restore his and his wife’s faith in people after they were scammed.
“There’s a lot of good people out there,” Robert James said.
“God is good for someone to step in and take care of your roof,” Priscilla James said.
Nissen said he was moved to help James because he spent decades serving others. James was in the Air Force for 20 years, and was a police officer for 30 years after that before retiring.
“That’s a lifetime of service and he’s very deserving of this,” Nissen said.
Scams are not uncommon in the roofing business, Nissen said. Because it’s very easy to obtain a roofing license — in Berthoud it only costs a $110 fee to get a license, he said — many unscrupulous people market themselves as legitimate roofers.
RoofLink visits between 1,000 to 1,500 homes a year and about 10% of people it sees have a story like James’, Nissen said. Sometimes, he’s showed up to houses where the roof is half-finished and the client says its been weeks and the contractor hasn’t come back to finish it.
Asking for money up-front is a red flag, Nissen said. Scams are especially common after hailstorms. He recommends that people avoid companies that go door-to-door right after storms looking for work, and that people should be skeptical of contractors that can come repair a roof immediately after a hailstorm — most businesses are booked two to three weeks in advance. While it can be frustrating to wait, you are much less likely to lose your money.
“If they’re not busy they’re probably fraudulent,” Nissen said.
He’s happy that he was able to help out someone who was taken advantage of.
“It feels good to be a part of something that’s good,” Nissen said.
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Berthoud company installs free roof for Aurora veteran who was scammed by contractor - Loveland Reporter-Herald
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