Complaint Review: American Dream Home Improvement

    A representative of American Dream knocked on my door in April and told me that my roof may have been damaged in a recent storm, offering a free inspection. Free is free, so I agreed, and sure enough I had extensive damage. American Dream was good enough to handle the entire process from that point, contacting my insurance company, arranging an inspection with their adjustors, and securing the funds to replace my roof for the cost of my deductible.
    While I had many options available to contract for the roof replacement, I chose American Dream mainly because they had been so helpful in every phase of the project to this point, but also because of their A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and their purported commitment to quality, including a 30 year warranty. To that point I was extremely happy with American Dream, but afterwards it's been much less satisfying.
    To begin with, the crew that showed up to perform the work in May, was from a different company altogether. While I understand the concept and purpose of sub-contracting, ultimately, American Dream must take responsibility if that sub-contractor does inferior work, because it's their own reputation at stake. Well, that sub-contractor did do inferior work, but American Dream has gone MIA. My calls go to voice-mail. My emails go unanswered.
   The first time American Dream reached out to me was when a representative of their company came to my house in July and demanded payment for the work. I informed him that I had been complaining about the work, and took him around the house and showed him all of the areas where shingles had been installed incorrectly, creating waves that would direct water straight towards the most vulnerable areas of the roof. He assured me that this was perfectly normal, and that those waves would flatten out in just a few weeks. I disagreed since it had already been 2 months, and informed him that I would not pay until the issue was addressed.
    He said he would be able to get a crew scheduled to come out if I paid a portion of the amount due. While I thought this resolution sounded very fair, the amount he demanded was the entire amount, less the deductible. I offered less, and he insisted there was no way to get a crew scheduled otherwise, and would accept nothing less than the full amount. I had no choice if I wanted the work fixed. So I wrote the check as requested, less the deductible.
    A few days later, I received a nasty letter from American Dream, informing me that my withholding of the deductible constituted nothing less than insurance fraud. So, of course, I paid the deductible as well. Now, American Dream has all of the money, and no further reason to come back and address the issue, as evidenced by their inability to schedule a crew for what amounts to an hour or two of work, at most.
    I have no further leverage in the situation, and if I contract with another roofer at this point to fix the problem, then the 30 year warranty will be in jeopardy. If I do nothing, it will be winter soon, and if this winter is anything like the last, then those improperly installed shingles could allow my roof to become seriously damaged. In that case, I would have to rely on the 30 year warranty, which is an iffy proposition at best, from a company that won't take my calls or respond to my emails.
    It's not clear to me how this company has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau when they are so willing to bait and switch with inferior contractors, strong-arm for payment, and then abandon me altogether once they had my money. I find it difficult to believe that I am their first victim given the brazen, unapologetic actions they've taken. While I am not sure that you have any more power than I do to resolve the situation, nor do I expect you to, I do hope that you have some mechanism available to warn other consumers before they make the same mistake.