Complaint Review: The Zero Company Tecta America Corporation - Cincinnati Ohio

To the Fans of the Rip-off website, The Zero Company sent the following response to the Ohio State Attorney Generals Office. To the reader, if you are considering a bid and are checking out the Zero Company, then you would be interested in what kind of company they really are and how they would treat you if there was any kind of dispute! (Please note: minor editing was done to protect privacy!) At the end of the Zero Company letter, I will have a few comments and you might want to keep in mind that my house DOES NOT HAVE 106 FEET OF GUTTERS! Ohio Attorney General, The following is our response to George's recent requests: 1. We reviewed George's emails, letters and photos upon receipt, but have done this again to satisfy his request. 2. We ask that George is more specific than What can be done about the gutter on the front of my house? Please have him concisely list what the problem is so we can adequately address his concern. He mentioned in one of his emails that one of his gutters was installed too short for the roof and does not catch all the water. I believe this was on the rear (not front) of his house and has already been addressed. 3. If the edge shingles do not meet the manufacturer's requirements for overhang we will have them replaced so they are properly installed. This is a very easy fix and can be accomplished without disturbing the rest of the roof. The roof has already been inspected by the manufacturer, (see the punch list previously submitted,) and passed inspection. We have corrected all punch list items except the one George will not allow us to correct (see #4 below.) If George wants us to do work that is above and beyond the manufacturer's requirements we will price this work for his approval. 4. While we cannot guarantee the following will correct George's complaint about smoke that now enters his house; we do suggest George allows us to complete the shingle manufacturer's punch list (previously submitted.) We completed all items except blocking off the gable vents in the attic. George would not us to do this work. If he disputes this fact please let him know that we are again offering to do this work or will give him a $100.00 credit to pay the handyman of his choice to do the work for him. It is a very simple project to accomplish. If closing off the gable vents does not solve the problem we are not sure why George would think this issue would be our responsibility. 5. We ask that George is more specific than What can be done about the trim on the back of my house? Please have him concisely list what the problem is so we can adequately address his concern. I was not able to find a complaint about this item that we had not previously addressed. 6. Yes. 7. We believe George has approximately 106' of gutters. His house measures approximately 53' long x 24' wide (plus a 4' x 13' bumpout.) He has gutters on the front and rear of his home (53' x 2 sides) totaling 106'. While our measurements might be off by a foot or two we are generally pretty close. There is a 3' to 4' wide chimney along one edge of the house that might reduce the actual gutter footage, but for estimating purposes we would not reduce our pricing because of this situation. How many feet of gutter does George claim to have? Please let me know if we can be of any further assistance. Yours truly, The Zero Company To the Fans of the Rip-Off Report website and to the Reader first question you might have is just how many feet of gutters does my house have? According to the Zero Company, a division of Tecta America, they state that my house has 106 feet of gutters Their claim points out a serious problem with the Zero Company the Zero Company refuses to provide itemized estimates for the customer at the time of bid and they don't know how to read a tape measure! My house is not 53 Feet long; it is 52 Feet long My chimney is not 3 feet wide nor is my chimney 4 feet wide My chimney is 8 feet wide! I don't have 106 feet of gutters nor do I have 103 feet of gutters I don't even have 100 feet of gutters. My home has 96 feet of gutters But, that didn't stop the Zero Company from charging me for 106 feet of gutters and as you can read from their letter, they had to replace the gutter on the rear of the house because they didn't measure it correctly do the fans and readers of the Rip-off Report care to guess what happened on the front of the house? Well guess what the Zero Company installed the gutter a half inch to short on the front of the House the shingles have a half inch overhang and water misses the gutter and this happened because the Zero Company kept on eyeballing the shingles and put the trim on last. Folks the Zero Company had to replace the gutter on the rear of the house because of the same problem! This is not an innocent mistake; the Zero Company knows how big my house is and they know how many feet of gutters they installed. They claim to be a half-billion-dollar company and they have no excuse for scamming us they have no excuse for ripping us off and folks that is what they did! The reason my house fills with smoke is because they installed the roof wrong... it has nothing to do with two small vent holes in the attic. It has everything to do with the fact that my roof has old tongue and grove boards and the fact that the Zero Company did not put a barrier down before placing the insulated vent board down... heck they left gaps in the insulation and it doesn't even come close to being tightly insulated! The editor of the Rip-off report has told me that in about 2 4 weeks the system upgrades will be done and they will be able to post photos. In anticipation of the upgrade, I am posting this now and will follow up with the photos in the next few weeks! The Zero Company claims that the house passed inspection, that there is sufficient shingle overhang (((RIP-OFF EDITOR please insert photo DSC4755.jpg here))) The Zero Company claim that I was the most difficult customer in 15 years, that they were doing quality work! (((RIP-OFF EDITOR please insert Fascia 4.jpg and Roof Peak 2.jpg here!))) The Zero Company claims they are serious about safety! (Please note: the foam does not have miniature suction cups and will not help his butt stick to my roof so much for having a safety program!) (((RIP-OFF EDITOR please insert DSCF4753.jpg & DSCF4610.jpg here))) In closing the Zero Company letters to the Ohio Attorney General will give you an idea of how they will treat you when there is a problem!

To the Fans of the Rip-off website, The Zero Company sent the following response to the Ohio State Attorney Generals Office. To the reader, if you are considering a bid and are checking out the Zero Company, then you would be interested in what kind of company they really are and how they would treat you if there was any kind of dispute! (Please note: minor editing was done to protect privacy!) At the end of the Zero Company letter, I will have a few comments and you might want to keep in mind that my house DOES NOT HAVE 106 FEET OF GUTTERS! Ohio Attorney General, The following is our response to George's recent requests: 1. We reviewed George's emails, letters and photos upon receipt, but have done this again to satisfy his request. 2. We ask that George is more specific than What can be done about the gutter on the front of my house? Please have him concisely list what the problem is so we can adequately address his concern. He mentioned in one of his emails that one of his gutters was installed too short for the roof and does not catch all the water. I believe this was on the rear (not front) of his house and has already been addressed. 3. If the edge shingles do not meet the manufacturer's requirements for overhang we will have them replaced so they are properly installed. This is a very easy fix and can be accomplished without disturbing the rest of the roof. The roof has already been inspected by the manufacturer, (see the punch list previously submitted,) and passed inspection. We have corrected all punch list items except the one George will not allow us to correct (see #4 below.) If George wants us to do work that is above and beyond the manufacturer's requirements we will price this work for his approval. 4. While we cannot guarantee the following will correct George's complaint about smoke that now enters his house; we do suggest George allows us to complete the shingle manufacturer's punch list (previously submitted.) We completed all items except blocking off the gable vents in the attic. George would not us to do this work. If he disputes this fact please let him know that we are again offering to do this work or will give him a $100.00 credit to pay the handyman of his choice to do the work for him. It is a very simple project to accomplish. If closing off the gable vents does not solve the problem we are not sure why George would think this issue would be our responsibility. 5. We ask that George is more specific than What can be done about the trim on the back of my house? Please have him concisely list what the problem is so we can adequately address his concern. I was not able to find a complaint about this item that we had not previously addressed. 6. Yes. 7. We believe George has approximately 106' of gutters. His house measures approximately 53' long x 24' wide (plus a 4' x 13' bumpout.) He has gutters on the front and rear of his home (53' x 2 sides) totaling 106'. While our measurements might be off by a foot or two we are generally pretty close. There is a 3' to 4' wide chimney along one edge of the house that might reduce the actual gutter footage, but for estimating purposes we would not reduce our pricing because of this situation. How many feet of gutter does George claim to have? Please let me know if we can be of any further assistance. Yours truly, The Zero Company To the Fans of the Rip-Off Report website and to the Reader first question you might have is just how many feet of gutters does my house have? According to the Zero Company, a division of Tecta America, they state that my house has 106 feet of gutters Their claim points out a serious problem with the Zero Company the Zero Company refuses to provide itemized estimates for the customer at the time of bid and they don't know how to read a tape measure! My house is not 53 Feet long; it is 52 Feet long My chimney is not 3 feet wide nor is my chimney 4 feet wide My chimney is 8 feet wide! I don't have 106 feet of gutters nor do I have 103 feet of gutters I don't even have 100 feet of gutters. My home has 96 feet of gutters But, that didn't stop the Zero Company from charging me for 106 feet of gutters and as you can read from their letter, they had to replace the gutter on the rear of the house because they didn't measure it correctly do the fans and readers of the Rip-off Report care to guess what happened on the front of the house? Well guess what the Zero Company installed the gutter a half inch to short on the front of the House the shingles have a half inch overhang and water misses the gutter and this happened because the Zero Company kept on eyeballing the shingles and put the trim on last. Folks the Zero Company had to replace the gutter on the rear of the house because of the same problem! This is not an innocent mistake; the Zero Company knows how big my house is and they know how many feet of gutters they installed. They claim to be a half-billion-dollar company and they have no excuse for scamming us they have no excuse for ripping us off and folks that is what they did! The reason my house fills with smoke is because they installed the roof wrong... it has nothing to do with two small vent holes in the attic. It has everything to do with the fact that my roof has old tongue and grove boards and the fact that the Zero Company did not put a barrier down before placing the insulated vent board down... heck they left gaps in the insulation and it doesn't even come close to being tightly insulated! The editor of the Rip-off report has told me that in about 2 4 weeks the system upgrades will be done and they will be able to post photos. In anticipation of the upgrade, I am posting this now and will follow up with the photos in the next few weeks! The Zero Company claims that the house passed inspection, that there is sufficient shingle overhang (((RIP-OFF EDITOR please insert photo DSC4755.jpg here))) The Zero Company claim that I was the most difficult customer in 15 years, that they were doing quality work! (((RIP-OFF EDITOR please insert Fascia 4.jpg and Roof Peak 2.jpg here!))) The Zero Company claims they are serious about safety! (Please note: the foam does not have miniature suction cups and will not help his butt stick to my roof so much for having a safety program!) (((RIP-OFF EDITOR please insert DSCF4753.jpg & DSCF4610.jpg here))) In closing the Zero Company letters to the Ohio Attorney General will give you an idea of how they will treat you when there is a problem!

To the Fans of the Rip-off website, The Zero Company sent the following response to the Ohio State Attorney Generals Office. To the reader, if you are considering a bid and are checking out the Zero Company, then you would be interested in what kind of company they really are and how they would treat you if there was any kind of dispute! (Please note: minor editing was done to protect privacy!) At the end of the Zero Company letter, I will have a few comments and you might want to keep in mind that my house DOES NOT HAVE 106 FEET OF GUTTERS! Ohio Attorney General, The following is our response to George's recent requests: 1. We reviewed George's emails, letters and photos upon receipt, but have done this again to satisfy his request. 2. We ask that George is more specific than What can be done about the gutter on the front of my house? Please have him concisely list what the problem is so we can adequately address his concern. He mentioned in one of his emails that one of his gutters was installed too short for the roof and does not catch all the water. I believe this was on the rear (not front) of his house and has already been addressed. 3. If the edge shingles do not meet the manufacturer's requirements for overhang we will have them replaced so they are properly installed. This is a very easy fix and can be accomplished without disturbing the rest of the roof. The roof has already been inspected by the manufacturer, (see the punch list previously submitted,) and passed inspection. We have corrected all punch list items except the one George will not allow us to correct (see #4 below.) If George wants us to do work that is above and beyond the manufacturer's requirements we will price this work for his approval. 4. While we cannot guarantee the following will correct George's complaint about smoke that now enters his house; we do suggest George allows us to complete the shingle manufacturer's punch list (previously submitted.) We completed all items except blocking off the gable vents in the attic. George would not us to do this work. If he disputes this fact please let him know that we are again offering to do this work or will give him a $100.00 credit to pay the handyman of his choice to do the work for him. It is a very simple project to accomplish. If closing off the gable vents does not solve the problem we are not sure why George would think this issue would be our responsibility. 5. We ask that George is more specific than What can be done about the trim on the back of my house? Please have him concisely list what the problem is so we can adequately address his concern. I was not able to find a complaint about this item that we had not previously addressed. 6. Yes. 7. We believe George has approximately 106' of gutters. His house measures approximately 53' long x 24' wide (plus a 4' x 13' bumpout.) He has gutters on the front and rear of his home (53' x 2 sides) totaling 106'. While our measurements might be off by a foot or two we are generally pretty close. There is a 3' to 4' wide chimney along one edge of the house that might reduce the actual gutter footage, but for estimating purposes we would not reduce our pricing because of this situation. How many feet of gutter does George claim to have? Please let me know if we can be of any further assistance. Yours truly, The Zero Company To the Fans of the Rip-Off Report website and to the Reader first question you might have is just how many feet of gutters does my house have? According to the Zero Company, a division of Tecta America, they state that my house has 106 feet of gutters Their claim points out a serious problem with the Zero Company the Zero Company refuses to provide itemized estimates for the customer at the time of bid and they don't know how to read a tape measure! My house is not 53 Feet long; it is 52 Feet long My chimney is not 3 feet wide nor is my chimney 4 feet wide My chimney is 8 feet wide! I don't have 106 feet of gutters nor do I have 103 feet of gutters I don't even have 100 feet of gutters. My home has 96 feet of gutters But, that didn't stop the Zero Company from charging me for 106 feet of gutters and as you can read from their letter, they had to replace the gutter on the rear of the house because they didn't measure it correctly do the fans and readers of the Rip-off Report care to guess what happened on the front of the house? Well guess what the Zero Company installed the gutter a half inch to short on the front of the House the shingles have a half inch overhang and water misses the gutter and this happened because the Zero Company kept on eyeballing the shingles and put the trim on last. Folks the Zero Company had to replace the gutter on the rear of the house because of the same problem! This is not an innocent mistake; the Zero Company knows how big my house is and they know how many feet of gutters they installed. They claim to be a half-billion-dollar company and they have no excuse for scamming us they have no excuse for ripping us off and folks that is what they did! The reason my house fills with smoke is because they installed the roof wrong... it has nothing to do with two small vent holes in the attic. It has everything to do with the fact that my roof has old tongue and grove boards and the fact that the Zero Company did not put a barrier down before placing the insulated vent board down... heck they left gaps in the insulation and it doesn't even come close to being tightly insulated! The editor of the Rip-off report has told me that in about 2 4 weeks the system upgrades will be done and they will be able to post photos. In anticipation of the upgrade, I am posting this now and will follow up with the photos in the next few weeks! The Zero Company claims that the house passed inspection, that there is sufficient shingle overhang (((RIP-OFF EDITOR please insert photo DSC4755.jpg here))) The Zero Company claim that I was the most difficult customer in 15 years, that they were doing quality work! (((RIP-OFF EDITOR please insert Fascia 4.jpg and Roof Peak 2.jpg here!))) The Zero Company claims they are serious about safety! (Please note: the foam does not have miniature suction cups and will not help his butt stick to my roof so much for having a safety program!) (((RIP-OFF EDITOR please insert DSCF4753.jpg & DSCF4610.jpg here))) In closing the Zero Company letters to the Ohio Attorney General will give you an idea of how they will treat you when there is a problem!

To the reader and fans of the Rip-Off Report website, on 06/27/08, the following E-mail was written by the Vice-President and sent to me by the President of the Zero Company. As you read the E-mail, please keep in mind that the Zero Company denied making Warranty Misrepresentations and stated to the BBB and Ohio State Attorney General that I had made a, False claim about quality control inspection performed daily." Dear George: We appreciate the concerns you have expressed below. In addition, we are aware of your recent negative experience with a home remodeling contractor and want to assure you that the finished product will be of high quality. As discussed at our meeting yesterday our superintendents perform daily as well as pre-completion inspections to help ensure a final product that we (and the customer) are proud of. While it is difficult to see all details accurately in pictures there are some items in your email that do not meet our high standards. These items will be corrected immediately. What we ask you to keep in mind is that the pictures were in process and taken prior to our daily inspection today. We are confident you will be more than satisfied with the finished product. Regarding your comment on "threatening to shut down the project;" the intent of holding off on additional work yesterday until we were able to meet in person was in no way devious. In reality the decision to wait to proceed cost us additional money due to the lost time. This was an effort to make sure we were on the same page, not to exert any leverage. If this came through in any other manner we sincerely apologize. In conclusion we will ensure that your completed roof is installed at a high standard and per manufacturer's approved specifications. Upon completion of the project you will be provided the following warranties that will give you added comfort and security that your selection of The Zero Company was a smart decision. * A Zero Company Standard 2 Year Workmanship Warranty. * A GAF Standard 30 Year Material Warranty. * A GAF Standard 15 Year Golden Pledge Warranty. This warranty is non-prorated and covers workmanship, labor and material. It is a warranty that only 3% of all roofing companies nationwide can offer and is available only to those companies that exhibit quality workmanship that meets GAF's exacting standards. Sincerely, The Zero Company To the Reader and Fans of the Rip-Off Report, I would not be surprised to find out that a Double-Wide Trailer has a larger Roof than my home... this was not a huge project. Yet, everyday, the crew complained that a lot of time was wasted getting supplies and would ask to borrow my two ladders. I also gave them parts (screws) and tool (Drill Tap Countersink) too use on my home! Each time they came out the Executives kept talking about how "Everything" was covered by the warranties and then go into detail about how I was protected by Atlas, GAF and Zero Company... and then became livid when I wrote back that what they were telling me wasn't true! Before you do business with the Zero Company ask yourself, "What kind of Roofing Company shows up without enough ladders?"

To the fans of the Rip-off Report website, the following is the actual response that the Zero Company sent to the Better Business Bureau and Ohio State Attorney General. If you are replacing a roof and doing background research on roofing companies, then you may find the following very useful. When choosing a Roofer for your home or business... be careful! (Please note that minor editing was done to protect privacy of individuals which is a quality that the Zero Company does not value!) Re: George Residence Complaint - #6922320 Dear BBB: The following is a copy of the response submitted to the Ohio Attorney General where George made his original complaint. Please feel to contact me with any questions. My direct line is (Phone Number Deleted For Privacy.) We too take the charges levied by George very seriously, although I am not sure what resolution George is looking for at this time. I personally have had several conversations with George through the course of the project and have found him to be the most challenging customer I have dealt with during my 15 plus years with the company. When I have asked what we could do to help satisfy him he has responded that: It is not about money; he says he always pays his bills (which he has.) It is not about the appearance of the roof; he says it looks great now that we have finished the punch list items. It is not that the additional insulation we added to the roof is not functioning properly; he confirmed that since we installed his roof this is the first time he can remember during the summer that his air conditioner has not been running 100% of the time. George did state that: He does not trust that we installed the roof insulation properly. While we feel strongly that the installation is proper we made the following offer to George we offered to remove his choice of any 10' x 10' section of the roof for inspection to verify the roof installation was appropriate. If the installation was improper we would continue with this investigation over the balance of the roof at no charge; but if the roof was properly installed in this one area he would have to reimburse us for our costs associated with this investigation. He refused this offer. He does not trust that we installed the roof shingles and flashing properly. Not only are we providing a manufacturer's standard labor and material warranty on the shingle; but also the manufacturer's warranty inspector has recently inspected the roof and approved the installation. There was a punch list (attached) from the inspection. He was burned before by another contractor and will not let that happen to him again. We take customer satisfaction very seriously. Our consistently high rankings with online home improvement search sites, our satisfactory rating with consumer advocacy agencies (like the BBB,) and the lack of formal complaints with local and state agencies and department (like yours,) are clear signs that we value our customers, take care of their concerns and operate in an ethical and proper manner. Our philosophy about customer service is based on the following three principles: 1. Do not lie. 2. Do what is right. 3. No matter how far you have gone down the wrong road turn back. By using these three principles as a guide when dealing with any situation we are generally able to satisfy our customers and keep complaints to a minimum. The following is our best attempt to respond to George's nine complaints. 1. Complaint about a deceptive contract This is typical of George's attempt to twist the facts. We do not believe he was truly confused by our proposal, just trying to latch onto any issue in an effort to create a disruption. For what reason we still are not sure. George's Proposal does have 2 pages. Page 1 says Continued on Page 2 on the bottom and Page 2 says Page 2 of 2 on the top. These two pages, both marked Proposal on top, make up the Proposal. To simplify our sales process we have set up our Proposal so it can be converted into a Contract. There is a signature line on Page 2. By signing at the indicated location the Proposal is converted into a Contract. The third Page George refers to is the Terms and Conditions page that is attached to every contract and is clearly referenced in the Proposal below the acceptance line where it says Acceptance using this form acknowledges that the standard terms and conditions of The Zero Company Standard Contract/Proposal are acceptable. This page becomes an attachment to the Contract and is clearly referenced in the Proposal. 2. Complaint about 3 day right of rescission We have attached our Right to Cancel Sheet that is used where required by law for in-home sales. This is a 3 part carbonless form. We have customers sign the form when required; we take one signed copy and leave the other two with the customer. As George says in his complaint all correspondence was by mail. This was not done in an effort to avoid the right of rescission requirements (as George implies;) it is our interpretation of the statue is that we are not required to provide a right of rescission for transactions that occur by mail. Our understanding is that this statute was enacted to protect homeowners from in-home sales situations where unscrupulous salesmen would pressure homeowners to sign for work they did not really want. Because this does not qualify as an in-home sale it is not covered under the statue. On a related note, if a customer wants to cancel a contract with us, even after the three-day period has elapsed, we would honor the customer's wishes in just about every situation. In the case where we had already spent money or could not return purchased material we would expect reimbursement for incurred costs along with overhead and some profit. It is not in our best interest to work for customers that do not want us to do the work; it only caused problems. 3. Violation of OSHA regulation Safety is a big priority with our company! While we know we are not perfect, we strive to provide a safe work environment for all of our employees and subcontractors. Our Company Safety Policy is attached. We have had a full time safety director on staff for over 7 years whose only responsibility is for safety. He has no production responsibilities. Prior to that we organized and participated in a safety cooperative and shared a safety director with 4 other companies. We shut down our production several times a year for Safety Day in an effort to provide all required training and to demonstrate our commitment to safety. Our employees are paid their full wage while attending this training. All employees obtain an OSHA 10 card within the first 6 months of hire and most also receive an OSHA 30 card with in the first year. Our supervisors and foremen have CPR training paid for by the Company. We have drug tested all employees for over 12 years. We were one of the first construction, much less roofing companies, in the region to institute a pre-employment, random and for cause testing program. We have qualified for the State's Drug Free Workplace Program since inception. See attached certificate. We have achieved a Worker's Compensation EM of .21 and have been below 1.0 for at least the last 6 years. See attached BWC listing. We have Annual Refresher Training for all Safety Requirements that fall under our scope of work, including Fall Protection, Hazardous Communication, Drug Free Workplace Program and Electrical Safety to name a few. We have a 4 hour New-hire Orientation Program that all employees attend before beginning work. This also includes a new-hire Drug Screen. 4. Maintaining an orderly jobsite I believe this is the case of a very picky customer who is too literal and expects perfection where it is not possible. We are working on a construction site, not in a laboratory or a controlled environment where all debris can be accounted for. We do our best to keep the jobsite clean and orderly and leave the jobsite in a satisfactory condition upon completion. It is not always possible to clean up every scrap; finding some debris after completion is typical with all projects of this type. If George would like us to send out an employee to do another clean up we would be willing to provide an employee under his direction to clean any remaining debris for up to 4 hours. If George wants additional time we will make a determination after the 4-hour period if the request is reasonable. 5. July 16, 2008 Proposal This is the most inaccurate statement in the entire complaint After one of Georges nasty emails we asked him if he might be interested in gutter protection; that we had just taken on a new line and that as a token gesture we could offer him a good deal. We were trying to calm the situation and let him know we were sorry for any troubles he may have had. He said he wanted to know how good of a deal he was getting and that we had to put it down in writing before he could decide. He repeatedly stated both of these requests put it in writing and make sure you let me know how good a deal I am getting. He wanted to know what our normal pricing was and how much his Special Pricing (his words) would be. The Introductory Pricing listed is the pricing we offered during our initial promotion period for this new product. It appears that George was trying to set us up. 6. GAF/Elk Warranty Misrepresentation We are unsure about what George complaint is regarding the GAF warranty and any misrepresentations. Our proposal includes a 15-year GAF warranty. Around the time that George's roof was installed GAF increased their standard coverage for this warranty to 20 years. It appears George is making an issue and is unhappy about receiving a superior warranty to the one that was included in the proposal (5 additional years of coverage) at no charge. 7. Atlas Warranty Misrepresentation George is the one misrepresenting the facts in this case. While on site inspecting the roof George asked our Vice President from our office how long the Atlas warranty was. Our Vice President replied that he did not know off the top of his head, but that there were warranties out there that lasted up to 40 or 50 years and he could check on the actual coverage for this product. George said not to worry that he did not need that information. The actual warranty coverage from Atlas is 20 Years for the installed product. 8. Email to Atlas George was the one who initially contacted the Atlas Corporation. He copied us on the email he sent along with additional complaints about the work we were performing. His email to atlas, as well as his reply to us, was critical and full of inaccuracies. I replied to his email and copied the representatives of the Atlas Corporation that George had previously emailed. They were included because I wanted to reinforce to the Atlas Corporation that we believed we had installed a good roof, in the proper manner and that we stand behind our work. Because of how long, frustrating and sometimes confusing George's email was I did not realize that he had not included our name in the email he sent to Atlas. This was an honest mistake and if I had realized that our Company name had not been mentioned I would not have copied them. I definitely did not copy them as retaliation; although I do not have a problem with them knowing the entire story. We do believe that George has been vindictive in his approach and has been repeatedly tried to get a rise out of us. We have bent over backwards to try to satisfy every one of his complaints whether they had merit or not. We have obviously not been successful. 9. False claim about quality control inspection performed daily Proposal item #13 only calls for A quality control inspection to be performed with customer upon completion of job, Not daily as he notes in his complaint. We did perform this in addition to the previously noted manufacturer's inspection. Our superintendent was on the jobsite every day to perform daily quality control inspections that superseded the terms of our proposal. While the project was not a perfect project we feel the finished result is of high quality and well above any minimum standards. The fact that we are willing to return multiple times in an attempt to satisfy George should be seen as a positive, not a negative. Many other contractors would have stopped returning his emails and calls by this time and washed their hands of him. We will continue to stand behind our work despite George's negative attitude. George is free to submit any additional correspondence or email he has yet to provide. We believe a reasonable person will find that it supports our position; that we have acted appropriately in this situation and gone above and beyond in attempting to service this very difficult customer. George's closing statements are again taken out of content in an effort to paint an inaccurate and negative picture of this project. The roof peak did not collapse as George implies, although several of the ridge shingles did need additional reinforcement and had to be replaced. This was found and corrected towards the end of the reproofing project; there was not significant time between completion and this issue as George implies. The leak in the living room was after a torrential storm a few days after the roof was completed. I believe the storm had 80 mph straight line winds and there was tornadic activity in the area. The leak amounted to a few drops of water that came in through a hole where a roof jack nail had been installed. We were out the next day, sealed the roof jack nail and replaced the shingle. He has not experienced any leaks that we are aware of since then. The shingles we were replacing while he was writing the letter was part of the manufacturer's punch list that was completed the day before. If you can let us know what outcome George is looking for we will review it and see if is reasonable. George list many complaints in his letter, but nowhere stated what he considered an adequate resolution. While we are not sure what else we can do to improve/resolve this situation we are open to any help you are able to offer. Also, if you have any suggestions on how we can make our proposal and contracts more compliant and customer friendly we would welcome input. Sincerely, The Zero Company To the fans of the Rip-off Website and potential Zero Company/Tecta America customers my response to the Zero Company's answer is as follows: First, I would like to thank the Zero Company for pointing out their Philosophy on Customer Service: 1. Do not lie. 2. Do what is right. 3. No matter how far you have gone down the wrong road turn back. Unfortunately, the Zero Company Customer Service Philosophy is just words that have no meaning! 1. Complaint about deceptive Contract If the reader goes back to my original complaint, they will notice I did not use the word deceptive! I pointed out that there are some serious issues that should be addressed and I would strongly advise people to make sure that the Proposal' is properly numbered Page 1 of 3, Page 2 of 3, and Page 3 of 3 before signing anything with the Zero Company! I would also advise people not to sign anything unless the salesperson has brought copies for you. The sales person told me that he forgot to bring copies and that he would mail them to me as soon as he got back to the office I told the sales person that I had a scanner The Terms and Conditions was not one of the items scanned and showed up in my mail two to three weeks later. The reader should also keep in mind that the Zero Company fired the sales person because of serious problems and this was from the Vice-President! Now if you read their response carefully, at the very end, the Zero Company writes if you have any suggestions on how we can make our proposal and contracts more compliant and customer friendly we would welcome input! So much for the Zero Company Customer Service Philosophy! 2. Complaint about 3 day right of Rescission The reader can visit the World Wide Web and read the information that is published on the Ohio Attorney General's website Ohio regulations are very clear and they also provide substantial fines for companies that are found to be in violation of the 3 day right of Rescission. It is not up to the company to decide if they need to comply or not and it is not up to them to decide if they are in violation and it does not have anything to do with a customers having an full understanding or being confused! Also, the reader should go back and read my original complaint I did not say that all correspondence was done by mail and it was not. So much for the Zero Company Customer Service Philosophy! 3. Violation of OSHA regulation I think it is wonderful that the Zero Company felt it was necessary to make Nine-points about their safety program. As a former Risk Management Consultant I am fully qualified to comment that your safety program is useless because before visiting the jobsite your managers call ahead and your superintendent would have the workers put on the safety equipment after Zero Company executives would leave the safety equipment would come off. The reader and fans of the Rip-off Report Website should keep in mind that point #6 of the Terms and Conditions require the Homeowner to have Casualty Insurance! 4. Maintaining an Orderly Jobsite This $14,000 dollar new roof and gutter project started on 6/26/08 and on that date they had a magnetic sweeper to pickup nails. They also used this device on 6/27/08 for a half-day. The device was never brought back and both my wife and I spent hours finding and picking up nails! If you have children and are concerned about them stepping on a nail then I would advise you to read the Zero Companies response to my complaint and decide if you want to do business with this company! This has nothing to do with being a very picky customer! 5. July 16, 2008 Proposal The Zero Company feels that this is the most inaccurate statement in the entire complaint so let's take the time to examine all of the facts about their token gesture proposal and if I was trying to set them up! The reader should take note that the proposal in question is dated on July 16th, 2008. This is important because the Zero Company made the offer on 6/27/08 and it was at that time I told them, That's not right Nothing in life is free. The VP who made the offer kept saying that they relied on referrals and he could make me a great deal. On or about 7/01/08, after the VP came to my home yelling, I was asked by the subcontractor if I wanted the Leaf Guard installed. I replied to the affect, that I would love to have it installed, that looking at the leaves and branches on the roof it was obvious that it was needed but I did not feel that the offer from last week was serious because they had made no attempt to provide an estimate." I also told him, "Nothing in life is free. I did ask one of the managers about it on five occasion just to see if he would follow through... You have to keep in mind that I told the subcontractor on 7/01/08 that I didn't feel the Zero Company was serious about it. (The Zero Company is very bad on making promises.) On 7/14/08, I spoke with the Zero Company President and he mentioned referrals and offered to send out the proposal I declined. This guy sure likes to quote me when it is convenient for his cause but fails to do so when the facts are inconvenient. because I again stated, That's not right Nothing in life is free! On 7/16/08, after the so called inspection by the Zero Company Senior Vice President and just like the VP and President before him, this Senior VP is talking about referrals and insists on sending the proposal That's not right Nothing in life is free! I finally say OK that I will look it over now the reason why the Zero Company is so upset is because Ohio says not to connect proposals with referrals and the regulations provide penalties at three times the products value and you get to keep the product if it has been installed! What makes this situation so bad is the fact that most of the time it is sales people who pull this stunt and it is the executives who claim that they do not let their salespeople do this and deny knowledge of it occuring! Now I have been in sales and I do know that this was a violation and I am telling these people That is not right! They are telling me that it is no problem, that they have all the numbers they need back at the office, that they have all the measurements and it will not be a problem at all I am told this by the VP, Senior VP and President on three different occasions. They each mention referrals! As I look it over, I am stunned that they would be stupid enough to send it to me I am also stunned with the fact it is for 106' of leaf guard my house doesn't have 106' of gutters and this is clear evidence that I was overcharged for the gutters the gutters were installed incorrectly because water comes off the roof misses the gutter! I never signed the proposal... I don't want this company to install the item... they don't do quality work! So much for the Zero Company Customer Service Philosophy They were not setup! 6. GAF/Elk Warranty Misrepresentation The GAF/Elk Warranty covers GAF/Elk products it does not cover very thing as the Zero Company Vice-President claimed. In fact, the GAF/Elk customer service Roof Investigator stated he could not tell me if I am covered and this is the same thing that the GAF/Elk customer service department told me 7. Atlas Warranty Misrepresentation The Atlas Warranty is for the R-Value of their product and does not cover everything as claimed by the Zero Company Vice-President. When I found this problem I pointed it out to the Zero Company President. Most warranty misrepresentations complaints occur months or years after the fact and are denied by the executives The Zero Company is upset because I caught it during the installation and I documented the problem! On 9/11/08, the Zero Company Vice-President mailed their warranty to me and it clearly states No other Warranties is given 8.Email to Atlas I contacted the Atlas Company twice with specific warranty questions that the Zero Company VP made I did not identify any person or company. The Zero Company President forwarded his Email to me and even wrote about not being sure if I had mentioned his company! My letters document that we were told over and over that between the Zero Company Warranty, the Atlas Company Warranty, and the GAF/Elk Warranty that everything is completely covered! On 9/11/08, the Zero Company Vice-President mailed their warranty to me and it clearly states No other Warranties is given 9. False claim about quality control inspections performed daily The Zero Company claims that this is a false claim they then go on to say, Our superintendent was on the jobsite every day to perform daily quality control inspections that superseded the terms of our proposal. Folks, the Zero Company contract was signed on 05/30/08 and they would brag about their daily quality control and end of job quality control The Zero Company claims that the roof peak did not collapse but then states that it had to be replaced the whole roof peak was redone! The Zero Company claims that there was 80 mph straight line winds and Tornadic activity well yes that happened about several weeks before they started the job it knocked down my Ornamental Pair Tree around 6/05/08 as my wife and I took shelter in the basement. Now there was a violent thunderstorm on 7/22/08 that just had heavy rain and at 3 AM I was watching water come into my living room! So much for a new quality roof!