Phoenix Home Renovations LLC

In November 2011, a representative from Phoenix Home Renovations (Mr. Jim Spore) came to my home to solicit - informing me that houses in my area had roofs badly damaged by hail, and that I might need a roof replacement. After several meetings and a review of both the BBB and this list, I decided to allow Phoenix Home Renovations to proceed - and to contact my insurance company. I provided Mr. Spore with a check for $3,500 to cover materials, with the remainder to be paid at the conclusion of the roofing, gutter and pressure washing job. After a number of verbal assurances with respect to the start date (none of which were met), on or around December 6th, I awoke at 6 am to the sound of people on my roof. Based on my relative unease with the process, I hired a licensed roofing inspector (Chuck Burnum) from Kingsway Home Inspections, to monitor the job and ensure that the work was performed both to contract and to code. Chuck immediately introduced himself to Jim Spore (the onsite supervisor), and asked to see a copy of the permit. Mr. Spore could not produce the permit, and "called into his office" to request a copy. Chuck also reviewed with Jim precisely what he would be looking for when he came back later that day to inspect. At that point, I left for a short out of town trip, with the knowledge that Chuck from Kingsway was there to ensure that it was being handled appropriately. That same evening, I received a call from Chuck advising me to put in an immediate stop work order. In his words, the job was unprofessionally done, and the worst job he'd seen in many years. When I phoned Chuck back, he not only indicated issues with the installation of the roof, but also with the materials used (not per contract) and with the fact that no permit - at that time - had been acquired, and significant damage had been done to the siding, and to other parts of the house (most notably the siding and sconces on the outside of my home). He also cited the fact that materials, initially in the contract, were substituted for inferior materials. I immediately phoned Jim Spore to register my complaint and issue the stop work order. I left a message with Jim, and awaited a call back. When I later spoke to Jim, he acknowledged the damage to the sconces, and to areas of siding. I received no calls from Phoenix in the following 36 hour period, and returned home to evaluate the situation and to visit the Cherry Hill Township to investigate the issue of the permit. On the morning of December 8th, I received a phone call from Chuck Burnum from Kingsway Home Inspection to notify me that he had phoned the police after receiving a threatening phone call from a representative of Phoenix Home Renovation. The police phoned that same individual and informed him that any further communication would result in charges for harrassment. I then went to the township, where I was notified by the staff that there was NO permit on file, and was instructed to file the paperwork to draw a permit for the work. I was further told by the Township inspector that if I sent him a copy of the roofing inspectors report, he would look at it in coming to his conclusion on whether the job passed. He inicated at that time that it was not the custom of Cherry Hill inspectors to get up on the roof to inspect the work - and that if an issue wasn't immediately noticeable from the ground, or an area of the attic, it could not be inspected. Nevertheles, I submitted the paperwork to draw a permit. I then filed a claim with the better business bureau, and contacted an attorney. Subsequent to that, I received a call from Jim Spore indicating that Phoenix wished to "make the job right" - at which time I requested information on his insurance coverage. To date, I have not received this. After receiving no further calls or contact from them in 48 - 72 hours, when re-contacted by Mr. Spore, I referred him to my attorney. On Friday, December 9th, I received a suspicious call from the Cherry HillTownship Inspector, informing me that the permit "had been found." I found this somewhat suspicious, given that an inquiry had been made earlier in the week, and it took until after contact was made by Phoenix for the township to "find" the permit. Equally suspicious to me was the Cherry Hill Township's inspection. The inspector met with Phoenix for nearly 45 minutes while sitting outside of my home, before ringing my doorbell to tell me they were there. The inspector spent all of 5 minutes in my house, including 2 minutes on a ladder in a portion of my attic crawl space, before "blessing the job." In the interim, my attorney contacted Phoenix notifying them of the issues - and addressing the inspector's report. Phoenix has take the position that passage of the job by the Cherry Hill Township, and the issuance of a GAF warranty on the shingles (which specifically excludes any issues resulting from bad installation - and any mold or flooding caused by failure) constitutes a "good job." I unfortunately do not agree that a manufacturers warranty on the shingle (sight unseen) and that a township official's blessing of the job based on looking up at the roof and perhaps having some other (less than straight forward) motivation in any way constitutes the fulfillment of the contractual obligation. Luckily for me, I have only paid Phoenix for the materials, and have not paid them for the remainder of the job. Yesterday, they served me with papers to recover their labor. Nowhere in their document do they refer to the inspection that shows (pictorally) the bad workmanship, the damage they did to the outside of my home, or their substituion of product that was initially to be used in the job. What's more, independent contractors have now been to my house and told me that the job was well overpriced for the market. So, there is an issue there that is (as yet) unaddressed. I would stay away from this contractor AT ALL COSTS.