Seacoast Roofing and Construction

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• By Patrick D.

  December 18, 2014

  new roof

  $$8110

  7 days

  Overpriced and they take advantage of consumer.

  I feel that I was misled and overcharged $2300 by Seacoast Roofing and Construction.

  Compare their quote to other contractors and you'll see for yourself. Their contract is set up to mislead you. They will rope you into full commitment before highlighting the extra charges. If they had been upfront, I would've just chose another company and would have never thought about them again. But these people are in the business of taking advantage of the consumer and I now will always remember them for taking $2300 from me.

  Before this process, I knew very little about roofs, this company has forced me to learn a lot and quickly.

  In the Spring of 2014, by the recommendation of an insurance inspector, I went looking for a roofer to give an expert opinion on the condition of our roof. Our house is in York, Maine. I found Seacoast Roofing and Construction online. A partner there, Kim Brochu, recommended a new roof as there were patches of shingles missing. I compared their quote to others. It seemed to fall in line with others regarding language and was in the same price ballpark. I thought that was enough assurance that we weren't going to get ripped off. They quoted $5810 for what they called a 14 square roof, and I scheduled the job for the Fall of 2014.

  The job started a little after Columbus Day. On the first day of the job, while they were tearing off the shingles, I got the first call from Kim informing me that the price was going up. She told me there were 2 layers of shingles under the top layer and they would each cost $1050 for stripping and garbage removal. I was stunned and didn't realize the contract was so flexible. Knowing little about roofs, I was not aware that there are usually a couple layers under the top layer. I would later learn that they, however, were very aware. As rain was coming the next day and they were in the process of tearing off the roof, I felt totally cornered and had no choice but to have them continue the job. The next day she called to tell me that the flashing around the chimney needed to be redone and that was going to cost $800. Once again, I was dumbfounded.

  To be absolutely clear, these 2 clauses were on the contract, but were written under the quote of $5810. This suggested to a novice, like myself, that these clauses were not a likelihood but used on rare occasions to protect themselves. What became clear as the job went on, however, was that these 2 issues were almost guaranteed and this company represented it in a hidden and sneaky manner. There is no question it is written in a way to take advantage of the consumer.

  I called to confront Kim Brochu and her partner Steve Brochu about the hidden prices. I told them I was very unhappy that these issues were never brought forward during the quoting process.

  I think the fact that they never brought up the flashing during the quoting process is absolutely ridiculous as it is clearly visible from the top floor landing. All they could tell me was that they didn't inspect the flashing and further their quotes are conducted from the street level. My gripe is that if they are going to charge $800 for this work, you'd think they would at least look for it when giving the quote.

  Regarding the extra layers of shingles, at first they claimed it's impossible to determine if there are extra layers therefore suggesting that they were just as surprised to find them. But later in a certified letter I received from Seacoast, Steve Brochu wrote:
  "We certainly do anticipate the possibility and likelihood of additional layers of shingles being behind the visible layer, hence the reason the contract is written as it is,"
  When I read that line, it only solidified my feeling that their contract is designed to deceive the average consumer who knows little about roofs.

  After the contract took full effect, their charge went up from $5810 to $8710. That's a 50% increase in price. I continued arguing. They initially suggested that if I was unhappy, they could stop working and I could hire another contractor to do the job. Obviously this was very impractical in late October. I had no reasonable choice but to proceed. In the interest of full disclosure, after further argument, they reduced the flashing charge from $800 to $400 and reduced the extra shingle removal charge from $2100 to $1900. So in the end, I feel I was misled and overcharged $2300 by Seacoast Roofing and Construction.

  Compare their quote to other contractors and you'll see for yourself. Their contract is set up to mislead you. They will rope you into full commitment before highlighting the extra charges. If they had been upfront, I would've just chose another company and would have never thought about them again. But these people are in the business of taking advantage of the consumer and I now will always remember them for taking $2300 from me.

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