- Jurisdiction
- Minnesota
Back on July 14th I signed a contract with a roofing company for a roofing replacement on my home. Insurance is paying for the replacement. The reason I called this particular roofing company was because they have a special certification with a roofing manufacturer that allows them to offer a warranty called The Golden Pledge. It is a 25 year manufacturer's workmanship warranty.
The salesperson wrote up a contract that included The Golden Pledge. Per the contract, the insurance covered everything. I just had to pay the deductible. I was very happy with the contract, gladly signed it, and paid him a $9200 deposit.
After multiple delays and reschedulings, the work began in the afternoon on September 28th. A couple hours after the work began I got a call from the salesperson. He said that it was insurance fraud to have the insurance company cover the warranty. He said I needed to sign a change order for $324 asap so work could go forward. Of course I didn't want to be involved in insurance fraud and the workers were already out there sawing into my siding, so I signed it thinking I didn't have any choice.
After the roof was finally installed and all the stress and anxiety from the noise and chaos was done, I had time to think about this insurance fraud issue. I read through the contract and it says right on it that the Golden Pledge is included. I started to feel angry because I felt that the contract should be honored as it was written.
I contacted the general manager and explained that I was angry and didn't think I should have to pay for the warranty since it was in the contract. She told me that this was a new salesperson that didn't understand what he was doing when he wrote the contract and he made a new guy mistake. She confirmed that insurance can't pay the $324 for the warranty because it is insurance fraud. She also let me know that they installed $1200 worth of roof to wall flashings that are required for the Golden Pledge warranty. Those were not listed in the insurance estimate to be covered by insurance either.
She said she spoke to her attorney and had a solution. The amount on the original contract is $18440. She said she will bill me for the contract $18440 + $324 for the warranty + $1200 for the roof to wall flashings for a total of $19964. But I should only pay $18440 for the original contract. Then she will send me a collection letter for the remaining balance of $1524. She said she would take no action on the collection letter. That way she would have everything she needed for paperwork is there was ever an audit. She said the collection letter would be purged from the files at the end of the year.
I asked her for some type of written guarantee that no one will ever take action on the collection letter. On the advice of her attorney she said the deal could only be done with a handshake and nothing on paper. I haven't agreed or disagreed with this yet, but I'm pretty sure anything that can't be written down is dubious. From everything I've read about insurance fraud, I believe what she is asking me with the collection letter is to collude with her to commit fraud. Is this the case?
Since we had that conversation, she sent in a request to the insurance company to have the roof to wall flashings paid for by them. The insurance company approved it. This would reduce the collection letter amount by $1200 making it $324. She sees this as a good thing since now the collection letter will only have to be $324. I see it as double billing the insurance company since the contract I have states the Golden Pledge and roof to wall flashing were included for $18440. Now they'll be getting $19640.
At this point I feel like this company is just creating layers of fraud and unethical practices on top of each other. Worst case scenario I'm wondering if I should report them for insurance fraud and then take them to court for misrepresenting the warranty on the contract.
I haven't slept a full night and haven't been able to stop worrying about this since the roof was installed. Any helpful advice would be appreciated.
The salesperson wrote up a contract that included The Golden Pledge. Per the contract, the insurance covered everything. I just had to pay the deductible. I was very happy with the contract, gladly signed it, and paid him a $9200 deposit.
After multiple delays and reschedulings, the work began in the afternoon on September 28th. A couple hours after the work began I got a call from the salesperson. He said that it was insurance fraud to have the insurance company cover the warranty. He said I needed to sign a change order for $324 asap so work could go forward. Of course I didn't want to be involved in insurance fraud and the workers were already out there sawing into my siding, so I signed it thinking I didn't have any choice.
After the roof was finally installed and all the stress and anxiety from the noise and chaos was done, I had time to think about this insurance fraud issue. I read through the contract and it says right on it that the Golden Pledge is included. I started to feel angry because I felt that the contract should be honored as it was written.
I contacted the general manager and explained that I was angry and didn't think I should have to pay for the warranty since it was in the contract. She told me that this was a new salesperson that didn't understand what he was doing when he wrote the contract and he made a new guy mistake. She confirmed that insurance can't pay the $324 for the warranty because it is insurance fraud. She also let me know that they installed $1200 worth of roof to wall flashings that are required for the Golden Pledge warranty. Those were not listed in the insurance estimate to be covered by insurance either.
She said she spoke to her attorney and had a solution. The amount on the original contract is $18440. She said she will bill me for the contract $18440 + $324 for the warranty + $1200 for the roof to wall flashings for a total of $19964. But I should only pay $18440 for the original contract. Then she will send me a collection letter for the remaining balance of $1524. She said she would take no action on the collection letter. That way she would have everything she needed for paperwork is there was ever an audit. She said the collection letter would be purged from the files at the end of the year.
I asked her for some type of written guarantee that no one will ever take action on the collection letter. On the advice of her attorney she said the deal could only be done with a handshake and nothing on paper. I haven't agreed or disagreed with this yet, but I'm pretty sure anything that can't be written down is dubious. From everything I've read about insurance fraud, I believe what she is asking me with the collection letter is to collude with her to commit fraud. Is this the case?
Since we had that conversation, she sent in a request to the insurance company to have the roof to wall flashings paid for by them. The insurance company approved it. This would reduce the collection letter amount by $1200 making it $324. She sees this as a good thing since now the collection letter will only have to be $324. I see it as double billing the insurance company since the contract I have states the Golden Pledge and roof to wall flashing were included for $18440. Now they'll be getting $19640.
At this point I feel like this company is just creating layers of fraud and unethical practices on top of each other. Worst case scenario I'm wondering if I should report them for insurance fraud and then take them to court for misrepresenting the warranty on the contract.
I haven't slept a full night and haven't been able to stop worrying about this since the roof was installed. Any helpful advice would be appreciated.
