ROBERT MALLORY ROOFING INC

.Contract price for the roof and gable end siding was $13,000 and for which I paid $1200 down. Was not allowed to select a shingle prior to signing the contract. Gable ends were to be replaced with concrete hardie board according to contract. Work began on 5/3/11. Four to five men worked approximately 5 days on removing the old shingles and replacing some decking (was never advised as to how many sheets of decking were replaced) on a 1700 sq. ft. house. They also removed the wood from the gable ends during this time. Then I was finally shown a picture of a shingle from the internet web site of Owens Corning which was a sage green (previous roof was gray). It was very pretty but I commented to the contractor that this shingle would no go with my current gray soffit and fascia. He said it couldn't be painted but that he could replace it with white soffit and fascia for a price of around $1500 - $2000. That seemed reasonable as I had just had it replaced after Hurricane Charley for $1700 (one man did it in one day). A couple days later I was advised by the contractor that the shingles had to be ordered from California and they were going to cost me another $2500 as they were an upgrade but he didn't know why they were so much more expensive. He had already ordered said shingles so I went along with it. The next day the contractor called me and said he was going to need half the money since he was getting the shingles from a new supplier and had to pay for them up front. Mallory then brought over an invoice for a total of $29,450!!!! He now wanted half. Rather than a fixed price the contract had now become a time and material cost basis though it was calculated at the middle of the project rather than after completion at an actual cost. At this point the shingles were off, fascia & soffit torn off, and gable ends torn off. I paid him another $14,000 and the next day began investigating his pricing and hired an attorney. It took a rediculous 3 weeks for the job to be completed. Right away Mallory wanted to settle up for the balance or he was threatening to put liens on my house. The shingle color looked nothing like the photo I was shown. It looked gray and would have been fine with my existing soffit and fascia. It also included a very unique and expensive ridge cap which I had not requested. Instead of concrete hardie board, they had installed wood on my gable ends. Two inspections by the City of P**** Gorda had not yet been completed, the dry in and final. Mallory declined when I asked for a contractor's affidavit to show that all subcontractors and suppliers had been paid. He stated that I would need to pay the balance with a cashier's check first. He and the suppliers proceeded to place liens on my house. Mallory finally provided the contractor's affidavit which indicated that all major suppliers had NOT been paid, including the shingle supplier. Mallory sued me on August 31, 2011. I have spent thousands of dollars in legal fees over the past year defending myself.