Norm The Handyman

My parents, (80+ years old) contracted with Norman M Thompson, (d.b.a Norm the Handyman, Bill the Handyman 716-834-2319, cell 716-563-5654 4727 North Bailey Ave, Amherst NY) on 4/1/2009 to have their roof and gutters replaced. To date the work has not been completed and we have been unable to resolve this issue. The work was performed so badly and so much damage incurred that I have had to travel from Syracuse to Buffalo to try and fix the issues as he has refused to make arraignments to resolve them. My parents have asked me to help them get this resolved due to their age. Upon reviewing the contract and looking at the work performed it was obvious that they were taken advantage of. They have paid in full the contact price (insisted on by Norm) prior to him starting the work so withholding payment is not possible. From looking at the paperwork it appears that Norm is booking the jobs and then passing the work onto Raymond M Book (d.b.a Rays Remodeling 716-896-2147, 32 Euclid Ave, Buffalo NY) is actually doing the work. The issues began when the crew started the roof tear-off and the Sloan code enforcement officer showed up and informed the crew to stop work and that they needed to obtain a building permit. At that time, Norm told my father to go down to the town hall to get the permit and tell them that he was was doing the work with his nephews. My father went down to the town hall and told them who was doing the work and said that they should have the insurance paperwork as they were also doing a house in town. The person at the town hall informed my father that the permit for the other house was issued to the owner and that he said he was doing the work with his nephews. At that point, my father refused to get the permit and returned and told Norm that he had to go get it as they need to show proof of insurance. Eventually, the building permit was issued to Ray's remodeling and not to Norm Thompson. My parents wrote checks for the following: 1 to Norm Thompson as a deposit, and a second and third prior to the work starting to Ray Book. It is obvious that they are doing this so that no one person remains financially responsible for the work. To date I have tried numerous times to arrange a time when the work and damage could be corrected. In multiple telephone calls (over 30) to Norm's phone I was only able to speak directly to him once although I did speak to who I believe is his wife numerous times. The one time I did get to speak directly to him, he informed me that the business was in chapter 13 and there was not much he could do but would try to fix the issues. At that time I asked him to call me to setup a time when the issues could be resolved. Since then I have called numerous times, left numerous messages along with contact information and he has not returned any of my calls. I have even sent a certified letter to him that I know was delivered and still no response. I have looked on the Erie County Clerks Office and both Norms and Rays business are still listed so it is obvious that the business is not closed or in bankruptcy and he has no intention of finishing this job. I actually spoke to a person who identified himself as Norms foreman after the one time I spoke to Norm and he informed that the they were out of business. I also found out from the clerks office that both Norm and Ray have prior liens against them so it looks like this has been going on for some time. I also looked on the workman's compensation web site and neither has insurance which probably explains the multiple checks and names. The issues that are still outstanding include: 1 - Failure to replace the roof on the back of garage and family room. They just nailed a drip edge over the original roof causing additional leaks. 2 - Damage to the front porch awnings where someone walked on them caving them in. 3 - Failure to flash a part of the house leading to the water in the living room and dining room. 4 - Damage to the siding caused from a lack of protection when the roof was being stripped. All of these are significant issues which will cost more to rectify then the actual cost paid for the initial work. It is obvious that both Norm and Ray are preying on Senior citizens as they believe they will not prosecute. I have spoken to my parents and they would like to them stopped before they do this to another senior. To repair the damage, we have since contracted with Shuster Construction LLC. who is more than satisfactorily performing the repairs. The estimates we received to repair all the damage caused has exceed $15,000. Since Shuster Construction began the repairs, they have discovered that the roofing was incorrectly installed (they did not seem the roofing tiles at an angle as recommended by the manufacturer), major sections of the roof were put up without first laying down underlayment, the flashing was not properly or in some cases not installed at all and the ice barrier was installed more than 8 inches from the roof edge. Upon further investigation neither Norm or Ray have workmans comp insurance and both have multiple liens against them as discovered on the Erie County Clerks office. Both have had multiple companys. It appears that once they run into issues, that they simply dissolve the current company and re-register a new company name and continue to take advantage of individuals.