ED CLARKE

Mr. Clark(e)'s workers started the roof work a few days after I signed the contract. When I realized that there were already two layers of roof, I asked for an estimate to do a complete tear-off. I knew that code only permitted two layers. The workers left for another job because they wanted me to talk to Mr. Clark before they proceded. I spoke to Mr. Clark, agreed on the new price and never saw Mr. Clark or his crew again. Mr. Clark ignored my phone calls, did not respond to letters and did not come to court when I pursued him through the legal system. I have yet to see any of my money returned from Mr. Clark, even with a court decision in my favor. This is a dishonest and poorly organized business owner. I get the impression that he keeps very poor records and has come to realize that he can get away with ignoring court decisions because it cost more to track him down than the money he owes. It is approaching 5 years since he took my money. He has moved and I have not been able to locate him any longer. If I could give him a grade below F, I would.

Mr. Clark was pleasant and prompt until I asked to have the roof torn off instead of covered over. When Mr. Clark's crew started the roof work, I realized that there were already two layers of deteriorating shingles, I knew that a tear-off was needed. The crew leader said that I needed to call Mr. Clark before they could proceed. So the crew left to work on another job. When I called Mr. Clark he said he would need to get back to me on the additional cost for the tear-off. Two days later he gave me a new estimate. I agreed to the additional costs. Mr. Clark's crews never returned to complete the work. A minimal amount of work had been done on the roof and the gutter and chimney work were never even started. Initially Mr. Clark's family said that he was ill and my work would be delayed, even though Mr. Clark does not do any of the physical work. After 2 or 3 months of nothing from Mr. Clark, I started calling his number. Family members would answer and promise that Mr. Clark would return my calls. He did not. It was almost impossible to get Mr. Clark to respond to phone calls, letters, or legal steps. Now after more than 2 years of working through the courts to try to get my money back, I have not seen a penny of my $1600 down payment. I cannot say anything about the quality of Mr. Clark's work because he never did the job. I can only say that he is not an honest businessman. I am submitting this report to warn others about the potential issues with this man and his company. I have hired a collection agency to pursue my case and they have not been able to recover any of my funds yet. I also tried to work out payment options with Mr. Clark and he simply continued to ignore me. Since this incident, Mr. Clark's company (his son) has called my home on 4 different occasions soliciting new work. Each time I have reminded his son that his father owes me money and still I have seen nothing. This is truly a poorly run business, certainly not service oriented.

Mr. Clarke's repairman came when he said he would. He tuckpointed the chimney, and repaired loose shingles and took care of any raised nails. He also repainted the valleys on the roof. Our original opinion was that we had, perhaps, paid too much for the work done. On that same night we had a torrential rain and we found some leaks around the chimney. We took pictures of the wet areas and prepared for a confrontation. When Mr. Clarke came by to collect the second half of our payment, we mentioned the problems in the attic. His immediate response was to arrange to bring his workman by again to find and fix the problem. He took our word and any expected confrontation never happened. When he came by with his workman they spent the better part of 2 hours finding the leaks and then fixing them. While they were trying to find the problem it was very clear the Mr. Clarke is an extremely experienced roofer. By the time that he had finished we really felt that he had found the problem and corrected it.

Outstanding! At first we were skeptical because his advertising is somewhat eccentric, but his letters of reference were good. Two of his former clients gave rave reviews (1 business, 1 private). The cost was so much lower that the other more formal bids. We simply wanted the chimney to get repaired to look better and improve the aesthetic of our 1909 Hyde Park home. The two other companies offered to remove the chimney entirely for $2000 to $4000 OR remove and rebuild the chimney for $4000 to $6000 (despite the fact that we simply requested cosmetic repair of the chimney)! We called, got an estimate and the job was done in a week. Beforehand, Mr. Clark asked if he could put an advertising sign in our yard, promising a rebate if any referrals came in during that week. Sure enough, a neighbor called him for some gutter repair and he gave us a $50 discount on the balance of our bill. We have recommended Mr. Clark to family and friends.

They were there 2 hours and left. I thought the price was high.