Billy Ellis Roofing review: Conartist 15

Trevor, I'm sure that there must be a point somewhere in your post, but I can't quite figure out exactly what it is. "Do not work *for* billy ellis roofing"? Do you mean that they're a poor employer, or did you mean to advise against contracting with the company for roofing work? How do they "screw you out of any money possible, when you buy a aluminum roof and go through insurance proceeds only and your roof get totaled and you get ur new roof put on"? Then are you saying that after they completed a re-roofing job and the homeowner suffered more hail damage to the new roof later, Billy Ellis filed for reimbursement from the insurance company again without doing additional work? How does "this company scam hard working ppl out of there money"?

I have a roof that is badly deteriorating long before its manufacturer's warranty expires. A Billy Ellis sales consultant must have noticed the state of my roof and knocked on the door recently. (I didn't call them.) He told me that there was a class-action lawsuit regarding early failures of my type of roof that are due to a manufacturer's defect in the shingles, and that I should have been notified by mail. He then went on to say that if I contracted with Billy Ellis to re-roof my house, they would help me file a claim on my homeowner's insurance to replace the roof, implying no cost to me. He said that if the insurance didn't total the roof, that Billy Ellis would not expect me to honor the contract. He also said that I could expect a small check from the insurance company before the roofing work was done, and a much larger check after the job was completed. When I asked him why my homeowner's insurance should pay for a new roof when the problem was due to a manufacturer's defect in the shingles he didn't have an answer. Billy Ellis Roofing has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, but his pitch sounded fishy to me. If you have more to add Trevor, I'd like to hear it.

Bud,

I'm with you on the fishy thing. I also received a knock on the door and found a sales rep for Billy Ellis (actually I think they were another roofing company selling/using Billy Ellis products) at my door in Fort Worth.

Josie gave me the same pitch about insurance proceeds, etc... We had an aluminim roof from another manufacturer that was poorly made and the roof leaked all over after about 6 years after install.

Anyway, I contracted with them to install the roof. It looks great and seems to have only a few problems in installation.

The fishy part is I'm now wondering if Josie has some "in" with an adjuster or two to get the go ahead on re-roof jobs. In addition there's another fishy part. When they began the work the insurance company cut a check for about 25% of the cost to get them started. That check was endorced by me and sent on to Billy Ellis.

After they completed the work the insurance company sent a check to my mortgage company for the balance of about 75%. They were in turn to send the check to me and I would endorse it and send it to Billy Ellis once all work was completed satisfactorily.

The catch, the insurance company wants a W-9 (or some such form) from Billy Ellis for income tax purposes. That was in early March. I've called Josie 4 times and he told me they'd get the form to the insurance company the next day, but they never have.

Why on earth would they not want to collect 75% of the proceeds of a job they've already completed? It's been over 3 months now, a check is just sitting there waiting on them to ask for it and they won't. I don't understand. At some point the insurance company is going to void that check and the proceeds will no longer be available.

Anyone out there have a similar problem or have knowledge on this? I'm worried I've been scammed in some way but don't know how.

Where's my money at, Bud?

I' ve got a story that beats all yours. The fraud is doubled, Billy has a son, Todd Ellis, in Oklahoma. He knocked on my door in 2002, we had a poorly constructed metal roof over wood shake. Todd said he could pull off old metal roof and wood shake, gave me a quote, said this is "LIFETIME" aluminum roof, never need to replace, will never damage...yada, yada, yada...I signed contract...bottom of contract said "FULLY INSURED", filed with my insurance company...he started job. Then things went horribly wrong. Workers were terrible, so messy, they pulled the wood shake off, most went in driveway and yard(they didnt clean up) what didnt fall in yard, fell in gutters, stopped them up. When they got down to roof truss (bare to the attic) workers went to lunch, was beautiful sunny day...in Oklahoma...cloud came up suddenly started raining heavy, no workers in site. Rain came in our house thru roof and damaged two rooms. rain flushed nails out of down spout and filled driveway, husband came home had multiple flats. Rain damaged walls and insulation had to have bedroom re-sheetrocked, carpet cleaned, etc. No problem, he's insured...yeah right. My insurance company callled to inform me Todd had filled on MY insurance for the damages, , , he WAS NOT insured, my insurance company wound up suing him in court, took months to get the roof, bedroom damages, clean-up...we still dont know if water in walls caused mold. Oh yeah, 3 months later we had plumbing problems...seems like the plumber we called found a giant size peice of old wood shake dropped down there by...you guessed it, Ellis roofing. By the way, aluminum roofing in the tornado capitol of the world...not a good combination. I;ve lived and learned all I want to know about Ellis Roofing...cost of that lesson...$30, 375.00

Okay, so now I am very worried. I had a guy come to my house and asked if he could have one of the roofers at A Absolute Roofing company in Arlington, Tx CALL me. I felt bad for the guy and said sure. The next day I get a call from some guy saying that he was here to look at my roof. I got really mad for him just showing up, I had plans. I told him and he said no problem I am just trying to help you get your roof replaced with no money out of your pocket, they would take care of the deductible. I thought that sounded good and I guess it wouldn't hurt to just have them come out. The guy showed up the next day and got on the roof and started saying there was all kinds of damage and then he started asking about water damage in the house. Well, we brought him in and he started looking around and he started saying we need to file a claim, we need to file a claim, now. He's just moving right along and I really hadn't even had the chance to stop him - crazy. Well, he called in a claim and for some reason all he was worried was about that claim number. After that, he started writing out a contract and I told him that I wanted to see an estimate. He said that he couldn't tell me that he would tell me when the insurance adjuster come out. I find that kind of odd. Well, after that he asked me to sign this "What Happens Now document..." The 1st page basically walks you through the claim process and tells you what to expect. The second page is a signature page wanting you to sign and date that you had received the "What Happens Now" page. I refused to sign the second page because that second page could be attached to anything and make it a binding legal document. I did sign one page - but it was just an acknowledgement only and alone could not be considered obligated to any contract or any further financial responsibility to A Aboslute Roofing INC. The guy left shortly after that and said that I should call him as soon as the adjuster comes out so he could be here to meet with him. After all of this, I started getting very suspicious. I started doing research on the internet and looking up the telephone numbers on the business cards... and GUESS WHAT ! A Absolute Roofing Inc. all telephone numbers go back to Billy Ellis Roofing Co. I am so nervous about this. This guy come into my house, has a lot of my personal information and the claim #. I am fixing to try to notify everybody that I am having nothing to do with these people. So, watch out people, looks like somebody had a bad experience and name recognition actually hurt not helped. The telephone number for A Absolute Roofing Inc on the card shows [protected] Office, [protected] Fax and address is 5624 S.W. Green Oaks Arlington, Tx. BEWARE! BEWARE!

The roofs will be cosmetically damaged if you spit hard on them.. They are a joke.. Thats why He has gone out of buisness so much.. Josey knows due to the fact that he has all the old roofs put on by Billy Ellis. They go by Texas Metal Roofing Supply."TMRS".. the roofs are trash and do not do what they are promised. Tiny hail dents them and they fad bad.. I watched them do all our neighbors and that was last year they all have damage again, 1 year later..It's a shame that they are still pulling that ole scam..

Beware of this company! They are sharks!

Hi Lovely One,
Sorry to hear about your problems. For future reference, and I'm sure that you have learned a powerful lesson from your experience, here's a few things to keep in mind about "storm chaser" roofing contractors. NEVER HIRE THEM
1, Attempt to create imaginary urgency that's unwarranted. (wait 6-9 months to do your roof, if it's leaking get it tarped or temporarily patched) Wait for a quality local contractor to complete the work.
2. Never sign a blind RCV contingency agreement ie "we complete the work for insurance proceeds." BS Your trusting them to do all the work paid for by the insurance company. Many fly by nights substitute cheap materials or don't do some of the work. A reputable contractor has no problem providing an estimate with a corresponding scope of work.
3. Are their crews in house or subcontractors? Most storm chasers use subcontracted crews to complete the work. Maybe they sourced them from Craigslist or met them at the dump (no joke) They send unfamiliar crews out to do your work with no supervision. Hmm, underpaid (potentially illegal) crews who will be leaving town soon, completely unsupervised, sounds like a great production model.
4. Sales driven business model vs production driven. Storm chasers are geared to sell, sell, sell, with little thought to the structure and processes needed to produce a quality, error free, roof installation. Quality control, training, safety protocols, etc. I get that roofing a home is not tantamount to splitting the atom, but even McDonalds has production processes to reduce errors.
5. These storm chasing roofing contractors are masters of deception. Good at looking local, (buy into using a local contractor's name) buy billboard ads, strip mall offices, local sponsorships, etc.
6. Hire someone with references older than the storm.
7, Do they have workman's comp insurance for the crews or the secretary? Hint: they may show you an insurance certificate with inadequate coverage, leaving you at risk. Call the contractors insurance company to make sure all insurance coverages are adequate and in force.
Do your home work prior to hiring any contractor. Trust me, most storm chasing companies care only about making a quick buck and "skippin dodge." I did sales for a few storm chasers, they rip off reps, crews, home owners, without the slightest twinge of conscience. Poor business model, poor production model, poor training, poor results.
I now work for a local contractor who cares enough to invest in infrastructure, training, and human capital. Refreshing indeed.

Trevor Um what?

Billy Ellis Roofing has been run by Billy's son in law Ross Thiebaud. High school drop out who happens to be Mormon. Believes his own lies and sales tactics continuing to manipulate/deceive people in his latest 'business ventures'. Not sure if roofing company is still in business but I can guarantee you Thiebaud is doing his dirty deeds SOMEWHERE TO SOMEONE. Beware DFW AND SURROUNDING AREAS! BILLY ELLIS, ROSS THIEBAUD or TERRY SMITH = CROOKS

My name is Travis and I worked for Billy Ellis back in early 2008 and yes the aluminum roof is a scam. Billy Ellis also does not pay any commission to the sales reps instead only to keep them somewhat satisfied by a draw but never getting your full commission and I will tell you I am not even near being the only one that had this issue. The roof product itself really isn't a bad product, that's if you don't live in the hail capital of the world simply because they don't ever rust and they are good for energy efficiency. However due to the thickness(or should I say thinness) it doesn't take much, not even pea size hail to damage it. Insurance companies hate them because they are the most expensive product on the market and are most of the blame on why everyone's insurance rates go up every year from people being convinced to file claims to have them replaced. Companies like Billy Ellis are literally getting rich off of this scam, not only that they are taking the prior slightly damaged old roofs and installing them on other homes for a cheaper upgrade and coming back less than 6 months later to guess what? Yep, file another claim! I am a honest roofer working for a honest company based out of Keller called Ahlers Roofing and Construction and I have "the" solution to this mess if you have a aluminum roof and are sick and tired of those roofers coming by and knocking on your door even right after you have the aluminum roof put on. As a matter of fact I will guarantee you those door knocking roofers will leave you alone, drive by your house and not even think twice of stopping and it won't cost you a dime! Please if you are interested send me an email travis539@gmail.com with your contact information and I will personally call you back with the problem solving solution and this is not a scam I guarantee that! Let's put this problem to the grave and stop making the bad guys richer! Thanks;)

I would like to say to any and all who read these comments that Billy Ellis roofing is no scam. I have personally seen someone drive a car over one of their shingles, have seen it pass the 2 inch steel ball test, and have talked to people that without the metal roof would have lost their houses during some storms. And anyone saying they use insurance, news flash to all of them. ALL ROOFING COMPANIES DO. There is NO roofing company that will fix your roof for free, No one will. Its why insurance exists, to help you get the protection you need and if your roof is damaged and will not protect the house is it such a scam to have insurance help? Everyone posting above is either employees who thought the world was owed to them and stepped over their boundaries and now have a personal vendetta against the company. And the original comment from bud, why should a company trying to help you get the bad shingles off of your roof have to pay for the mistakes of the original company whom never should have installed the shingles. And to the oringial poster, trevor, I cant take anything a man says seriously if he cant spell "hail" correctly.

Beware. These people are in Louisiana now under the name ProStar Builders!