We're new to Lexington and bought our townhome in February. Lonnie's name was passed along to me; and, he had great google reviews, so, I felt confident I found a great roofer! I found 3 shingles on the ground, so, I called Lonnie to see if he would replace the shingles and check out my roof while he was up there; I also asked if he would secure the end of a gutter that had come loose. He said yes, went to my home to check things out; and, texted a quote for $625. It surprised me, however, I figured there were some additional, significant repairs needed. I told Lonnie to proceed. I was not at home but, my husband was home when Lonnie returned to make the repairs (he did not speak to or see my husband, who was working from home). He called me while up on the roof to tell me the ridge cap over my garage was installed incorrectly; he explained the repair; I asked if he was replacing the ENTIRE ridge cap with proper ridge cap shingles - he said YES. In my mind, that explained the $625 quote.
That evening my husband informed me: Lonnie was on the roof 45 min.- 1hour; he heard some hammering and only saw a few new shingles (they stand out clearly against the old). My husband wanted to know why we were being charged $625? I texted Lonnie regarding the scope of his job and $625 charge.
L: "I replace maybe 10. Fastened down probably 25-30 that were very loose. Let me see if I can do a little better on the price. Give me 10 minutes."
Me: "Thank you for your consideration."
L: "I talked to the owner and said to give you a $150 discount. So it would make it $475"
Me: "The owner understands the scope of the job?"
L: "I explained it to him. And he agreed it was a little high"
Me: "475 for approx 1 hour and 10 shingles. I will pay what I must but we feel like we're being screwed a bit. If the fee includes a box of shingles and a box of ridge caps purchased for the repair then we would like to keep the rest for the future"
L: "You only owe us $275"
Me: "Thank you Lonnie"
L: "Just trying to make sure you feel like you got what you paid for thanks"
Me: "I do appreciate it"
Early the next morning, it occurred to me that the person that referred Lonnie, also mentioned Lonnie was the owner. Strange since Lonnie mentioned talking to the "owner"; so, I looked up the business address in the Fayette County Auditor's records..Owner: Lonnie F. Johnson
Me: "It appears that you are the owner...Thanks for consulting yourself. I'm going to add feeling hustled to the experience.It's these type of stories that get shared at HOA meetings"
L: "I'm sorry but I am not the owner. My father is. He's owned the business for over 40 years. If hustled is the way you feel, then you owe us nothing at all. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding on the price."
Me: "I trust and respect my contractors; and, do not have any issues with paying a fair price. Based upon your initial quote we assumed there was a significantly larger scope of work than what was actually provided."
I sent Lonnie a check for $275; the check was cashed. I did not expect the repair to be cheap; but, had my husband not been home to know Lonnie spent 45-60 minutes on the roof; or, had I not spoke up, Lonnie was comfortable charging me $625, then $475, then $275 for 10 (leftover from another job??) shingles and 1 hour of his time... it was a very unpleasant experience with a hard lesson learned for me. Understand the scope up front and get it in writing.. I also would add that before I said to proceed, I did text Lonnie: "Ballpark...how many shingles are missing? ...no response from Lonnie.