Roofing scams cheating seniors
By John Joyce
Published in News on June 11, 2014 1:46 PM
Although Goldsboro police say there are no indications yet the two cases are connected, two elderly Goldsboro citizens told police they have been defrauded out of thousands of dollars by men posing as roofers.
The reports were filed Tuesday with the Goldsboro Police Department.
"The cases have been assigned to an investigator," Sgt. Jeremy Sutton said.
Marvin Peter Vammeir, 70, of Sherwood Avenue, told police he paid $3,400 to a pair of supposed contractors in March for work they never completed.
Vammeir said two men drove into his yard March 18 in a Chevrolet Silverado and offered to sweep his roof for him. He allowed them to do so, and when they were done, they told him they spotted some weak areas in his roof in need of repair, the report said.
He agreed to have the work done and the men wrote out a contract, which he signed.
Vammeir said the men started the job but left the bulk unfinished. The phone number the men provided has since been disconnected.
Neither the individuals nor the company name they used was listed on the report.
In May, another victim fell prey to an alleged roofing scam, this time on Ninth Street.
Margaret Howell Price, 73, told police Tuesday that two individuals approached her at her home May 4, and asked if they could fix some shingles on her roof. The men claimed they worked for Top Peak and Valley out of Rocky Mount, according to the report.
The men filled out a work order and set to work, but soon said the job was going to be more complicated than they initially thought and it would cost more.
They filled out a second work order and this time asked to be paid up front, the report said.
Ms. Price paid the men a total of $7,800 by both cash and by check. The men left and have been neither seen nor heard from since.