ORLANDO, Fla — Central Florida homeowners paid thousands of dollars for new roofs but claim the company they paid ghosted them.
“If there’s any agency that can do something to stop them because you know it’s not only me. There are a lot of people going through this,” said Alicia Perez of Palm Bay.
Orange County based Florida Premier Roofing went door-to-door soliciting business. Homeowners claim the company took the full cost of the roofs upfront and then did nothing.
After severe weather blew through central Florida last year homeowners in Palm Bay said roofing companies canvassed the area hard.
Louis Carrillo said, “I had about six different roofing companies come to the house.”
Carillo told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal that Florida Premier Roofing, headed by Mark Boutilier, was one of them. Crews who inspected his roof convinced him he had hail damage and even helped him file a claim with his insurance company.
Alicia Perez lives a couple of miles away and said, “I told them, ‘No, I’m not interested.’ But they insisted.”
She also agreed to allow Florida Premier Roofing to do an inspection, and said the company called her insurance company for her to start the claim.
Perez said, “This is the first experience that I have in my life with something like this, and honestly, I saw them so honest that I said, ‘So nice people.’”
But that initial good first impression quickly wore off once she handed the company more than $17,000. Louis Carrillo felt the same after he paid more than $18,000. For both homeowners that was the entire cost of the roof upfront.
Weeks went by, then months and they said no one returned to replace their roofs.
Carrillo said, “You know, I’d call, and they ghosted me. I called the office and there was no answer in the office.”
Early this year, the Better Business Bureau started to see an uptick in complaints against Florida Premier Roofing.
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Holly Salmons, Better Business Bureau CEO, said, “Most complaints and reviews that we’re hearing from consumers report paying deposits or paying money for work, and that money is received, those checks are cashed, and the work is never done.”
The BBB soon determined Florida Premier Roofing closed and revoked its accreditation for not maintaining BBB standards.
When Action 9 went to the Orange County office location for Florida Premier Roofing it was empty. Marc Boutilier, the registered agent for the company, filed for bankruptcy. He’s also suing former business partners and blaming them for the downfall of the company.
Action 9 tried to reach Boutilier several ways including through his attorney of record in the bankruptcy case. As part of an email, that attorney wouldn’t acknowledge representing Boutilier, and wrote, “nor can I comment on these allegations.”
Homeowners are now left with damaged roofs, wondering if they’ll ever see their money again how anyone could treat customers like this.
“I am sick and the money that I have is for my health. So, it’s so sad that, you know, you have to be dealing with this. It has been like a nightmare,” Alicia Perez said.
The Palm Bay Police Department has an open and active investigation into Florida Premier Roofing. It appears the company did business in several southern states. If you also paid and didn’t get a roof, you can file a proof of claim with the federal bankruptcy court at this link: Proof of Claim Link-US Courts