A shingles manufacturing company has agreed to reimburse a Fort Worth woman for materials and labor costs after an NBC 5 Responds investigation.
Pamela Tucker said she can't wait to get rid of her home's shingles once and for all.
They're made by Tamko, a building products manufacturer.
She had a number of shingles to choose from, but she went with Tamko’s Heritage 50 AR line because it carried a 50 year warranty.
“When you look at something that carries a 50 year warranty, you think, well, you're getting a good product. You're not,” Tucker explained.
Ten years in, she said the shingles started having problems. She contacted the company for new shingles.
Tamko denied her claim saying the warranty covers manufacturing defects "directly resulting in leaks."
“Somebody said you know are you angry? Yes, I’m angry,” she said. “I've also learned that they have class action lawsuits against them."
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Consumers in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois and Kentucky have filed class action lawsuits against the company, claiming Tamko's shingles are "plagued by design and/or manufacturing flaws" with bogus warranties.
“It is absolutely disgusting,” said Tucker.
We called Tamko on Tucker’s behalf and the company agreed to review her case. An inspector came back to her home to take a closer look at the shingles.
Nearly a week later she received a call from Tamko, saying they saw more damage than they did the first time around. The company agreed to settle her claim.
“Thank you, lord. I cannot believe they're doing this because I thought that denial letter was the end of the story,” she explained.
Tucker said a representative in Tamko’s warranty department reassured her that the replacement shingles would be different from what she had before.
According to her settlement form, she’d be getting Tamko’s Heritage Premium shingles.
But Tucker wanted to know more about this shingle line.
“You'd better believe I’m going to check on it and see what it is,” she said.
And after doing more research, Tucker learned the Heritage Premium shingles are the same as the Heritage 50 AR shingles that she had before.
Tamko confirmed that the product is the same and was renamed.
“Why would you offer to put the same roof on my house when I had the problem that I did originally?" Tucker asked. "The roof was on there ten years and it has come a part. They're basically putting a Band-Aid on a problem and a Band-Aid that's going to come off again. I'm not going to accept the same roof. I'm not going to.”
NBC 5 Responds Samantha Chatman went back to Tamko with Tucker's concerns, and instead of providing her with the same shingles, a representative agreed to send her a check for $14,450 to cover the shingles and labor.
“Hopefully this will not only help me but anyone who has had a problem with shingles or anything else,” Tucker said.
Tucker received her check on Wednesday.
As for the class action lawsuits against Tamko, they are still pending. The NBC 5 Responds team has received other complaints about Tamko's shingles and will continue to look into these cases.
Let this be a reminder to all consumers:
• When your product is under warranty, always read the fine print
• Research every company you do business with before you hand over any money. Take it a step further and research the product as well.
• You're advised to get your roof inspected every three to five years
