Homeowners beware

Friday, August 11, 2006

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Jennifer O'Hara did not get her $3,000 deposit back.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies say a self proclaimed roofing contractor is taking advantage of residents.

Jennifer O'Hara used to dread walking inside her Citrus Park home.

For months, she didn't know she'd find that when it rained outside her home, it also rained inside.

"The ceiling fan here, I have water pouring down all over the hardwood floors that we'd just put in," O'Hara said. "He calls me and says the house is flooding, so I left work to clean up the mess and everything'"

For several weeks she lived without a roof. The shingles were half-on, half-off with tar paper serving as the only barrier.

O'Hara blames Howard Moore for the botched roofing job, claiming he took her $3,000 deposit, started the work months later, then never finished it.

"He'd ignore us," O'Hara said. "We'd call him. He wouldn't answer. Whenever you did get a hold of him he would say 'Oh, I'm starting next week definitely.' Three weeks would go by and he would say, 'I'm starting next week definitely.' Finally, we asked for our money back."

They never got the money back and the sheriff's office arrested Moore Sunday on multiple counts of fraud and grand theft.

Authorities said Moore did not have a license and said there are several other complaints filed against him. He is now out on bond.

"We believed he was licensed and everything," O'Hara said. "We'd seen him doing other roofs in the neighborhood."

Click here for an enlarged image of Moore.

"He had knowledge of roofing," Debbie Carter of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said. "Enough to take the shingles off and to know certain items that needed to be purchased. But, in order to complete the job and pull all the permits, you have to be a licensed contractor and being a roofer, he'd know that."

The sheriff's office said that's something people should also know before hiring someone for home improvement work. Verifying the license number is one way try to ensure the roofer is a reputable contractor.

You can verify a contractor's license or file a complaint with the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation by calling (866) 532-1440.

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