David VS. Goliath
Things we always consider when making a large purchase is the length of the warranty and the quality of the product. That said, when I purchased roofing shingles for my new home, of course I took the length of the warranty into consideration. I am not sure how I arrived at deciding on the IKO brand of shingles but I do remember being adamant about purchasing a shingle that would last a long time. When I learned that IKO manufactured a 35 year shingle I decided to go that route. I have a large home and did not want to be replacing the roof for a very long time. Having never had a bad experience with the roofing shingles I expected the product to last a minimum of thirty years based on the warranty period.
Well, I was wrong! The roof was installed in January 2004. In fall 2011 while cleaning the gutters I noticed that many of the shingles were curling up at the edges. At this point the roof was 6 3/4 years old. I contacted IKO and was told that what I was experiencing was considered normal wear after the inspection of the shingles that I sent to them.
I began to inspect the roof on a regular basis and noticed further deterioration. On or about late summer, I again contacted IKO and was asked to provide photos and samples of the problem. By this point the shingles were not only curling up, there were many areas that were absent of gravel and random cracks in the shingle were occurring.
My roof was 7 1/2 years old and I had to put metal flashing under many shingles to prevent potential leaks from occurring.
This time IKO responded by offering a goodwill Release of Warranty. They made me a cash offer of $3117.40 to purchase new shingles, I declined the offer. The actual cost to replace the shingles is around $5500.00. They did not even offer me enough to purchase new shingles. The estimate to remove and replace the roof and dispose of the shingles is $22,350.00.
So, here I am with a $22,350.00 roof job and IKO offered me $3117.40 to purchase new shingles.
Full disclosure - with everything that was going on with the construction of my new home, I never actually read the warranty. I t was not until after the problem was recognized that I learned the full warranty to replace the roof including materials and labor was only for five years. I noticed my roof was deteriorating when the roof was 6 3/4 years old.
First and foremost, who would expect a product with a 35 year warranty to fail in only 6 years?
Secondly, when a product is advertised (labeled) as having a 35 year warranty, you would expect the company to stand behind it for a reasonable amount of time. If the roof began to fail after 30 years I would not seek full compensation. But 6 years?
After my problem was recognized I went online and found countless articles about class action suits against IKO for failed products.
The moral of the story is “buyer beware.” Do your due diligence before buying a product. Go online and search for complaints about the product. But more importantly, how did the company respond to the complaints. Ask some contractors and retailers, etc., about their experience with the product that you are considering.
Corporate greed is rampant. Sell it and forget it. But there are some really good companies out there that not only deliver a great product but stand behind it as well. Unfortunately, IKO does neither.
The photos above were taken June of 2013, at which point the roof was 9 1/2 years old.
The photos above were taken October of 2016, at which point the roof was 12 3/4 years old. Not exactly what you would expect from a 35 year roof.