Two west end women claim they are the recent victims of a roofing scam perpetrated by the same company — Az-tec Roofing and Masonry — and said they are speaking up to warn others.
Lesley Ciarula Taylor, a Kensington Market homeowner and former Toronto Star reporter, said the company should refund the $3,000 she paid after it failed to properly complete promised repairs in October.
A second woman, Lisa, who asked TorontoToday to use only her first name, alleged in early December the same company charged her $70 despite not having completed the minor shingle repair she requested.
Toronto Police Services (TPS) spokesperson Shannon Eames confirmed authorities are investigating two reports about the company filed by Ciarula Taylor, but said no additional information could be provided.
TorontoToday tried to reach Az-tec Roofing and Masonry, but spoke only with a man who claimed to be a former employee and who disputed much of the account provided by Ciarula Taylor.
Emails to the company from TorontoToday went unanswered.
Roofing woes in Kensington Market
Ciarula Taylor said she and her husband were leaving her home in Kensington Market on Oct. 17 when an Az-tec Roofing and Masonry employee approached them on the street.
The man told the homeowners he had been working on a neighbour’s roof and noticed some shingles had come up on their own, she alleged.
For $50, the company’s worker said his team would fix it, Ciarula Taylor recalled.
Though the couple hadn’t been in the market for a roofer, they agreed, and the men got to work.
Once on the roof, Ciarula Taylor said things took a turn.
She alleged the men said the old shingles on the front of her house should be removed to install an ice and water shield — rubberized asphalt that protects the wood underneath from the elements.
Ciarula Taylor was somewhat uneasy about the company but she and her husband agreed. They signed a contract, viewed by TorontoToday, promising to pay $1,200 for the work.
However, the worker on the roof soon found another problem, Ciarula Taylor alleged.
The employee provided a photo which he said showed a raccoon had ripped off some shingles on the back side of the roof, exposing the wood beneath.
“[One of the workers] stood in the backyard and told me how badly damaged the house could be if it wasn’t repaired immediately,” Ciarula Taylor said.
Not wanting to leave the roof in that condition, Ciarula Taylor said she agreed to pay the $3,500 fee the company quoted for all of the work.
By that point, Ciarula Taylor said she was very uneasy. She asked the company for its licence number but staff were unable to provide it, she alleged.
She also asked staff which neighbours’ house they had worked on and, but said they couldn’t provide a specific address.
When she Googled Az-tec Roofing and Masonry, Ciarula Taylor said the website appeared to have been generated by artificial intelligence.
Workers said they finished the job and Ciarula Taylor sent an e-transfer for the maximum amount her bank would allow — $3,000, leaving the $500 for a future payment. TorontoToday viewed a screenshot which appears to show the completed e-transfer.
“I just thought everything about this is wrong,” Ciarula Taylor said.
Ice and water shield or garden mesh?
Concerned about the quality of the work, Ciarula Taylor asked another roofer to come to inspect the situation. The next day, Nuno Torres, manager of Luso Roofing, completed the inspection and said the job was “extremely poorly done.”
Rather than installing ice and water shield as Az-tec Roofing and Masonry had promised, the company used “garden mesh,” according to Torres.
“Garden mesh is the opposite of what ice and water shield does — it lets the water go through,” he said.
In addition, Torres said the shingles the company installed were too short and some weren’t properly affixed to the roof.
Torres provided TorontoToday with a video showing the front part of the roof, which he said shows the shingles hadn’t been properly sealed down with caulking, making them vulnerable to the elements.
Concerned about leaving the roof in that condition, Ciarula Taylor paid Torres $4,000 for repairs.
Ciarula Taylor demanded a refund from Az-tec Roofing and Masonry. She alleged a supervisor promised to send the money by mail, but the refund never came.
Is it a scam or a bad subcontractor?
TorontoToday tried to reach Az-tec Roofing and Masonry via the phone number and email on the brochure it provided to Lisa this month.
A phone call to the company was answered by a man who said his name was Matthew. He confirmed the company worked with Ciarula Taylor in October but denied her version of events.
He alleged Ciarula Taylor had been aggressive with roofing staff and forced them to complete work they did not want to do.
The man, who said he no longer worked for the Az-tec Roofing and Masonry, further alleged the job was not completed by his former employer, but by a subcontractor.
Minutes after an initial interview, TorontoToronto received a call from the same number from a man with a different sounding voice, who claimed to be Matthew.
He said the company wanted to return to Ciarula Taylor’s home and fix what she alleged was wrong, but that she declined.
When asked about the discrepancy, Ciarula Taylor said she had indeed been frustrated with the men and spoke forcefully but denied being aggressive.
Ciarula Taylor said she denied an offer from the company to fix the damage the day after the initial job was completed because she did not trust the repairs would be done properly.
She said her contract with Az-tec Roofing showed a subcontractor was not responsible for the Oct. 17 work.
Is this part of a pattern?
In an interview with TorontoToday, Lisa described a similar experience with staff of Az-tec Roofing and Masonry at her home in the west end.
Lisa said she does not believe Az-tec Roofing workers completed the minor shingle repair she consented to and instead applied caulking to a different part of the roof. She did not allow the company to proceed with additional repairs the workers claimed were necessary.
Lisa, Ciarula Taylor and a third woman in Seaton Village, who posted about a similar roofing scam on Facebook this month but declined to be interviewed, all said the roofers they were approached by had Irish accents.
Tips for avoiding scams
Toronto police declined to share details about the number of recent reports filed about roofing scams in Toronto.
Eames pointed TorontoToday to a video providing a list of tips on how residents can avoid renovation scam fraudsters.
In the video, David Coffey of the TPS financial crimes unit said homeowners should never sign contracts on the spot.
“Don't feel pressured to make a quick decision,” he said.
He also recommended that homeowners ask renovation salespeople what company they work for and for photo identification.
If an individual believes themselves to have been a victim of fraud, Coffey said it should be reported to police.
Ciarula Taylor said she hopes the TPS will stop Az-tec Roofing and Masonry from scamming others; and that she will get her money back.
“They lied about everything,” she said. “I have the feeling I could have been on the hook for a lot more money.”
