'Seeking shelter, justice'

By TRICIA L. NADOLNY

Monitor staff

Last modified: 5/21/2012 12:00:00 AM

The roofer gave a pitch so compelling that Stephen Benoit signed a contract that night. He wrote a check for $10,000 - enough to cover half the work slated for his Sanbornton home - and handed it to Tim Currier.



Today though, rain stains the plywood walls in what should be Benoit's second-floor bedroom while wind rattles the thin cover stapled where a roof should have been built, but never was.



"I got conned because he was a pretty personable person. I hate to admit it. Hindsight is 20/20, but he talked a great story," said Benoit, one in a growing group of New Hampshire residents who have complaints about Currier and his Bow-based business, Green Home Energy Systems.



The grievances have stacked up over the past few years, but eight of the nine complaints filed with the attorney general's Consumer Protection Bureau have come since January. The state's Better Business Bureau, which has given the company an "F" rating, has also seen a recent flurry of activity regarding Currier.



Connie Stratton, a senior assistant attorney general, said she couldn't confirm if Green Home Energy Systems is being investigated and added that there isn't a "magic number" that triggers a review.



But Robert Shomphe, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau, said he has shared information about Currier with the attorney general.



Shomphe said many of the nine complaints that have passed across his desk are similar to Benoit's and involve homeowners alleging that Currier took their money before missing appointments and dodging calls. When he was reachable, homeowners say Currier gave a steady stream of excuses for the delayed work.



Several homeowners say they've lost thousands and never saw the roofs they were promised. And with Currier not returning calls, most who spoke with the Monitor say they don't expect to see a penny back.



Contacted by the Monitor last week, Currier declined to comment.



"I don't think that would be the most responsible thing to do at this point," he said, directing a reporter to his lawyer, Patrick Carron of Concord.



Carron did not return a request for comment.



Currier founded Green Home Energy Systems in 2009, according to records with the secretary of state's office. Paperwork filed last month shows the business is located at 42 River Road in Bow, and while Currier owns that property, the local police say the home has been vacant for at least seven months.



Another address listed for Currier, 125 Windham Road in Derry, is occupied by Derry Self Storage.



Green Home Energy System's Facebook page links to a website that is no longer available.



On Currier's personal Facebook page, he lists his favorite quote as: "Deadlines are nothing more than restrictions on creativity."



'The ultimate insult'



Benoit said he found Currier in March through a national roofing supplies company and then vetted him online, where Currier's website boasted his certification with the U.S. Green Building Council. (The council's online database does not list Green Home Energy Systems as a member.)



At the time, Benoit was entrenched in a major renovation project on the home he bought in foreclosure, and he had hired a half-dozen contractors to fix up the place. One day, it will be a calming retreat for Benoit, who as a first responder for FEMA often finds himself living in hotel rooms in disaster zones.



"This is my first home, but this is my last home," Benoit said last week, walking beside a stack of wood that's been draped in a tarp since work was halted last month.



On the March night Benoit signed his contract for a new roof, he said Currier told him he had just scored a big project with a nearby Methodist church. The two construction timelines would line up perfectly, meaning a big savings on materials for Benoit, he recalls Currier saying.



They scheduled construction to begin April 4, and Currier agreed to send his installation manager to a meeting with Benoit's other contractors a few days earlier.



According to Benoit, the manager never showed. When he couldn't reach Currier, he looked online and saw the company's "B+" Better Business Bureau rating from a few weeks before had been replaced with an "F."



When no crews arrived April 4, Benoit called the police. The next day, Benoit said Currier relayed a message through an officer.



"He said to contact his lawyer," Benoit said.



Benoit said he eventually checked with the pastor of the church that Currier had mentioned and found out that he had never heard of the roofer.



"He used the church as just a method to separate me from my money, to add more credibility to his story," Benoit said. "And it's kind of what the ultimate insult is for that situation, using religion as a method of preying on people."



Inferior materials



One couple who has filed a complaint against Currier say they got a new roof - but it began leaking soon after.



Sharon and Ken Gallager of Concord met Currier in 2010 and say they were drawn to his company because of its environmental approach. Currier recommended a metal shingle roof, at a cost of $14,861, and Sharon Gallager said the installation on their Perley Street home went smoothly.



"We were really thrilled. It looked gorgeous," she said. "And we were careful. We got the certificate of liability insurance from him. . . . We thought we were doing everything great."



And then it started to snow. Thick icicles formed under the shingles. Water seeped in through the clapboards. Brown stains grew on the ceiling and wallpaper of their front room.



Sharon Gallager said they sent Currier photos. At first he assured them that the problems would be fixed, but he soon stopped returning calls and emails, she said.



"We're trying to work, take care of our families, resolve this problem," she said. "We had saved a long time for this, and I wanted to get it done and taken care of. And it turned into a real nightmare."



After having another contractor inspect the work, the Gallagers say they found out the water-shield underlayment beneath the shingles did not meet building code. As a result, almost all water that went under the shingles seeped through the roof.



Reggie McGivern, the subcontractor who installed the Gallagers' roof, believes Currier bought inferior materials for many of his roofing projects.



The homeowners who spoke with the Monitor said Currier claimed to have several crews working for him and even a warehouse, but McGivern said Currier subcontracted all his work. McGivern said he cut ties with Currier in December.



No hope to recoup



After making little progress with Currier, the Gallagers say they hired McGivern - as well as another contractor who supervised the work - to fix the roof where the damage was worst. More than a year later, though, about half of the faulty underlayment remains while the family again saves for a new roof.



The mild winter was a relief, but Sharon Gallager said she's already anxious for next December.



"I would like to see him held accountable," she said of Currier. "I don't have a whole bunch of hope for any financial restitution. I highly doubt that's going to happen. It seems like there is going to be a long line of people who would like to get money from him."



Ruth and Ken Roche of Pelham are standing in that line, and they aren't optimistic about recouping any of the $12,000 they say they paid Currier for a roof he never built.



"It's frightening," Ruth Roche said. "It's more frustrating that we're seeing this is continuing to happen, and it's not just us. It validates the issues that we're having with him, that it wasn't just our mistake."



Without a roof, very little progress is being made at Benoit's home.



When construction came to an abrupt stop last month, Benoit had already signed contracts for every step of the renovation - plumbing, electrical, drywall. He cancelled the work.



That's been expensive, and Benoit estimates he's lost an extra $8,000 mitigating the damage, and hiring a lawyer, on top of the $10,000 he gave Currier. He also lost the opportunity to finish his home this construction season and now expects it won't be complete until next year.



Benoit said that at first he would have been fine seeing Currier either install a roof or refund the $10,000. But now he wants to be compensated for the other losses. He said he recently filed for and was granted a lien attachment on Currier's Bow house, and said Currier will have a chance to dispute the claim at a hearing at Belknap County Superior Court on Wednesday.



Filing a lawsuit is on his mind, but Benoit said he'd rather see the matter handled by the attorney general.



Last week, Benoit again had roofers visit his property to give bids.



In his garage, boxes hold all of the things needed to construct a house and then make it a home - appliances, kitchen cabinets, sliding glass doors, a mattress, luggage, a cat toy.



"I'm really tired," he said, leaning against a bare post that should be covered in drywall. "I'm not getting any sleep at night. I'm stuck in a place where I can't go anywhere."



(Tricia L. Nadolny can be reached at 369-3306 or tnadolny@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @tricia_nadolny.)





