SPRINGFIELD, Mo.– A Springfield roofing company based out of Omaha, Nebraska, abruptly closed last week. When it did, it left behind many angry customers, contractors, suppliers — even former employees who say they didn’t see it coming.

“Love Our Roof” ran its Springfield location from an office on South Fremont until it closed and left town. Several people told KOLR10 over the past week – when the company left; it took their money with them.

When it came time for local real estate agent Chase Mills to repair the roof on his own home, he went with Love Our Roof, a company that he thought he could trust.

“So we got the contract signed, and we paid on our personal residence a deposit of $9,000. This was supposed to be for materials,” Mills says. “They had done previous work for previous clients of mine. As a real estate professional, they were recommended by several colleagues as well.”

Not only did he go with the company, but Mills’s mother-in-law and father-in-law opted to pay the company for a new roof. They each paid the company in the following weeks and waited for materials.

For Mills, those materials never showed up.

“I wasn’t really concerned too much during that time frame until we heard their doors were closed. I knew that my $9,000 deposit was slowly slipping away,” Mills explains.

His family members had a bizarre experience as well.

“My mother and father-in-law had their materials delivered. The roof was put on their house. Then two days after that, the roofing installers that were subcontracted out by Love Our Roof had sent a text message to my father-in-law stating that they hadn’t been paid and that they were owed a little over $13,000,” says Mills.

Chris Foster owns the company that put the roof on Mills’ in-law’s home. He confirms with KOLR10 that they weren’t paid for the job.

“We lost just over $13,000. The Friday before they got shut down, they sent us a paystub showing they were going to pay. Of course, we didn’t get paid anything,” says Foster, who added that Love Our Roof sent them a pay stub for money that never hit their account.

Foster says he knows of several other companies that were contracted by Love Our Roof did thousands of dollars worth of work and didn’t get paid.

Beacon Supply also reached out with a letter saying materials used on the house were not paid for.

“We went to the office, and it was locked up,” says Foster.

The closure happened so suddenly that their own General Manager, Traci Jarman, didn’t even know it until after it had happened.

“I had no clue later on in the day from a friend that said, ‘Hey did you know this?’ And I’m like, ‘No.’ Honestly, I don’t have a lot of answers, I wish I did,” says Jarman.

Foster, who later decided to hire Jarmon for his business, “Nomad Roofing,” says he believes Jarman had no part in the questionable actions.

“Yes, I may be the former GM for that company, but I do not have the same thoughts and feeling towards homeowners as they do,” Jarmon says.

KOLR10 heard back from a lawyer representing Love Our Roof in two separate cases against Beacon Supply and Midwest Roofing. Those Springfield companies are seeking a combined $1,326,472.04. Love Our Roof is listed as a subsidiary under the LLC “CGG Ventures.”

The statement provided to KOLR10 from Love Our Roof Owner Jim Harding says in part:

On behalf of Love Our Roof, we deeply regret what was a very difficult decision for us to make. The company suffered through a very tough 2020. We tried everything we possibly could to keep the business open and our employees employed. We are not bad people, we just had our business fail. There was never any ill intent, and please note that we are not closing down until our customers are taken care of. We have the support of our area Omaha Better Business Bureau who understands what happened to us and are supporting our efforts. We have an amazing bank partner who is helping us to put together a program to take care of our customers. We have assembled a team to communicate and process customer inquiries. We will make an announcement about the program very soon and look forward to making things right as they should be. We ask that you please be patient with us as we progress.

Jim Harding, Love Or Roof Owner

Meanwhile, as they ask for patience, their customers are left to deal with the consequences. KOLR10 heard from one woman named Rachel Goodhue, who says she paid $19,000 to Love Our Roof. That money never went to the crew that did her repairs.

Those workers actually came to her door demanding money, damaging her doorbell camera in the process.

Both Goodhue and Mills say they and others have filed complaints with the Missouri Attorney General. The AG’s office urges residents to contact them if you feel you’ve been scammed.