A woman claims she caught roofers putting a roof on her house without even asking for one. Then, she says, they demanded they be compensated for their work.
The saga began with a video from TikTok user Manda (@catnipstb). In it, she shows herself in front of a window as workers were already tearing up her roof.
“When do you tell the people that this is not the house that ordered a roof?” she asks in the video, staring confusedly at the camera.
Commenters were quick to answer her question, with some sharing personal stories.
“Just pretend like you’re not home and let them finish,” said a user. “Get yo self a free roof!”
“This happened to my friend! it was the best! they ripped of their siding! they let her choose whatever siding she wanted free of charge,” added another. “I want it to happen to me so badly haha.”
“Legally you have to tell them as soon as you find out about the mistake,” alleged a third. “Otherwise you will be liable to pay for all the work as you could have prevented it.”
@catnipstb #roofing #roof #rooftop #fypシ゚viral #foryoupage ♬ original sound – manda
A lawyer reacts to a similar situation
Many commenters had questions about legal and financial responsibility in a situation like this.
Thankfully, a lawyer on TikTok named Ugo Lord (@ugolord) previously covered a similar case in which a roofer did a repair on a person’s home without their knowledge, then demanded payment.
“If you are aware that a company is mistakenly doing repairs on your home that you did not authorize, you have a legal obligation to tell that company to stop,” Lord states. “If not, you could be held liable for paying the repair costs, even if you did not order the repairs.”
In the video to which Lord is responding, the person who received the repair appears was unaware that such a fix even happened, meaning he was likely not home at the time. As a result, Lord says that, in his legal opinion, the homeowner would likely not be liable to pay for the repair.
“Not only that, ladies and gentlemen, but now that he knows that this was a mistake, he actually cannot go back on the roof and remove the repair, because there’s no way to return the roof to its original condition,” he explains. “Because the repair is now fixed with the home, it means that this homeowner does not have to pay up and the contractor cannot remove the repairs.”
@ugolord Roof repair man repairs the wrong roof but then demands payment from the homeowner! Does the homeowner actually have to pay up? Attorney #UgoLord reacts! (Recommended by @ChefKev623!) #lawyer #lawyersoftiktok #longervideos #stitch with @👑 RING 2 👑 ♬ original sound – ⚖️ The TikTok Attorney ⚖️
Manda reveals what she did
In two follow-up videos, Manda says she allowed the roofing to continue and was offered a half-price discount for the services, which she says she took.
Commenters aren’t sure she made the right move.
“As long as you told them as soon as you noticed they are liable for ‘returning it to original condition’ since that’s impossible they owe you a free fix. If you waited until they are done it’s diff,” reiterated a commenter.
“No, you get a free new roof or you get a lawyer,” added another.
“Half priced??? No no no, that was zero percent your fault,” a third claimed.
A second follow-up video shows the roofers working on the house that they were originally supposed to.
Manda defends her decision
In response to comments like these, Manda explained why she decided to pay for the roof. In short, upon learning the mistake, she seized the opportunity to get a new roof at a lower price than she would have been able to otherwise.
“We were looking for the light at the end of the tunnel,” she wrote. “How many people can get a brand new midgrade roof and garage roof with a 50 year warranty for $10k? i’ll wait lol.”
“Those workers need to pay bills too. they worked on the roof so they deserve to have their check too,” she added in another comment.
The Daily Dot reached out to Manda via Instagram direct message.
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