BML Contracting Review
BML contracting is a local company who is based in Lancaster, NY. The company does work all over Western New York and Erie County.
I used the company to replace a roof, fascia and soffit on a rental property. I had gotten 2 other quotes on the property. One quote was from Big G Roofing (also in Lancaster, NY) and the other was from Sahlems Roofing & Siding (located in West Seneca, NY). Big G and Sahlems had estimates that came in at the same price. The estimates were for $4200.
I didn’t originally call BML to offer a quote, he happened to be driving by and saw that the roof needed to be replaced. He saw my tenant outside and contacted me to offer an estimate. Great timing and I love the fact that a contractor is out there trying to drum up business. Many contractors can’t find the time to call you back, much less stop by when they know you need some work done.
I am going to make an effort to write reviews that cover certain areas. I will address the following (in no particular order of importance).
- Price: BML came in with a very fair price. In fact, the owner, made it clear he wanted the work and asked where he needed to be in order to win the job. The price was about 10% below where his competition was. I was lucky that I knew someone who knows the owner of the company so a reference was easy for me to find.
- Communication: The communication with BML Contracting was great. The owner, Brian, is easy to get in touch with and calls right back after I leave a message for him. If you have dealt with contractors before, you will understand that this isn’t always the case.
- Schedule: I was lucky to have a relatively small job (2 - 1/2 days). Because of this, BML was able to get me on the schedule within a week.
- Quality of Work: The quality of work was as I expected. This was a roofing job that only had 1 layer of shingles on. Some companies wanted to go right over the top of this layer. BML went ahead and did a tear off of the existing roofing. They made some things right that weren’t done by the original builder (drip edge on the eaves).
- Follow-Up: Brian made sure to check back to be sure that I was happy with the job and even stopped by to see if there were any problems.
- Make Good: With most jobs, things aren’t going to be perfect. In my case, there was a little bit of trim that wasn’t lapped properly and Brian had one of his guys come back to be sure this was corrected.
Overall I had a very good experience with BML Contracting. I would use them again and I have already recommended them to a friend. I was very happy with the communication, price, and quality of work.
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September 27th, 2006 17:37
Did anyone ever do a background check on Bml Contracting inc. The so called owner has no insurance and is an expert at ripping people off!!!!!! Go do a research on GOOGLE search an type in Brian lorenc to see how many people he screwed over!!!!! He is a real piece of work that just wants to take your money!!!!
October 11th, 2006 11:18
This guy is a piece of work alright.
October 31st, 2006 13:31
These guys are a bunch of crooks. They drank beer on the job while replacing our roof and had the nerve to toss a beer can off the roof while they were working! They failed to replace one section of the roof and it looks totally ridiculous from the front of the house. On top of that, they ended up charging us $700 (25%) more than they quoted. They wanted $1000 but somehow were talked down to $700.
Here’s the worst part: they overcharged our credit card by another $1000, in addition to the $700. Brian admitted up front that he overcharged us “by mistake,” but here we are 30 days after the fact and no effort has been made to pay us back. I am calling the police this week to file a criminal charge to get my money back. Brian clearly used our money to cover his expenses unrelated to our job.
I highly regret not having checked these guys out before we hired them!!!!
November 3rd, 2006 15:13
To any one planning on doing business with bml contracting. Please do your homework and check this guy out. He is an out and out crook. I own a hunting reserve in Pa. He hunted there an harvested an elk, Trophy to boot. When it came time to pay he tried to give me a credit card that didn’t work. He said he only had $400 on him an that as soon as he got home he would forward me a check for the rest. It has been almost 4 weeks and dozens of phone calls and he still has’nt paid me. I filed charges on him but being that he is in NY. and I in Pa. it has been going very slow. The magistrate has ruled in my favor but now I have to take the next step and go thru an attorney to chase him down. Anybody else that has had a bad experience please make a comment. This guy needs put out of business. He still owes me almost $2300.
November 28th, 2006 18:04
DO NOT HIRE BML CONTRACTING!!!!!! What a mistake we made! He screwed us over just like the other comments listed here. Never finished the work and when WE called him on it (weeks later), he insisted he was “on his way over.” Never to be seen. At this point, we’d rather pay someone else to finish the job and keep this jerk away from our house! WHAT A MISTAKE!!!! Please DO NOT use them…….you’ll be robbed!!!!
January 30th, 2007 18:59
PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM BML!!! They have screwed numerous people. Joe posted on 9/27 and said GOOGLE the name…do it!! He is a jerk and a crook…literally!!! I know first hand that this guy is the same guy who comes up on as the first item on the google search of “brian lorenc” (use the quote symbols).
Protect yourself by finding a reputable contractor which BML is not!!
February 23rd, 2007 14:51
From my personal roofing experience witn BML I can sympathize and fully agree with all the negative comments posted here. If you ever see Brian or his brother Mark Lorenc, run the other way as fast as you can. They will rip you off with a smile. (Last I knew in 2005 Mark had seperated from Brian and was doing business as Eclipse roofing.)
BML used substandard materials, improper instllation techniques, damaged property, left a mess, increased final price 14% over quote, will not return calls or fix problems, roof needs to be torn-off and re-installed properly.
Pathetic is what they are, and that is still being kind !!!
April 19th, 2007 12:10
Brian from BML came to our home to give us an estimate for having our roof replaced. At this time he wrote a figure of $8500 for a tear off replacement. He was going to leave the contract for me to look over while making my decision. He said they guarentee their work. Oce he left I noticed that he didn’t leave the contract as he said he would. We thought that it was just a misunderstanding and hired the company to do the work thinking we would get the contract when the work begun. Upon returning home on my lunch hour one day, he was there with his men and my roof was completely ripped off. He again didn’t have the contract. He then informed me that there were two roofs up there and that the cost had gone up. At this point I felt there was nothing I could do but agree as my roof was on the ground. The work was finished in a day and he called me to tell me he would be by to get payment. I told him that he would get payment when I recieve the proper paperwork such as the contract and an invoice. A few weeks went by and he came to the house when I wasn’t there and told my husband that I had a worked everything out and was in posession of the paperwork, which was a lie. He got paid. We have called and called for weeks, but to no avail and really need our documentation. As it stands right now, we have spent $10,000 and have no proof that any work was done or is guarenteed.
August 17th, 2007 07:56
http://www.buffalonews.com/258/story/142370.html?imw=Y
August 19th, 2007 17:51
I know both these guys. Brian is the devil. I agree with all of you about brian. But his brother mark is the total opposite. He is the most honest person around. So if you never met him do not judge him.
August 29th, 2007 13:25
This thread just keeps getting worse and worse.
From: http://www.tonawanda-news.com/local/local_story_240144940.html
• CHARGED: Brian M. Lorenc, 39, 5528 William St., Lancaster, was charged on a warrant at 10:34 a.m. Monday for an original offense of issuing a bad check on July 30. Lorenc is being held in lieu of $500 bail.
October 14th, 2007 19:03
He has 4 thousand dollars of our money he asked for as a deposit.He has never done a dam thing to earn any of it and has yet to give it back.I’m so mad right now they just might find his body floating in lake erie.
We called him everyday and he had a new excuse.He said his house burned down even lol!Now I have his address I think I’m going to pay him a visit and see that burned house.
I’ll make sure to throw beer cans all over his lawn and see how he likes it.
October 14th, 2007 20:39
Brenda,
His house really did burn down. In fact, the cause is under investigation. Go figure. Sorry to hear about your trouble. You are not alone. I hope that people continue to contribute to this thread. It will help others who are researching using BML for a job.
December 5th, 2007 14:16
Have any of the people who have been ripped off taken BML and Brian to court? If so have you had any success? I have a problem with him and I am considering going to court.
January 21st, 2008 15:30
I agree with all the above posters. No matter what kind of price Brian comes in with do not let him do the job. He is known for his quick artist scams and will try to get anybody. The best advice is to not give him a penny until the job is done. His latest MO is not having enough money to pay his supplier so he borrows money from job to job and unless he has another job after yours he will not have the money for the supplies. I even had his supplier call my house looking for money for the shingles. When I told his supplier I wasn’t going to pay him a cent he told me that it would be a lot faster if I paid him instead of waiting for Brian. I had a problem with my roof and I am SERIOUSLY considering filing a claim against Brian but it seems he owes so many people money, I do not know if anything will come out of it.
May 8th, 2008 12:04
Okay the scammer struck again! This time he’s not getting away with it. He pulled the old give a verbal estimate and go ahead and start the job without permission routine! Sound familiar?
I received a verbal estimate and was awaiting a written estimate (which never came) and BML Contracting just showed up and roofed my house without verbal, written or otherwise an agreement. My wife came home for lunch and there they were. She completely freaked! The roof was 90% completed already.
Between the estimate and the day these guys roofed my house I was already researching the name BML and Brian Lorenc. I had already read this thread amongst a few other shady looking things. At this point I was already very skeptical about this guy even giving us an estimate!
We had already discussed the fact and told Brian that we were just looking for an estimate and that we were waiting so we could pay for the whole thing at once.
Anyway BML re-roofed my house and I haven’t paid the con artist a dime yet. He may just have to take me to court where I don’t think he has a leg to stand on.
If anybody would like to contact me I have set up an email account so you can. Perhaps you would like to join me in the courtroom as a character witness when Big Brian tries to get money from me.
getbml13@yahoo.com
Also his house burning down is sooooo very true. It was ruled as arson. Hmmmmmm, read into that what you want but if I’m not mistaken most arson are people burning their own property for insurance fraud! Could have been an angry customer.
May 20th, 2008 09:51
Brian Lorenc served time in jail (only weekends though) for insurance fraud. He swindled people out of their life insurance policies or had them cash them out to buy new policies…which he never ‘rolled them over into’ and took their money.
His house burned down…unwittingly roofed is right….he has a history of insurance fraud so him burning down his own house would be right up there with his ethics.
He also stole his own brother’s identity to make some big ticket purchases….
DO NOT FALL VICTIM TO THIS GUY.
August 25th, 2008 10:24
After reading the posts here i was pretty concerned. I raised the issues with him before signing the contract, and made it very clear that I was not committing to having the work done until I signed the deal. Brian fully admitted he had some unhappy customers in the past but vowed to do this right. I held him to his word, and stayed on top of his workers.
He was not interested in a down payment, and would only require payment when I was satisfied with the work.
They were in and done with a full tear and replace in one day. It was a very windy day and his guys walked the neighborhood to pick up any garbage that had blown away. I was very happy with his price, and his service.