Wrong Shingles on the Pallet: Compare Return Rules

A pallet of shingles that arrives in the wrong color, the wrong product line, or the wrong bundle count is a small problem on the day it lands and a larger one a week later. The crew cannot install it, the truck is waiting, and the homeowner is standing in the driveway trying to work out who decides what happens next. Before you choose between roofers, find out what each one does with wrong material, because the answer shows how they handle a mistake that is not yours and, in most cases, not the crew's either.

Roofer comparison

Most roof bids name the shingle and leave out what happens when the pallet on the truck does not match it. Ask each roofer the same question in the same words. If the bundles delivered are not the product line, color and bundle count written in the contract, who calls the supplier, who pays the return freight, and how many days the replacement takes? A roofer who answers in one clear sentence and names a person has usually handled this before. A roofer who says the crew will take care of it, with no name and no day attached, has not written the answer anywhere you can check.

Keys installs Atlas and Malarkey shingles only. A homeowner comparing Keys with another bid should ask the same return question of whichever product that other roofer installs, and should keep the question about process rather than brand. The point of the comparison is how each company handles a mistake, not which shingle line you prefer.

Pay attention to the order of the answers. A roofer who starts by describing the shingle warranty and only later describes the delivery check is showing you where the attention goes. A roofer who starts with the pallet inspection, the signed slip and the call to the supplier is describing a workflow. Write both answers down in the same format so the two sheets line up side by side.

What it costs

A return is not free, and most bids do not list it as a separate line. Freight back to the supplier costs money. Some suppliers apply a restocking charge to opened or partly used packs. The crew sits idle while the replacement is on order, and under most arrangements a crew that waits on a truck still has to be paid. Ask each roofer whether those costs are inside the bid, billed to you as a change order, or carried by the company. A bid that says shingles included tells you what the shingles cost and nothing about who pays for a wrong one.

Ask also whether the replacement shipment carries its own delivery fee. Some quotes add a charge for each drop, which means a second delivery costs a second fee. Put that number next to each bid total so you are comparing the same things. If one roofer carries the return cost and another passes it through to you, the two totals are not measuring the same job.

Timing has a cost too. In a St. Louis summer, a replacement shipment that slips a week can push the install into the hot stretch of July or August, when the work is harder and the crew has less room for delay. In late fall, a slipped delivery can run into shorter daylight and the first hard freezes. Ask each roofer how a delayed replacement changes the install window, and whether the new date is written into the contract or only mentioned on a phone call.

What to ask

Ask these questions of each roofer, in the same order, and write down the answers as they are given.

• Which product line, color and bundle count are written in the contract, and do they match the delivery slip?
• Who inspects the pallet before the crew unloads, and who signs the slip?
• If the product is wrong, who calls the supplier and who pays the return freight?
• Is there a restocking charge, and is it inside the bid or added later?
• How many days does a replacement take, and what happens to the install date when it does?
• Where does the pallet wait while the replacement is ordered, and who covers it overnight?
• Will you get the answer in an email or text you can save?

Check the pallet before the crew unloads

A return costs the least when it is caught at the curb. Before the crew cuts the banding, look at the wrapper, the product name, the color code and the bundle count against the delivery slip. Confirm that the number of bundles matches the squares in the contract. If something is off, note it on the slip before anyone signs, because a signature on a clean-looking slip is later read as acceptance. Take a photo of the labels and the slip together, and keep the photo with its date.

A pallet that waits in the driveway for days is a separate question. Banding, wrappers and bundle edges take weather, and a pallet left through a St. Louis freeze and thaw week should be checked again before anything goes on the roof. Ask each roofer where the pallet will wait, who covers it overnight, and who inspects it again before the first bundle goes up.

When the answer stays vague

If a roofer's answer stays vague after you ask it twice, put the question in writing and ask for a written reply. A written reply can be checked later, and a phone answer cannot. Keep the dated copy with your bid papers. If you want to talk it through before you decide, the Keys office can be reached at (314) 220-2333, and the same return question can be asked there in the same wording you used with the other roofers.

Do not read a vague answer as a yes. A roofer who will take responsibility for a wrong pallet usually says so in the same sentence that names the supplier and the day. When those details are missing, that absence is information, and it belongs on your comparison sheet beside the price.

Put the return rule in the contract

Whatever answer you get, it only binds you if it is in the signed document. Ask the roofer to add the return rule to the scope or the contract as a numbered line, with the product name, color and bundle count written out. If the roofer says the rule is standard and will not write it down, treat that refusal as an answer. A verbal promise that the crew will handle returns is hard to enforce once the truck is already at the curb.

Keep the signed copy where you can find it on delivery day. The product line written on the contract is the reference that the crew, the supplier and you will all use if something does not match when the pallet comes off the truck.