COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (WOWT) – 6 News is investigating an out-of-state contractor who left a retired couple without a roof they paid for months ago.

Unfortunately, they did their homework after writing a check, but they convey lessons for anyone who gets a sales pitch from a roofer after a storm.

After paying Evolve Construction in August, Marvin and Anna Pratt received a delivery that indicated their new roof would soon be completed.

“It just came out, so great we’re going to finish our roof. They were going to be here the next day to do it because that’s what they said – and nobody showed up,” Marvin Pratt said.

In early August, the couple paid Evolve Construction $7,000 of their insurance claim, and despite mostly good weather since then, their new roof has yet to evolve.

“It’s just that nobody shows up to do the work,” Anna Pratt said.

One reason is that the work requires approval from Council Bluffs inspections and permits, where the chief building official is looking to Evolve Construction.

“I can’t find a license, I can’t find insurance — we didn’t find anything during the search, so we don’t have anything in our system for these people,” said city official Rodney Schultz.

Although “Evolve” with a California address sent me a contractor record from Iowa, Council Bluffs requires more.

“Any larger jurisdiction like ours has some type of licensing and permitting requirements,” Schultz said.

Evolve told 6 News the company will submit the necessary paperwork to meet all the requirements for the roof replacement in Council Bluffs.

The weather is changing, and the Pratts are worried—not only about materials becoming a nuisance on their shared driveway, but also about the roof where everything is supposed to go.

“How long it’s going to be before our roof starts leaking inside, I don’t know,” Marvin Pratt said.

After writing a $7,000 check to Evolve Construction nearly three months ago, the Pratts say by now they were expecting more for their money.

“I’m worried about the roof that it’s going to start leaking because they haven’t done the work and we don’t know where these materials are coming from,” said Anna Pratt.

The Pratt family is 70 years old; they cannot use or move the shingles and roofing accessories themselves.

“I want my money back—all of it,” Anna said.

But the Pratts electronically signed a contract with an Evolve salesperson they say cold-called them, and the company rep tells me there’s a 35 percent cancellation fee. Through the check being written to Evolve Construction, the company representative said the couple’s money is being held in escrow by a third-party adjuster, which the Pratts have been trying to reach.

“Next time, I’ll get references before I do anything, and I won’t sign any contracts until I know,” Marvin said.

A lesson to check before you write a check.

A text from Evolve Construction states that the company fully intends to honor its contractual obligations to its customers. But that license and permit in Council Bluffs is needed first, and the city official told 6 News that Evolve had not reached out to them by closing time Wednesday.

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