I couldn’t get the tag system to come up with Home & DIY so I gave up - sorry.
What I wanted to post about was workmen who go on ‘My Builder’ & ‘Trusted Trader’ & similar sites.
One has just tried to rip me off.
I advertised on ‘My Builder’ for a roofer to fix 2 tiles on my roof that had blown off during last weeks winds. The first one contacted me within minutes. I’d posted a photo so he could see what the job looked like. He quoted me £480. OMG - just for replacing 2 loose tiles!!
I know nothing about this work but I knew that was too much!
The second one quoted £120. That was more like it so I accepted & he’s coming tomorrow.
I think the first man deserves to be thrown off the site - he gives it a bad name with his rip off quotes.
I’m considering reporting him - if only to save some other poor person who is more gullible than me…
apart from other work my builder is carrying out on the roof they quotes £100 to replace the ridge tiles. So Carol that £120 appears to be about right.We too have proper scaffolding up for the work to be carried out
To comply with the latest safety regulations, he would need some form of scaffolding to establish a safe working platform. The roofer I use on my properties has something called Zipup which he always has on his lorry. He and his co-worker can put it up in less than hour.
My biggest fear is workmen the worry as to whether I can believe them or not .
Like many I’ve been ripped off in the past I’m not even sure I’d believe them even if they are on a trusted website . I find my workmen on the NEXTDOOR local website who are recommended by people who have used them. It might be worth just letting the trusted site about the first quote and maybe he can answer to them . As you say he may try it on someone else who is unaware.
Word of mouth from your local community will usually produce good results. That’s how I found my trusted general builder/roofer when I first moved to my area. Through him also came other specific trades and so far I’ve not been disappointed
A good honest local trader has a lot riding on his/her reputation and it only take one bad job to come back and bite him in his bank account.
There have been a couple of guys cleaning roofs around here, one of them was walking on the roof. needless to say we’re not venturing to have it done, the outfit didn’t look like cowboys either with a logo’s van.
The difference does not automatically mean the first builder is ripping you off. It is even possible the lower quote could be doing that.
Roof work is expensive now, in part due to insurance costs. A few years ago a TV engineer friend told me what his company has to pay to continue doing antenna work & it was eye watering.
When I worked in the building trade we. My partner & I. Were asked to do a guttering job on a three story house. It was beyond the safe reach of ladders & we quoted for the job including scaffolding costs. The homeowner who we knew, was less than complementary about our quote & told us what to do with it. We tried to warn him, that although high. Other quotes would be higher, as we had kept costs down for him. Knowing it was an expensive job.
Two weeks later the same homeowner saw my partner in the pub & asked if we could do the job. We did, but re-quoted without the “mates rate.” Due to his unpleasantness over the original quote.
To me, £120 sounds like it could potentially be someone not paying insurance costs & tax. It is the basic cost of one person turning up in a van with ladders & simply pushing a couple of tiles into place & potentially then conveniently “discovering” that your roof needs more work.
Problem is @carol that the traders on those sites pay to be listed, and very little checking is done either on their business practices or the quality of their work, so the “trust” part in the title is not worth the paper it’s written on!
Regarding the tags, there is no need to go searching for a particular tag, just start typing in the tag box what you want to say and when it appears underneath in yellow then click on it and that’s it, job done!
This is a big problem with so many so called ‘less expensive’ works from inexperienced so called tradesmen. Far too many people are seeking something for nothing or the next best thing to nothing. A correctly rigged out and experienced tradesman will have invested large sums in his working tools and vehicle(s), not forgetting the years he served learning and honing his trade. A low cost job all too often turns out to be the most expensive because it will usually end up being done properly by a fully insured tradesman who knows the correct and safe way to do it.
Oh yes, definitely yes! My trusted trader Kevin has completed a lot of work for me in the past 7 or so years, but although he will attend swiftly for a very urgent call, it will be only to ensure the job is safe and or watertight. The full monty will have to wait it’s turn and my tenants know this.
Sorry, but that’s no excuse at all, Bruce.
We would think much more of them if they were just honest, and said they have too much work on. And if they don’t want the job in the first place, then don’t quote for it in the first place!
Why can’t these men see that quoting silly prices instead just gives them a bad name and customers won’t ever return, nor recommend them either.
Again I agree with that, Carol.
One of these ‘trades people’ on a recommended site here, turned out to be a gipsy!
Thank God I didn’t let him and his mates round.
One worker has his own scaffolding tower or might be happy not to bother with one. The other has to hire one for a few hunderd pound’s, so he asked for more.
Exactly this. Do a good job and the customer will tell their family and friends, do a bad one, and the whole street gets to know. I have always prided myself on doing a good job at a reasonable price.
We have had a roof tile damaged and largely blown off in the recent winds. It isn’t leaking yet, so not desperately urgent.
We asked a roofer who we have used before to give us a quote. He is the brother-in-law of the man who did a very good job of replacing our (14) front steps and other work along the front garden.
He promised to come one day, but didn’t turn up. The following day he apologised as he is very busy and said he’d come the next day. He didn’t turn up again and this time didn’t even apologise or offer to come again, so we have decided not to bother with him and told him so.
Fortunately, we have a very good local group on Facebook who have been recommending roofers recently, so we’ll have a look through what they’ve said. Preferably from people who we know of, to avoid scams!
