Builders quote, what should this cost?

W

whizzbang

Registered User
Messages
115
I just dropped into my folks house to find a few builders re setting tiles on the roof. They popped over from a building site across the road as they spotted the loose tiles and I'd like to know if what they quote is reasonable.

They are re sitting tiles along about 80 feet of tiles on the ridge at the top of the roof.

They are replacing felt along the ridge then cementing back on the old tiles.

They are quoting 65 euro a tile for about 40 tiles. that 2600 for 80 yards of tile, 4 bags of cement and labour...

I'm not sure how long it will take them but that sounds like a lot of money to me!

any ideas?
 
This seems expensive alright. Will their insurance company be meeting the cost and if so would it be best to get advice from them.
 
Unfortunatly no, I don't think the insurance covers it. We have a plan to cancel the cheque and reissue them one for closer to the market rate. They didn't give an invoice or anything so they have non comeback.

bunch of chancers.
 
theyve been stupid and were scammed. simple as that.

no insurance co will pay anything towards this "job" which probably didnt need doing in the first place. even if it did, it would maybe take 2 guys a day at most. what should that cost?.
cancel the cheque and report them to the police asap.
 
just a follow up...

So I gave the guy a ring and said we thought there must be a problem with the quote. He said why and I gave him all the price details above and how we and quoted this at 900 to 1000. He went on about all the work he had done how he had 8 men (apparently van drivers get paid the same as roofers... chauffered roofers, have you ever heard the like?) They had laid felt, reset and repointed the tiles and I then he asked me how much the felt was if I knew all the prices. So it went on like this for a while, demanding to know who had quoted it at these prices etc.

He then went on about how I was dragging down his company name at which point I asked what it was and he said "roofing contractors" and when I asked was that a unique name registered with the CRO he skillfully skipped the question... Interestingly their pamflet has no address, no names just phone number and "Roofing Contractors" on the front. No certification, no nothing. I also asked why the cheque was made out to cash and he said it was to pay the lads (they had actually gotten 500 cash (and pushed for more)).

So I told him we have cancelled the cheque and that we would be happy to pay the fair amount 900 to 1000. He demanded that we get another quote to see what the price would be (honour among thieves I guess). He said he would need to get his solicitor involved to get his pay so I pointed out the following:

They had come unsolicited to a 70 year old couple and told them their roof was dangerous
Started work before giving a quote.
Not being affiliated with any regulatory body.
No address or names on their leaflet.
Had cheque made out to cash
Had no written quote or invoice (only on scrap paper) or tax invoice.
No proof of the work done, all they had was a cheque and cash

So yes, please get your solicitor involved, I'm sure its a easy case.

So the cheque is cancelled, and we have offered to pay the difference up to 900 or 1000 (which is probably still too much)

I am tempted to make the cheque out to "Roofing Contractors" and double stroke it.

Thanks to all involved here, I'll let you know of any other developments. It will be interesting to see if they just cut their losses at 500 or call around with some big heavy builders to scare us. Lets see, the video camera at the front door will be rolling.
 
Here is the work done, any idea what this should have cost?
6 men working 2 hours overtime. No scaffolding, just up on roof with ladder.

[broken link removed]
 
whizzbang said:
Here is the work done, any idea what this should have cost?
6 men working 2 hours overtime. No scaffolding, just up on roof with ladder.

[broken link removed]
Click to expand...

Whizzbang I'm so sorry your parents have been taken in by these guys they are absolute rogues!
I recently watched a programme on ITV about this type of scam that was/is going on in the U.K. where they take advantage of the elderly by telling them their roof needs tiles replacing etc. They end up causing more damage to the roof in the long term!
In your parents case they are lucky they have you looking out for them, many others just pay up none the wiser until their roof starts to leak!
You must inform the police immediately, if nothing else it may save some other poor soul being taken in by these scounderls
 
Gypsy girl said:
Whizzbang I'm so sorry your parents have been taken in by these guys they are absolute rogues!
I recently watched a programme on ITV about this type of scam that was/is going on in the U.K. where they take advantage of the elderly by telling them their roof needs tiles replacing etc. They end up causing more damage to the roof in the long term!
In your parents case they are lucky they have you looking out for them, many others just pay up none the wiser until their roof starts to leak!
You must inform the police immediately, if nothing else it may save some other poor soul being taken in by these scounderls
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'm just wondering if what they did is actually illegal (aside from it obviously being a nixer)? Would the police not just say this is a civil dispute?
 
I'd talk to the police in any case - see what they say.

Personally, I wouldn't offer them anything (apart maybe from a threat of notifiying appropriate tax and H&S authorities). How do you know the work done was worth anything? that it might cause more problems than it fixed?

They're obviously scam artists: no reputable company would work like this (no quote, everything cash, no scaffolding for roof work, almost certainly no insurance).

Like most people reading this, I'd be extremly angry: my parents are a similar age and are similarly vulnerable.
 
ang1170 said:
I'd talk to the police in any case - see what they say.

Personally, I wouldn't offer them anything (apart maybe from a threat of notifiying appropriate tax and H&S authorities). How do you know the work done was worth anything? that it might cause more problems than it fixed?

They're obviously scam artists: no reputable company would work like this (no quote, everything cash, no scaffolding for roof work, almost certainly no insurance).

Like most people reading this, I'd be extremly angry: my parents are a similar age and are similarly vulnerable.
Click to expand...

Yep, tax, garda and H&S will be mentioned in the next encounter.

I'm livid about the whole thing, the folks had seen them working on the other site and had assumed they must be ok. I strongly urge everyone here to have a chat with their older parents about this as it is going to become more and more common as the number of house completions starts to decline and the bad builders can't find work. It is simple to avoid, peopel need to be warned that nothing is that urgent that you can't wait to get a quote from another builder.

Feel free to tell them about this case if it helps!
 
This post may be of interest. It is part of the key post on roofing.

I'm sure the Revenue Commissioners would also be interested in the cash payment. Did your parents obtain the registration number of the van.

Are these people doing some work for the building development across the road and would the legitimate builder be interested in their antics or are they the actual builders?
 
sueellen said:
This post may be of interest. It is part of the key post on roofing.

I'm sure the Revenue Commissioners would also be interested in the cash payment. Did your parents obtain the registration number of the van.

Are these people doing some work for the building development across the road and would the legitimate builder be interested in their antics or are they the actual builders?
Click to expand...

If they show up again the van reg will be taken.

They are roofing contractors from what I can tell, I assume they are subcontracted as part of the larger development that is the neighbours extension. Do you think the foreman would care about our dispute? I imagine he has negotiated his own (better) rates with these guys.
 
I notice you mention that yesterday the cheque would be cancelled and that to-day, Saturday, it is cancelled. How did you arrange this so speedily? Don't forget that if they have possession of the cheque they can take it to the originating branch and cash it first thing Monday morning. I have seen cases of this in the past where people thought they had managed to catch it in time but no such luck.

They should not get anything more than the €500 cash that they have already received.

You need to:

1. Contact the local gardai in case there are other cases in the area and as you want these guys to stay away from your parents and any other dealings should be done thru yourself.

2. Speak to the foreman you mention above and sound him out mentioning that you have contacted the relevant authorities as you feel your parents were taken advantage of. They are, after all, his sub-contractors.

3. Are the neighbours aware of the situation?
 
sueellen said:
I notice you mention that yesterday the cheque would be cancelled and that to-day, Saturday, it is cancelled. How did you arrange this so speedily? Don't forget that if they have possession of the cheque they can take it to the originating branch and cash it first thing Monday morning. I have seen cases of this in the past where people thought they had managed to catch it in time but no such luck.

They should not get anything more than the €500 cash that they have already received.

You need to:

1. Contact the local gardai in case there are other cases in the area and as you want these guys to stay away from your parents and any other dealings should be done thru yourself.

2. Speak to the foreman you mention above and sound him out mentioning that you have contacted the relevant authorities as you feel your parents were taken advantage of. They are, after all, his sub-contractors.

3. Are the neighbours aware of the situation?
Click to expand...

Check was cancelled by calling 24 hour banking and talking to a real person. They said it was all ok so hopefully we are safe from that point of view. I'll have him ring his branch on Monday and double check.

1. Yep, they asked to talk to the parents but I nipped that in the bud. My Dad knows to tell them to talk to me if they get in touch. I'm reluctant to go to the garda just yet as I want them gone, but it is a possibility.

2. Yep, will do, hopfully this will drive them from the area.

3. I'll make sure they are.

Thanks!
 
whizzbang said:
Check was cancelled by calling 24 hour banking and talking to a real person. They said it was all ok so hopefully we are safe from that point of view. I'll have him ring his branch on Monday and double check.
Click to expand...

If the cheque is for a substantial amount I would be ringing them/calling down at 10 a.m., to be sure, to be sure and would keep names of all people spoken to, 24 hour banking and local branch. A friend was mugged some years ago and he called the bank and cancelled his cards. But the bank didn't cancel them and had to reimburse him when the account was attacked.

whizzbang said:
1. Yep, they asked to talk to the parents but I nipped that in the bud. My Dad knows to tell them to talk to me if they get in touch. I'm reluctant to go to the garda just yet as I want them gone, but it is a possibility
Click to expand...

IMHO the Gardai are your best option of getting rid of them and prevent any further intimidation or cases in the area.

A colleague had this happen to his Father who lived alone. He found it a very frightening experience as there were four large guys in his house on two different occasions.

Hope you get it sorted. Best of luck.
 
I thought a check couldn't be made out to cash anymore?

The BBC had a programme with the guy on the motorbike, pretending to be old people and being ripped off by con artist builders/roofers, driveway layers. An amazing percentage of these had Irish accents. Same story as OP, they called in unsolicited to older people and pretended the roof was going to cave in unless they fixed if for thousands and thereby frightened older people into paying them even to the level of bringing them to the bank to get cash.

Don't be afraid to go to the guards, a friendly chat with your local garda and he/she might direct you as to whether they are indeed conartists targetting older people. It would also make the guards aware of these guys and maybe prevent it happening to other people.
 
Thanks for the itnerest, we have not heard anything from them since the phone call. As it turns out my dad went around to the building site and the foreman said he had never heard of them. The next day the foreman called over to check if everything was alright as he thought he had seen a van drive around to my folks house. I think he was also coming to take them on for claiming they had been part of his site. Its good to know that he was keeping an eye out like that.


I think we are going to leave everything as it is and hope they don't show up again. I think it is unlikely at this stage. If I see the van near any of our neighbours houses I'll be sure to give them a heads up.
 
whizzbang said:
Thanks for the itnerest, we have not heard anything from them since the phone call. As it turns out my dad went around to the building site and the foreman said he had never heard of them. The next day the foreman called over to check if everything was alright as he thought he had seen a van drive around to my folks house. I think he was also coming to take them on for claiming they had been part of his site. Its good to know that he was keeping an eye out like that.


I think we are going to leave everything as it is and hope they don't show up again. I think it is unlikely at this stage. If I see the van near any of our neighbours houses I'll be sure to give them a heads up.
Click to expand...

Good to hear that they have gone away. Is the roof ok though? Wouldn't trust them to have left it in proper order.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top