So he just put the phone down on me .... How not to get a sale

A_Nice_Englishman

How does the following quote sound?

£1250 to cover (not replace) about 40m of fascias and soffits with uPVC and clean guttering

easy

A_Nice_Englishman wrote: »

How does the following quote sound?

£1250 to cover (not replace) about 40m of fascias and soffits with uPVC and clean guttering

Sounds like a lot to me, with my new-found expertise on the subject.:rotfl:

Why do you want to cover the existing soffits/fascias? I'm given to understand you are just setting up for trouble by doing that.

A_Nice_Englishman

I don't want to do anything just at the moment, but next door have just paid that. I was quoted the same (identical house) although the same bloke quoted me £1000 last week (obviously has a poor memory!).

A conversation with a colleague who is responsible for building maintenance where I work and is renovating a house as a sideline suggested £200 or so for materials and a day's labour (maybe 2) at £100 a day would be nearer the mark

McKneff

dont even think about having it covered over. Have it replaced properly.
The wood is slowly rotting underneath and will do for many years.
I live in a semi and the one attached to us had both done fascias, soffits
and gutters replaced for £2k between us. covering it over at that price is still a rip off.

Fire_Fox

jenner wrote: »

i never forget when i was looking for double glazing quotes, some bloke from a company that put a leaflet through the door came round (at my invitation) real old school sales bloke, sat down on my sofa with his briefcase etc. i said to him i dont want any sales talk, i just want a quote, i dont want to sit here listening to information i just want the prices. he said he could do that if i was to sign on the dotted line today. i said no, i want a quote so i can compare it with other companies and talk to others about the quote.
he said, well if you're going to be like that, im wasting my time, i might as well bugg** off now then, i said, yes, you should and ordered him out of my flat.
as he was leaving he made ridiculous comments like 'oh i thought you were a mature woman, not a little girl that you have to check the prices with your family and friends'

i did not buy double glazing from them suffice to say

:eek:

Reminds me of being maybe 24, newly married with my first home: a turn-of-the-century cottage. Note that I looked a lot younger than 24 (still being mistaken for an underage drinker!) and note that my mum happened to be visiting at the time of the incident.

We needed all new windows to the rear of the property, I wanted in-keeping wood and ex-husband wanted cheaper uPVC. I booked a full day of appointments with national companies and local craftsmen to find the right company. So sits I, tiny little blonde thing, and across the dining table a series of salesmen in suits with the obligatory briefcase.

One chap spent half an hour explaining to me why their ISO9000 certification meant a quality product - not knowing I'd been part of the team who achieved the same for my previous employer. I know full well it denotes homogeneity, for better or for worse!! Another tried to convince Mum rather than me then asked if I needed to consult my husband on the quote - I demurely agreed - the minute he left Mum took one look at me and we both fell about laughing. :rotfl:

I made the decision on the windows, as I did with the rest of the renovation, and I employed honest local craftsmen!!

A_Nice_Englishman

anniehanlon wrote: »

dont even think about having it covered over. Have it replaced properly.
The wood is slowly rotting underneath and will do for many years.
I live in a semi and the one attached to us had both done fascias, soffits
and gutters replaced for £2k between us. covering it over at that price is still a rip off.

Thanks for that anniehanlon. It seems that £1250 would be the right sort of price for doing the job properly AND replacing the gutters. The gutters are fine, by the way, our houses are only 8 years old.

My neighbours who had the work done are in their 80's and probably aren't too worried what is happening underneath the cladding - they will probably be long gone before the rot becomes apparent. But that's not the point. They have apparently been ripped off and if nothing is done the contractors will work their way down the street doing the same to all my neighbours.

I've had a meeting with Trading Standards and they are investigating.

markie1980

To be honest, i don't think it's enough of a rip off for trading standards to do anything.

If it was a proper job, it probably would of cost closer to £2000, but if the customer is happy with overboarding and want to pay a reduced rate then apart from being a bit too expensive, the company hasn't really done anything wrong.

A_Nice_Englishman

There were a couple of other issues - like the company name and the address and phone number on the quote and business card didn't check out. They may be perfectly legitimate, of course, but I feel I've 'done my bit' by alerting TS and if this stops anyone having a bad experience I'll be happy.

xer

I've seen a local Hull company doing work around our area for many years which I believe is a good sign - just had them round to quote on replacing all fascias and soffits (remove old items), new gutters and fall pipes... £900. I don't think this is unreasonable - maybe there are cheaper jobs out there but I believe this is the right price for this job. What you think people ???