Extortionate roof, old dad overcharged

Tom99

Keep_pedalling wrote: »

If that is the company, they are VAT registered so there is no way I would be paying in cash, and I would want a VAT receipt.

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]In which case they may say ok so here is you invoice for £10,000 + VAT.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Was this quote for £10,000 your farther signed on headed notepaper with the VAT number on? If so you have a much stronger case to follow the above line and insist on paying via a proper invoice.[/FONT]

Helpmyoldpapa

Yes it is on headed paper and I can see the vat number

neilmcl

How big is the roof, were your quotes for exactly the same work and materials or were they simply off the top of their head estimates? £10K isn't out of the ordinary for a full new roof in slate inclusive of new felt, battens, soffits and facia.

Helpmyoldpapa

I've had 5 quotes now, all below 5k for our roof. Up and over 5.4m x 5.5m x 2

comeandgo

They are members of Confederation of Roofing Contractors. They may be able to assist.

BorisThomson

comeandgo wrote: »

They are members of Confederation of Roofing Contractors. They may be able to assist.

They've not actually done anything wrong though. Being (very) poor value is not unlawful.

Fosterdog

Helpmyoldpapa wrote: »

I've had 5 quotes now, all below 5k for our roof. Up and over 5.4m x 5.5m x 2

Would any of the other firms have six people turn up and get the work completed in just one day? I very much doubt it, maybe they charge a premium for being so efficient.

comeandgo

I would say asking for £10,000 in cash is very wrong, and I think if dad went to the bank to withdraw this money they would be questioning where the cash was going.
Maybe if the OP was to ask the Roofing Fed what they would quote the job at then he may be happier and see his dad was or was not ripped off.

unholyangel

Tom99 wrote: »

[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]In which case they may say ok so here is you invoice for £10,000 + VAT.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, sans-serif]Was this quote for £10,000 your farther signed on headed notepaper with the VAT number on? If so you have a much stronger case to follow the above line and insist on paying via a proper invoice.[/FONT]

They can ask all they want - but there'd be no entitlement for them to charge it. They're supposed to quote consumers total price, inclusive of any taxes.

OP, whats the timeline? When was he given the quote, when did he agree to it and how (I'm assuming from his own home in person but checking to be sure), when did they begin the work.

Theres certain requirements they need to abide by - such as giving your father the information in a durable medium before he's bound by it and that they must not begin the work before the cancellation period ends (usually 14 days - providing they gave you all the necessary info) unless your father has made a request in writing.


I'd echo what others said though (BT in particular) that bad value isn't grounds to challenge a contract unfortunately. So perhaps don't get your hopes up that it can be challenged.

Also, have you checked the work of the companies quoting £5k? Is it possible they're substandard? Also, is the guarantee offered by the roof company insurance backed/underwritten? If not, its only good as long as the company are around.

neilmcl

Fosterdog wrote: »

Would any of the other firms have six people turn up and get the work completed in just one day? I very much doubt it, maybe they charge a premium for being so efficient.

TBH, I've finding this difficult to believe. You're normally looking at 1-2 weeks for a complete new roof, even if you had 6 guys you still would probably have 2 on the roof at any given time. I can't believe that they had scaffold erected, a complete new roof, soffits, facias and a flat roof done in a single day.

Are we sure this wasn't an episode of DIY SOS