grant anger

tk

:eek: saw martin on tv last week telling people to claim grants etc. thought i would share whats happened to us :mad:

We were told we were eligible for a home improvement grant to repair our roof. The grant is worth 4 thousand. great huh? NO!

The roofers supported by the company that arranage and sort out the grant have quoted between 5.5 and 8 thousand to do the job.
Our roof slates are in good condition but the nails holding them are fatigued, hence reason for re roof.
We are not going to be allowed to have the slates put back and are being told our only option is to use some cheap tile alternative which we have been told by a roofer is ok for remedial work only :eek: and is only 10-15 years life not exactly filling me full of confidence.:eek:

And to add insult to injury a roofer we have used in the past has told us he could do the job for within the limit iof the grant,using our original slates,:T but we are not allowed to use him and instead are facing a bill of between 1500 and 3000 :eek: depending on which roofer gets the job, if in fact we decide to go ahead and considering what the roofer told us about the quality of the tiles in question ,. we may just not bother! :mad:

i feel sorry for anyone in a similar situation. especially if they cant raise the difference needed when someone could have done the job for a more reasonable amount!

Oh and incidentally the boss of the company that arranges the grants etc told me i should be greatful to be eligible for a grant, he needs a new roof and as he works needs to pay the full amount!!!. :rolleyes: Hes lucky he has a job believe me! and i told him that!:mad:

pinkshoes

Can't you write to the grant people and say that their workers are over-quoting?! Send them a copy of the quote from the guy you know, and ask if you can use him!

If the guy you know can do it within the limit, that still means you're getting a £4000 job done for £1500 using the people they want you to use...

maninthestreet

Roof tiles, even cheap ones, will have a life well in excess of 15 years. However, replacing a slate roof with tiles usually entails strengthening the rafters in the roof, as tiles are much heavier than slate.

PasturesNew

I enquired about a roof grant earlier this year. I was told that I'd have to be on one of a list of benefits -and- have lived in the house for 5 years -and- to continue living in the house for a number of years (either 5 or 10, I can't remember).

I wish grants would spell out the detail of what's available and to who instead of wasting time/effort making you contact them to find out fairly low level information.

tk

pinkshoes wrote: »

Can't you write to the grant people and say that their workers are over-quoting?! Send them a copy of the quote from the guy you know, and ask if you can use him!

If the guy you know can do it within the limit, that still means you're getting a £4000 job done for £1500 using the people they want you to use...

We did send in a written quote from our preferred roofer, but were told he was not approved by them so could not be used. There are many people inc pensioners who are worse off than us, who may part with their savings to get the job done when parting with savings is unnecessary when good honest workmen would do the job within the limit!

tk

maninthestreet wrote: »

Roof tiles, even cheap ones, will have a life well in excess of 15 years. However, replacing a slate roof with tiles usually entails strengthening the rafters in the roof, as tiles are much heavier than slate.

the tiles in question are durachem?

apparently a quick cheap remedial fix?

Mark7799

PasturesNew wrote: »

I enquired about a roof grant earlier this year. I was told that I'd have to be on one of a list of benefits -and- have lived in the house for 5 years -and- to continue living in the house for a number of years (either 5 or 10, I can't remember).

I wish grants would spell out the detail of what's available and to who instead of wasting time/effort making you contact them to find out fairly low level information.

This is quite common with all grant applications for virtually anything (and a bane of my life). I also wish people would emphasise qualifying criteria as much as they shout 'free money'.