Roofer overcharge ?

geoffwba

Following recent storm and high winds, I've had a dislodged clay/concrete roof tile put back in place by a local roofing company.  They charged me a whopping £375 to do the work but all they had to do was climb up a ladder (there were two men) and do the necessary. It took less than 10 minutes.  The business is a limited company with a sole director and I have checked their Companies House credentials and that they are registered for VAT.  On the director's initial visit when he visually looked at the problem from below, I did verbally accept the quote but only because I wanted the job done quickly to avoid water ingress.  After complaining about the cost after the work was done, he tried to justify it by saying that the quote includes VAT and other business overheads.  Despite me chasing twice for a detailed breakdown of the cost, nothing is forthcoming and all I have is an initial written invoice quoting £375 but I have no idea of the amount of VAT levied.. After my initial acceptance of the quote I was asked to pay £100 up front for materials , which I thought wasn't right.    I think I have been vastly overcharged so where do I stand with regards to possible further action and maybe submitting a "poor" review ?  It is interesting that there are 25 Google reviews on this business and amazingly all but one are 5 star.  I paid the cost by bank transfer as they would not accept payment by credit card.

DullGreyGuy

So you asked for a quote, they said £375, you accepted the quote, they billed you £375 and now you want to dispute it?

Your time to dispute it was when it was a quote. If you dont know the going rate you get more than one quote. There is no legal requirement for companies to justify their prices, you have free choice and can go elsewhere if you dont like the price 

MattMattMattUK

geoffwba said:

Following recent storm and high winds, I've had a dislodged clay/concrete roof tile put back in place by a local roofing company.  They charged me a whopping £375 to do the work but all they had to do was climb up a ladder (there were two men) and do the necessary. It took less than 10 minutes.  The business is a limited company with a sole director and I have checked their Companies House credentials and that they are registered for VAT.  On the director's initial visit when he visually looked at the problem from below, I did verbally accept the quote but only because I wanted the job done quickly to avoid water ingress.  After complaining about the cost after the work was done, he tried to justify it by saying that the quote includes VAT and other business overheads.  Despite me chasing twice for a detailed breakdown of the cost, nothing is forthcoming and all I have is an initial written invoice quoting £375 but I have no idea of the amount of VAT levied.. After my initial acceptance of the quote I was asked to pay £100 up front for materials , which I thought wasn't right.    I think I have been vastly overcharged so where do I stand with regards to possible further action and maybe submitting a "poor" review ?  It is interesting that there are 25 Google reviews on this business and amazingly all but one are 5 star.  I paid the cost by bank transfer as they would not accept payment by credit card.

You cannot take "possible further action", because as DGG points out they quoted and you agreed to the work, in effect you have buyer's remorse, but that is your issue not theirs. With regard to a review you can leave a fair and accurate review, which means you would need to state that they charged you exactly what they quoted you. 

mebu60

If it helps, my local roofer charges a minimum of £250 for going on a roof, however simple the task, due to the risk factor and loss of income should he have an accident. 

As others have said, you were quoted a price, accepted the quote, the agreed work was done and you have paid the amount originally quoted. The opportunity to attempt to negotiate was when you received the quote. I would suggest putting it down to experience and moving on. Without leaving any review. 

Aylesbury_Duck

geoffwba said:

Following recent storm and high winds, I've had a dislodged clay/concrete roof tile put back in place by a local roofing company.  They charged me a whopping £375 to do the work but all they had to do was climb up a ladder (there were two men) and do the necessary. It took less than 10 minutes.  The business is a limited company with a sole director and I have checked their Companies House credentials and that they are registered for VAT.  On the director's initial visit when he visually looked at the problem from below, I did verbally accept the quote but only because I wanted the job done quickly to avoid water ingress.  After complaining about the cost after the work was done, he tried to justify it by saying that the quote includes VAT and other business overheads.  Despite me chasing twice for a detailed breakdown of the cost, nothing is forthcoming and all I have is an initial written invoice quoting £375 but I have no idea of the amount of VAT levied.. After my initial acceptance of the quote I was asked to pay £100 up front for materials , which I thought wasn't right.    I think I have been vastly overcharged so where do I stand with regards to possible further action and maybe submitting a "poor" review ?  It is interesting that there are 25 Google reviews on this business and amazingly all but one are 5 star.  I paid the cost by bank transfer as they would not accept payment by credit card.

It's "doing the necessary" that forms much of the cost.  They need to know what to do and how to do it.  That's what you're paying for, not just their time.

What other quotes did you get, and how did they compare?

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

geoffwba said:

 On the director's initial visit when he visually looked at the problem from below, I did verbally accept the quote but only because I wanted the job done quickly to avoid water ingress.  

Sounds like off premises contract?

If so they should provide cancellation rights on paper and gain express consent via a durable medium for the service to start in the cancellation period.

If not then 1 year and 14 days to cancel and no obligation to pay for service received. 

Would very likely require small claims which is more stress so probably one to put down to experience sadly. 

geoffwba

Aylesbury_Duck said:

geoffwba said:

Following recent storm and high winds, I've had a dislodged clay/concrete roof tile put back in place by a local roofing company.  They charged me a whopping £375 to do the work but all they had to do was climb up a ladder (there were two men) and do the necessary. It took less than 10 minutes.  The business is a limited company with a sole director and I have checked their Companies House credentials and that they are registered for VAT.  On the director's initial visit when he visually looked at the problem from below, I did verbally accept the quote but only because I wanted the job done quickly to avoid water ingress.  After complaining about the cost after the work was done, he tried to justify it by saying that the quote includes VAT and other business overheads.  Despite me chasing twice for a detailed breakdown of the cost, nothing is forthcoming and all I have is an initial written invoice quoting £375 but I have no idea of the amount of VAT levied.. After my initial acceptance of the quote I was asked to pay £100 up front for materials , which I thought wasn't right.    I think I have been vastly overcharged so where do I stand with regards to possible further action and maybe submitting a "poor" review ?  It is interesting that there are 25 Google reviews on this business and amazingly all but one are 5 star.  I paid the cost by bank transfer as they would not accept payment by credit card.

It's "doing the necessary" that forms much of the cost.  They need to know what to do and how to do it.  That's what you're paying for, not just their time.

What other quotes did you get, and how did they compare?

I only had this one quote because time was of the essence, there was a hole in the roof where the tile was and I didn't want the situation to deteriorate with rain or snow ingress. Another roofer I contacted wasn't available for four weeks so that ruled him out.

geoffwba

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

geoffwba said:

 On the director's initial visit when he visually looked at the problem from below, I did verbally accept the quote but only because I wanted the job done quickly to avoid water ingress.  

Sounds like off premises contract?

If so they should provide cancellation rights on paper and gain express consent via a durable medium for the service to start in the cancellation period.

If not then 1 year and 14 days to cancel and no obligation to pay for service received. 

Would very likely require small claims which is more stress so probably one to put down to experience sadly. 

The only paperwork I received was an emailed invoice and nothing about cancellation rights.

geoffwba

Aylesbury_Duck said:

geoffwba said:

Following recent storm and high winds, I've had a dislodged clay/concrete roof tile put back in place by a local roofing company.  They charged me a whopping £375 to do the work but all they had to do was climb up a ladder (there were two men) and do the necessary. It took less than 10 minutes.  The business is a limited company with a sole director and I have checked their Companies House credentials and that they are registered for VAT.  On the director's initial visit when he visually looked at the problem from below, I did verbally accept the quote but only because I wanted the job done quickly to avoid water ingress.  After complaining about the cost after the work was done, he tried to justify it by saying that the quote includes VAT and other business overheads.  Despite me chasing twice for a detailed breakdown of the cost, nothing is forthcoming and all I have is an initial written invoice quoting £375 but I have no idea of the amount of VAT levied.. After my initial acceptance of the quote I was asked to pay £100 up front for materials , which I thought wasn't right.    I think I have been vastly overcharged so where do I stand with regards to possible further action and maybe submitting a "poor" review ?  It is interesting that there are 25 Google reviews on this business and amazingly all but one are 5 star.  I paid the cost by bank transfer as they would not accept payment by credit card.

It's "doing the necessary" that forms much of the cost.  They need to know what to do and how to do it.  That's what you're paying for, not just their time.

What other quotes did you get, and how did they compare?

I only had this one quote- see my comments on another post.

geoffwba

mebu60 said:

If it helps, my local roofer charges a minimum of £250 for going on a roof, however simple the task, due to the risk factor and loss of income should he have an accident. 

As others have said, you were quoted a price, accepted the quote, the agreed work was done and you have paid the amount originally quoted. The opportunity to attempt to negotiate was when you received the quote. I would suggest putting it down to experience and moving on. Without leaving any review. 

Does your local roofer charge VAT on top ?

TELLIT01

The roofer couldn't have a totally accurate sense of the amount of work until they got onto the roof.  More than one tile may have been loosened and needed to be rebedded.  The alternative to the original quote would have been to quote lower, check for additional work, come back down and try to negotiate a new price for the additional work.  I would expect the customer reaction then to be one of being ripped off.

I don't think the charge was excessive.  There was the initial visit, then the travel time and work time for 2 men, probably with a minimum charge of 1/2 day, and finally materials.