Do they still think they will get customers by telling them the price is only available today?

JohnSwift10

People were wandering around the estate where I live pedalling roof cleaning and painting so I asked the bloke roughly how much it would cost as my roof could do with a clean to remove moss.

Of course he couldn't tell me because a surveyor  had to come to my house and conduct a survey with my wife and I present so I said OK send a surveyor.

The surveyor turned up the next day and ask where my wife was and I told him our daughter had an emergency and needed her to babysit.

Which was true but she could have babysat at either place but chose the other place.

He wasn't very pleased because he said that we were both supposed to be there.

He then wandered about outside surveying and taking pictures of the roof and asked to see the attic.

He surveyed up there and took pictures.

Then he told me he noticed a few cracked and loose tiles  etc and what they would do to the roof.

Then he calculated how much it would cost and he would give me two prices, one if I booked the roof treatment then and paid a deposit which had to be paid today or another price valid for a year which was £1500 more..

Then when I said I did not have that amount of money available and he said I could get a loan or use a credit card.

He went on about how my roof was leaking and it would only get worse and how he wouldn't get paid for the visit unless I signed up and other guilt tripping stuff to get me to hand over £495 deposit.

And also how it had been specified that my wife should have been there.

I told him I only wanted a price to see if I could afford it.

He eventually left but was not very happy.

At least he didn't phone his manager to get the price reduced.

Pollycat

JohnSwift10 said:

People were wandering around the estate where I live pedalling roof cleaning and painting so I asked the bloke roughly how much it would cost as my roof could do with a clean to remove moss.

Of course he couldn't tell me because a surveyor  had to come to my house and conduct a survey with my wife and I present so I said OK send a surveyor.

The surveyor turned up the next day and ask where my wife was and I told him our daughter had an emergency and needed her to babysit.

Which was true but she could have babysat at either place but chose the other place.

He wasn't very pleased because he said that we were both supposed to be there.

He then wandered about outside surveying and taking pictures of the roof and asked to see the attic.

He surveyed up there and took pictures.

Then he told me he noticed a few cracked and loose tiles  etc and what they would do to the roof.

Then he calculated how much it would cost and he would give me two prices, one if I booked the roof treatment then and paid a deposit which had to be paid today or another price valid for a year which was £1500 more..

Then when I said I did not have that amount of money available and he said I could get a loan or use a credit card.

He went on about how my roof was leaking and it would only get worse and how he wouldn't get paid for the visit unless I signed up and other guilt tripping stuff to get me to hand over £495 deposit.

And also how it had been specified that my wife should have been there.

I told him I only wanted a price to see if I could afford it.

He eventually left but was not very happy.

At least he didn't phone his manager to get the price reduced.

I don't know if 'they' will still think that. 

I'm just surprised that you bothered with getting a quote from a cold call company 'pedalling' business.
My immediate answer to anyone like this is 'if I want something doing I'll decide who I want to give a quote'.

Emmia

Pollycat said:

JohnSwift10 said:

People were wandering around the estate where I live pedalling roof cleaning and painting so I asked the bloke roughly how much it would cost as my roof could do with a clean to remove moss.

Of course he couldn't tell me because a surveyor  had to come to my house and conduct a survey with my wife and I present so I said OK send a surveyor.

The surveyor turned up the next day and ask where my wife was and I told him our daughter had an emergency and needed her to babysit.

Which was true but she could have babysat at either place but chose the other place.

He wasn't very pleased because he said that we were both supposed to be there.

He then wandered about outside surveying and taking pictures of the roof and asked to see the attic.

He surveyed up there and took pictures.

Then he told me he noticed a few cracked and loose tiles  etc and what they would do to the roof.

Then he calculated how much it would cost and he would give me two prices, one if I booked the roof treatment then and paid a deposit which had to be paid today or another price valid for a year which was £1500 more..

Then when I said I did not have that amount of money available and he said I could get a loan or use a credit card.

He went on about how my roof was leaking and it would only get worse and how he wouldn't get paid for the visit unless I signed up and other guilt tripping stuff to get me to hand over £495 deposit.

And also how it had been specified that my wife should have been there.

I told him I only wanted a price to see if I could afford it.

He eventually left but was not very happy.

At least he didn't phone his manager to get the price reduced.

I don't know if 'they' will still think that. 

I'm just surprised that you bothered with getting a quote from a cold call company 'pedalling' business.
My immediate answer to anyone like this is 'if I want something doing I'll decide who I want to give a quote'.

I have to agree. Anyone cold calling selling these types of service on the doorstep is probably overpriced or scamming... And probably both.

YBR

Having a spouse there is to diffuse the easiest get-out that you will have to consult them before doing anything.

QrizB

Clearly "they" do still think it, but those sorts of offers are illegal.

It's number seven on the list of banned commercial practices under the DMCC:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unfair-commercial-practices-cma207/unfair-commercial-practices

prowla

I remember years ago some salesman tried it on with the "today only price".

I said I wasn't going to sign today and I didn't believe that they wouldn't offer me that price if I called them tomorrow and said yes.

(Of course, I didn't call them.)

CliveOfIndia

Quite aside from the "today's price only" thing, this whole business of cleaning moss off roofs always strikes me as a bit of a pointless exercise anyway.  You can clean it off, but it'll just grow back.  And it doesn't do any harm anyway.

Yes, it can be a bit of a nuisance if it falls into your gutters, but that's about it.  And clearing gutters once a year is perfectly DIY-able if you're comfortable working up a ladder.  If not, most window cleaners will do it for you for a very reasonable price - certainly a tiny fraction of what it would cost to have your roof cleaned every few years.

Albermarle

Pollycat said:

JohnSwift10 said:

People were wandering around the estate where I live pedalling roof cleaning and painting so I asked the bloke roughly how much it would cost as my roof could do with a clean to remove moss.

Of course he couldn't tell me because a surveyor  had to come to my house and conduct a survey with my wife and I present so I said OK send a surveyor.

The surveyor turned up the next day and ask where my wife was and I told him our daughter had an emergency and needed her to babysit.

Which was true but she could have babysat at either place but chose the other place.

He wasn't very pleased because he said that we were both supposed to be there.

He then wandered about outside surveying and taking pictures of the roof and asked to see the attic.

He surveyed up there and took pictures.

Then he told me he noticed a few cracked and loose tiles  etc and what they would do to the roof.

Then he calculated how much it would cost and he would give me two prices, one if I booked the roof treatment then and paid a deposit which had to be paid today or another price valid for a year which was £1500 more..

Then when I said I did not have that amount of money available and he said I could get a loan or use a credit card.

He went on about how my roof was leaking and it would only get worse and how he wouldn't get paid for the visit unless I signed up and other guilt tripping stuff to get me to hand over £495 deposit.

And also how it had been specified that my wife should have been there.

I told him I only wanted a price to see if I could afford it.

He eventually left but was not very happy.

At least he didn't phone his manager to get the price reduced.

I don't know if 'they' will still think that. 

I'm just surprised that you bothered with getting a quote from a cold call company 'pedalling' business.
My immediate answer to anyone like this is 'if I want something doing I'll decide who I want to give a quote'.

On the other hand, if we want someone to tidy up the garden, cut back a lot of hedges and shrubs etc. trying to get a reputable company round to do it is difficult. The price tends to be sky high, and they can not book you in for weeks/months ahead.
So we basically rely on being cold called/someone already working up the road, to get the job done quickly at a reasonable price.
I would be much more wary though about anything connected to the house itself, rather than just the garden 

sheramber

Do people buy from cold callers?

Obviously, or they wouldn’t keep doing it. 

They do what works for them.

There is a firm come round our estate every 6 months for removing moss from your roof. 

Yes, some neighbours have used them. 

However, every time it is different people. No doubt paid on commission and they leave when they  don’t get enough leads. 

MyRealNameToo

I get at least 2 texts a week from a well known shirt brand... a text on Sunday saying I only have until midnight to make use of an amazing offer and then another text on Monday saying there's a great exclusive offer. It's about 3 offers that they are just cycling through every month.