So, made contact with roofing company to quote on a repair to the roof (made clear we were not certain exactly where the prob was)and paint the roof. few follow up emails to see when the quote would be done. waited a week til he was 'out this way', all good. This morning, an invoice for $150 for fixing the leak, and a quote for painting the roof! Um, what! ? Questioned it and told him we didn't agree to any work,wanted quote only. 'sorry, thought it was fix if could. Ok if that's the case then you don't pay and you get a free fix. Quote would have been about $300 as I would have had to return which would incur more travel time and vehicle running costs plus it would be about 2 weeks away."
I'm inclined to not pay. Thoughts?
gerry90,
May 7, 7:07am
I would not pay for something I didn't ask for.
athena2,
May 7, 7:09am
If they have fixed the roof for that price be very grateful! Up here you'd have to wait a while to get anyone. How much cheaper did you think you could get it done for? Did they explain what they did?
kay34,
May 7, 7:15am
I'm grateful the roof is fixed. I'm surprised that the fix was so simple, there was alot of water coming through the ceiling (insurance has accepted the claim). . 3 nails were replaced. it is not 100% about the money, I was taught to get quotes, I was told quotes were exactly that. I did not realize tradies could just pop round and work on your house without consent. ( Yes, that is dramatic, but not totally untrue)
Edited "several nails" not 3
peacebird15,
May 7, 7:19am
150 is nothing, thats less than many trades charge just to show up, let along actually fix something. Id pay him. Hes probably saved you other bills by the time you actually can nail down a tradesman to get it done.
kay34,
May 7, 7:21am
I don't disagree, but not all about the $. I thought I was getting a quote, not an invoice.
mr-treevers,
May 7, 7:41am
If the leak is fixed then I'd pay the bill. Misunderstandings happen and $150 is a bargain. Would you have preferred to pay $300 and run the risk of a lot more water coming in while you waited two weeks for the repair? The poor man probably thought he was doing you a favour.
don735,
May 7, 8:39am
I would say no matter what the roofer done you would still moan,tradies have better things to do than enter into a master servants agreement with you, pull your head in and pay up
apollo11,
May 7, 8:59am
This. A good tradesperson is worth looking after. You never know when you'll need them again.
blueviking,
May 7, 5:18pm
If your roof is the rib type and not corrugated, then it's probably time for a complete re-screw.The nails work themselves loose over time and will start to leak. Some people just bang the nail down, but this dents the metal and when the nail pops, you get a flood of water coming in the hole.The small little rubber washer doesn't cover the dent properly. So I'd ask him exactly what he did "to fixit" Just hitting the nail back in, won't fix it.Did he pull the old nails out and put new ones in. Did he dent the metal hammering them in. Did he silicon the hole 1st, so the washer works better?
mr-treevers,
May 7, 6:47pm
Agree. Anybody who treats us like second class citizens, or dicks around paying the bill can go f*** themselves next time their mower breaks.
lythande1,
May 7, 6:53pm
well, and you want to moan about that?
shanreagh,
May 7, 7:19pm
I would pay and also ask exactly what he did to fix it.
amasser,
May 7, 8:41pm
Perhaps check the effectiveness by spraying the roof with a hose. Can you see that he actually got on your roof, or a neighbour saw him?
tegretol,
May 7, 8:55pm
That sort of arrogance from a Tradie is common while there is a shortage of them. But come the day when the economy hits the blocks and they are all at the WINZ offices, you'll all be begging to even be allowed to visit and quote.
don735,
May 7, 9:34pm
Hows the gold card treating you old timer?
clangie,
May 8, 4:39am
or use a bra washer as a normal person would do, covers the lot
kay34,
May 8, 4:58am
Gosh,quite alot of backlash that I wasn't expecting. I was after people's thoughts though, so I did get what I asked for. From now on, looks like I should just let tradies do what ever the heck they like and stop being so precious and just pay, regardless of what I've actually asked for.
don735,
May 8, 6:02am
So the roofer owns the screws he replaced,as you are not paying up. ok what if he comes around and takes his screws back hope he still has the replaced screws and put them back peels off any sealer. and so on,you have invented a problem and are trying to pass the problem on.Take ownership of the problem and pay up, come on be a good Kiwi and do the right thing
shanreagh,
May 8, 6:13am
To be fair it wasn't a good example for people to agree with you about tradies doing this or that. Though the principle is fine, the amount in question was perhaps a little too small.
I would not be dying in a ditch over that amount and nor would I have come to TM to seek opinions. I have had this happen too. Tradie comes to quote on a small (time, skill & cost-wise) job and then does it on the spot. I was a bit surprised but then realised that it would have cost twice that amount if he had had to quote.
What I do now, and with our rentals also, is to say go ahead up to $XXXXX. Mind I have a range of tradies that I know & trust.
kay34,
May 8, 6:38am
And again, I don't disagree with what you're saying, and no, it is not a huge amount of money, (which we have paid in full) but I genuinely thought I would get a quote. I know tradies are busy and need to earn a living, I know he had my best interests at heart, but cannot help but wonder, if better communication could have saved my confusion
arabelle,
May 11, 2:44am
As with every topic there are two sides to the story. but if I had a tradie come out and I had a problem and they fixed whilst here Id pay that, its $100 just to come out, so for pacing the roof, as well as fixing it. but I would state that I hadnt expected them to fix it. but to ask, They obviously had your cell ph # so could have called if you were at work, or pop down the ladder and say I see the problem I can fix it now for you. I still would pay. and make it clear that next time you are asking for a quote/estimate/guesstimate, to please then check before continuing. . I hope they have fixed it for you
huggy5,
May 11, 4:07am
It's such a waste of their time to quote on such small jobs, and realistically no-one was going to quote you less than that so you didn't really need the additional quotes. I'd be pretty happy that it's fixed and job is done and not overthink this one. You absolutely have a point, and it probably shouldn't have happened but I think you actually won here.
barrie2,
Jul 26, 5:49am
If you are unhappy at paying $150 for a tradesman to call, get on the roof, find and fix the leak you are most ungrateful and not at all realistic. I had small leak under my house, very accessible, but my “regular” plumber declined to come and fix it (too small and he is too busy) - 2 others I rang gave similar replies. Thankfully my son managed to sort it.
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