Is there ever a charge for calling out a roofer to quote for

[zosie]

I always presumed not and have never been charged but someone I know has told me not to presume because I might end up with a bill for a call out.

I’m having a few roofers round at the mo to quote me on re-roofing, I’ve checked the website of one and that says free quotes but the other doesn’t say anything. Is it law for them to fore-warn people that there’d be a charge?

I remember way back when I was getting a price for some roofing work before I bought my house (the survey picked up on some work that needed doing and I wanted that cost knocked off the house price), 3 roofers went for free but there was one who told me that there’s a charge for going to houses which aren’t yet owned by the person, £55 as I recall but he stated that if he gets the job in the future that he’d refund the money. I guess he couldn’t be bothered with people wasting his time if a house sale doesn’t go through.

 

[Alastairreid]

A request to inspect and submit a quote/estimate for works on a property is not normally charged unless otherwise stated.

On the other hand a request to inspect and submit a written report on the condition of the properties roof, works required and estimated costs on a property you were considering buying would incur a prearranged fee.

 

[zosie]

Cheers Alastair. If it’s pre-arranged it’s ok, I was just worried about getting a surprise bill through my letterbox.

 

[big-all]

just ask at the end of the conversation
"is there any financial implications if you don't get the work"

then when they say wwhhaatt
you say the quote is fully free and no charge off any sort will occur

 

[SurreyRoofingEstimator]

Believe me It's not quoting private customers that costs money (so no charge ever with us), it's the main contractors / big builders that should be charged considering the amount of time it takes to quote some bloody jobs with little hope of getting a sniff of work.

 

[Alastairreid]

Or in my case quoting local authority contracts which can take days to draw up...then pipped by the competition for the sake of a few hundred brown envelopes methinks.

 

[smashngrab]

I always presumed not and have never been charged but someone I know has told me not to presume because I might end up with a bill for a call out.

I’m having a few roofers round at the mo to quote me on re-roofing, I’ve checked the website of one and that says free quotes but the other doesn’t say anything. Is it law for them to fore-warn people that there’d be a charge?

I remember way back when I was getting a price for some roofing work before I bought my house (the survey picked up on some work that needed doing and I wanted that cost knocked off the house price), 3 roofers went for free but there was one who told me that there’s a charge for going to houses which aren’t yet owned by the person, £55 as I recall but he stated that if he gets the job in the future that he’d refund the money. I guess he couldn’t be bothered with people wasting his time if a house sale doesn’t go through.

This is exactly what i say to customers before i even turn up. They expect me to to get up on a roof then go home type it all up and send it to them for free. I say to them if your boss asked you to take a load of work home and send it off to people, oh and by the way you have to do it for nothing !.

Most customers just use your paperwork (free roof survey) to negotiate a drop in price on the house they hope to buy. Been caught to often in the past, no more though.

 

[zosie]

So how much do you charge smashngrab?

I’m getting a bit peeved by how long it takes for quotes to get to me. Been waiting nearly two weeks for one. In fact the only quotes I actually have in writing is two, yet I’ve had several roofers round now. I’m feeling urgency to get a roofer on with the job, my roof’s leaking, I'm stressed.

 

[smashngrab]

Sorry to hear your getting stressed zosie, i charge about the same as the other chap 50-60 ish.

 

[zosie]

& do people ever take you up on that offer or do they just get someone else to come out for free?

 

[joe-90]

So how much do you charge smashngrab?

I’m getting a bit peeved by how long it takes for quotes to get to me. Been waiting nearly two weeks for one. In fact the only quotes I actually have in writing is two, yet I’ve had several roofers round now. I’m feeling urgency to get a roofer on with the job, my roof’s leaking, I'm stressed.

Well stop getting quotes and let one of them get on with it.

 

[^woody^]

Sorry to hear your getting stressed zosie, i charge about the same as the other chap 50-60 ish.

Why bother with the roofing work then?

Just go around doing a few quotes a day

 

[zosie]

I’m getting a bit peeved by how long it takes for quotes to get to me. Been waiting nearly two weeks for one. In fact the only quotes I actually have in writing is two, yet I’ve had several roofers round now. I’m feeling urgency to get a roofer on with the job, my roof’s leaking, I'm stressed.

Well stop getting quotes and let one of them get on with it.

Wanna make sure I get the right bloke on the job this time so am shopping around, don’t want to have to re-roof again for the fourth time if I end up with another numpty. . Also I need to know what needs doing, does it all need to come off and start from fresh or can half stay? I don’t know. A couple of roofers have said it has to all come off but one quote I have from another roofing firm says half can stay and the other quote I have is from someone who seems a halfwit. So therefore if I rule him out I only have one quote to go on. Surely you can’t blame me for wanting to get a few opinions and quotes? It's a lot of money to be forking out and as I'm finding out it's a whole load of hassle if it goes wrong.

Sorry to hear your getting stressed zosie, i charge about the same as the other chap 50-60 ish.

Why bother with the roofing work then?

Just go around doing a few quotes a day

 

[joe-90]

Some of the best roofers appear to be half-wits. They can re-roof a house but aren't salesmen. It's the 'got all the answers' type you should avoid. They are the con artists.

Go to your local roofing supplier (where the roofers buy their kit) and quietly ask for a name. You'll get the best guys that way.

How are YOU going to decide who is who and what is practicable?

 

[zosie]

The one I think is a halfwit is the one that traveled 27 miles and went to the wrong house initially cos he misread his writing and took a 7 as a 2. His quote says to “repair leaks to the front of the property” £500. Well that seems too vague to me, I don’t think he even knows where the leaks are and he didn’t take a ladder and have a proper look and he also said the back of the house needed to be re-roofed cos it’s got some moss on. There’s only a few bits of moss, somehow I don’t think he’s the right man for the job and he’s gotta be pretty desperate if he’s prepared to travel that far away. Plus he said he could start almost straight away, that also indicates he can’t get work. Plus he’s a builder, not a roofer. Think I want someone who only does roofs this time.

Good idea about asking at a roof materials shop although I think I’ve probably got enough roofers quoting me now, some are recommendations from people who have had major roofing works and have found them to be ok. Also I want someone who’s in a trade associations this time so that if they f*ck up I can have someone to complain to.

To be honest the roofers that can look instantly at the roof and pick faults are the ones that I warm to, I hope they’re not the ones who are just good talkers but they fill me with more confidence than those who don’t seem to offer opinions. I had one guy in April that said he couldn’t see owt wrong with the roof, well that put me off having him cos it looked sh*gged, even I could see that.

Oh and I want to gather a few roofers thoughts about if it all needs redoing or if some can stay. If 4 or 5 say it should all be redone and only 1 says half can stay then I’d rather go with the majorities opinion.