[Help] Have we been ripped off?

[Moshe Gariani]

Mrs G arranged for our local friendly builder/roofer to come and fix the gutter that runs between our house and conservatory.

One bloke came and worked for 90mins. He swept out the gutter and then “painted” it with some stuff he mixed up in a large bucket. A young lad carried a couple of things and watched.

£700.

Apparently the main cost was the stuff that he poured in/painted on... it “comes from Germany and costs £500”...

Am I right in smelling a Siberian hamster? Or does this sound legit?

ALL advice very welcome.

 

[nicko31]

Mrs G arranged for our local friendly builder/roofer to come and fix the gutter that runs between our house and conservatory.

One bloke came and worked for 90mins. He swept out the gutter and then “painted” it with some stuff he mixed up in a large bucket. A young lad carried a couple of things and watched.

£700.

Apparently the main cost was the stuff that he poured in/painted on... it “comes from Germany and costs £500”...

Am I right in smelling a Siberian hamster? Or does this sound legit?

ALL advice very welcome.

Blimey, what did he apply? I think he need to tell you what it is being you pay the bill

 

[gazingdown]

Did you not agree cost before doing the work?

 

[Insel affe]

Mrs G arranged for our local friendly builder/roofer to come and fix the gutter that runs between our house and conservatory.

One bloke came and worked for 90mins. He swept out the gutter and then “painted” it with some stuff he mixed up in a large bucket. A young lad carried a couple of things and watched.

£700.

Apparently the main cost was the stuff that he poured in/painted on... it “comes from Germany and costs £500”...

Am I right in smelling a Siberian hamster? Or does this sound legit?

ALL advice very welcome.

Three words stand out, that would worry me slightly
1:Mrs G
2:Friendly
3:£700

 

[beorhthelm]

Did you not agree cost before doing the work?

that, and did you ask for any "painted" product applied as part of the fix? though it might be some sort of sealant that does the job well. ask for itemised bill and question expensive unspecified items.

 

[Super Steve Earle]

Mrs G arranged for our local friendly builder/roofer to come and fix the gutter that runs between our house and conservatory.

One bloke came and worked for 90mins. He swept out the gutter and then “painted” it with some stuff he mixed up in a large bucket. A young lad carried a couple of things and watched.

£700.

Apparently the main cost was the stuff that he poured in/painted on... it “comes from Germany and costs £500”...

Am I right in smelling a Siberian hamster? Or does this sound legit?

ALL advice very welcome.

Doesn't sound very friendly to me. Ask for precise details of what he mixed and put on it then check for yourself.

 

[Eeyore]

Mrs G arranged for our local friendly builder/roofer to come and fix the gutter that runs between our house and conservatory.

One bloke came and worked for 90mins. He swept out the gutter and then “painted” it with some stuff he mixed up in a large bucket. A young lad carried a couple of things and watched.

£700.

Apparently the main cost was the stuff that he poured in/painted on... it “comes from Germany and costs £500”...

Am I right in smelling a Siberian hamster? Or does this sound legit?

ALL advice very welcome.

Find out what the stuff is and how much was used. Then go and find the costs for said stuff.

Just make sure the bill is broken down. You can then find out if you've been ripped off.

 

[zefarelly]

yes, yes you have. all tradespeople are busy at the moment so rip off culture is rife.

unless he's lined your gutter with a cocaine-cement mix and gold leaf.

 

[Razzoo]

If he literally went up a ladder and cleaned out a gutter then I reckon he's overcharged you by at least £600. Special German stuff my arse!

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Doesn't EVERYONE get their gutter painted after it's been cleared out?

 

[Insel affe]

Special German stuff my arse!

 

[*Gullsworth*]

Thought this was a Gonzales thread.

 

[dazzer6666]

If he literally went up a ladder and cleaned out a gutter then I reckon he's overcharged you by at least £600. Special German stuff my arse!

This........assume you haven't been able to find anything online when searching for 'Magic German Gutter Sealant' or similar

 

[Moshe Gariani]

Find out what the stuff is and how much was used. Then go and find the costs for said stuff.

Just make sure the bill is broken down. You can then find out if you've been ripped off.

Having agreed to pay £700 do we still have the right (moral? legal?) to question it after the work has been done? The bloke who runs the small firm is not easy to deal with (Yes! We've used them before...!! They paint some stuff on our chimney every other year for a few hundred quid...) but is it reasonable to ask for an itemised bill before paying? I'm not sure how he'll react...

I also have the problem that during the rain last night the water was gushing out of the end of the gutter and then even when it eased off it's running down the side of the vertical drainpipe rather than going into it... so I have to try and get them to fix that before I pay them.

 

[Moshe Gariani]

If he literally went up a ladder and cleaned out a gutter then I reckon he's overcharged you by at least £600. Special German stuff my arse!

Does anyone know what the special German stuff might be? There was reference to a "chemical reaction" and it "going off" so I admit I was a bit blinded by science...

 

[portslade seagull]

Having agreed to pay £700 do we still have the right (moral? legal?) to question it after the work has been done? The bloke who runs the small firm is not easy to deal with (Yes! We've used them before...!! They paint some stuff on our chimney every other year for a few hundred quid...) but is it reasonable to ask for an itemised bill before paying? I'm not sure how he'll react...

I also have the problem that during the rain last night the water was gushing out of the end of the gutter and then even when it eased off it's running down the side of the vertical drainpipe rather than going into it... so I have to try and get them to fix that before I pay them.

Tell him he has now blocked your downpipe with his special expensive German paint

 

[Razzoo]

Does anyone know what the special German stuff might be? There was reference to a "chemical reaction" and it "going off" so I admit I was a bit blinded by science...

It's probably just a sealant of some type. Any roofers on NSC?

 

[dazzer6666]

Having agreed to pay £700 do we still have the right (moral? legal?) to question it after the work has been done? The bloke who runs the small firm is not easy to deal with (Yes! We've used them before...!! They paint some stuff on our chimney every other year for a few hundred quid...) but is it reasonable to ask for an itemised bill before paying? I'm not sure how he'll react...

I also have the problem that during the rain last night the water was gushing out of the end of the gutter and then even when it eased off it's running down the side of the vertical drainpipe rather than going into it... so I have to try and get them to fix that before I pay them.

Even if you can't get an itemised bill you can at least ask what they've used and how much of it.......then you can do your own checks on cost before coughing up (if the stuff cost £50 you can presumably challenge a £650 labour charge for 90 mins work even if legally you're slightly stuffed if you agreed the price before the work was done) - followed by a blunt conversation about any future work and (given it's a small local firm) how your friends and neighbours are going to be shocked when they hear what's happened......................

 

[dazzer6666]

Does anyone know what the special German stuff might be? There was reference to a "chemical reaction" and it "going off" so I admit I was a bit blinded by science...

Chemical reaction with what What's the gutter made of ? Sodium ?? Paper Mache ?

 

[Moshe Gariani]

This........assume you haven't been able to find anything online when searching for 'Magic German Gutter Sealant' or similar