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14 day cooling off roof repairs
A roofing firm came to my home pointing out my roof and chimney require repairs, ,which I am aware of. Although I cannot prove it (though it is not particularly relevant) I reckon the BTL landlord next door asked them to call, which I don't mind as my chimney is joined to his.
The roofing company pretty much insisted that they had a look at my roof which is fair enough, and actually removed 2 loose chimney pots while they were up there.
They then came into the house and asked me to fill in my name and address and sign a form which was going to be used as an estimate form. On the form was a section mentioning a 14 day cooling off period. Signing the form was possibly my first mistake as they were borderline I timidating
They initially quoted a price and pretty much doubled it as there,'was more work' needed, which I found a bit strange, and reluctanty agreed to pay a deposit on the work, probably my second mistake. Incidentally they wanted far more than the £270 I paid them, and got a bit stroppy when that was all I had available at the time. The same evening I had a phone call from them asking for the money for materials up front (no chance I was doing that)
I looked further into the work that needs doing as I knew things didn't really add up and their behaviour wasn't the best.
I then sent a text to the roofer asking to cancel everything (I didn't have the company details as they did not leave me any paperwork) and a text message with a delivery report is (a bit more) traceable than a phone call, and have twice texted asking for confirmation.
I sent the texts within 2 hours of their visit on a Saturday evening, so it is extremely unlikely they would have ordered the materials anyway.
Not heard anything until today (5 days after their visit) when the roofer informed me that I couldn't cancel as they had 'specially ordered from Norway' the materials to do the job but more importantly the form that I signed waived my 14 day cooling off period, which surely is illegal. When I spoke about this, he became intimidating, (including hinting physical harm may come to me 'outside the court room ' amongst other things has threatened to either take me to court for breach of contract I should also add that a reputable builder has viewed my roof (by drone so I have accurate photographs of what is really needed) , much less and though I didn't go into details about the dubious roofer, was astonished at what they had come up with.
Although there are mistakes I have made, and have 'accepted' that I have probably lost my deposit, my main question is can they sneakily word the form that basically I have waived the 14 day cooling off period. As all this was not conducted at a business premises but at my home then surely this cannot apply.
They have threatened to take me to court for breach of contract (suspect they wouldn't go through with this as they wouldn't want their dubious working methods discussed in court ) , I'm quite willing to let this happen
Thanks for your patience in reading this and thanks for any help in advance.
Feeling a little sheepish... Its rare sometimes gets one over on me
John
The roofing company pretty much insisted that they had a look at my roof which is fair enough, and actually removed 2 loose chimney pots while they were up there.
They then came into the house and asked me to fill in my name and address and sign a form which was going to be used as an estimate form. On the form was a section mentioning a 14 day cooling off period. Signing the form was possibly my first mistake as they were borderline I timidating
They initially quoted a price and pretty much doubled it as there,'was more work' needed, which I found a bit strange, and reluctanty agreed to pay a deposit on the work, probably my second mistake. Incidentally they wanted far more than the £270 I paid them, and got a bit stroppy when that was all I had available at the time. The same evening I had a phone call from them asking for the money for materials up front (no chance I was doing that)
I looked further into the work that needs doing as I knew things didn't really add up and their behaviour wasn't the best.
I then sent a text to the roofer asking to cancel everything (I didn't have the company details as they did not leave me any paperwork) and a text message with a delivery report is (a bit more) traceable than a phone call, and have twice texted asking for confirmation.
I sent the texts within 2 hours of their visit on a Saturday evening, so it is extremely unlikely they would have ordered the materials anyway.
Not heard anything until today (5 days after their visit) when the roofer informed me that I couldn't cancel as they had 'specially ordered from Norway' the materials to do the job but more importantly the form that I signed waived my 14 day cooling off period, which surely is illegal. When I spoke about this, he became intimidating, (including hinting physical harm may come to me 'outside the court room ' amongst other things has threatened to either take me to court for breach of contract I should also add that a reputable builder has viewed my roof (by drone so I have accurate photographs of what is really needed) , much less and though I didn't go into details about the dubious roofer, was astonished at what they had come up with.
Although there are mistakes I have made, and have 'accepted' that I have probably lost my deposit, my main question is can they sneakily word the form that basically I have waived the 14 day cooling off period. As all this was not conducted at a business premises but at my home then surely this cannot apply.
They have threatened to take me to court for breach of contract (suspect they wouldn't go through with this as they wouldn't want their dubious working methods discussed in court ) , I'm quite willing to let this happen
Thanks for your patience in reading this and thanks for any help in advance.
Feeling a little sheepish... Its rare sometimes gets one over on me
John
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