I've just had a roofer call to tell me my roof needs work

[Storytown]

Apparently my chimney needs repointing.

I am always suspicious of these kind of calls and never agree to buy anything from anyone on the doorstep but this one was soooo polite.

He's young a roofer in working clothes but looked respectable, not too scruffy in his dress. Stood well back from the door, apologised for bothering me, spoke gently and said he hoped I didn't mind but he'd noticed....Then explained what was wrong in layman's but not patronising terms, offered to do the job for £150 but put no pressure on for me to agree to the job there and then. Just left a card.

I'll have a look at the chimney when I go out later but WIBU to give him this job and break my own rules about doorstep callers. I feel like he should be rewarded for doing such a professional job and putting himself out there looking for work.

How is £150 to repoint a chimney in the SE?

[Jingleyflashyballs]

My husband is a roofer and would never knock on anyone's door like that.

[GoodKingQuintless]

Blimey, so a new take on the Reverse AIBU? We now also have to contend with *Third person hypothetical Perspective" threads?????

[Penguinsaresmall]

[Aeroflotgirl]

It's a scam, if your worried get some friends neighbours to give you recommendations, or yello pages. I got a fantastic electrician from there.

[NorbertDentressangle]

Another one who says don't touch with a barge pole!

Somebody arsing about on a roof without the proper scaffolding etc will do more damage than good, breaking tiles etc.

They can also claim there are all sorts of other problems that they've spotted whilst up there (and lets face it, your average home owner isn't going to pop up the ladder and have a look to confirm it!)

[Summerisle1]

I can only second what previous pps have said in that good roofers aren't wandering about touting for work. Round here they are like gold dust and booked up for months! Also, £150 is ridiculously cheap for anything to do with chimneys. Not least because you can't just shin up a ladder with a bucket of pug. Undoubtedly he'd get onto your roof and find all sorts of mysterious and expensive extra work. Often by damaging your roof himself.

[BuzzardBirdRoast]

So you were going to give work to someone knowing it didn't need doing? I suspect something amiss...

[Finola1step]

Well guess what I saw today?

A house on my road, two fellas (let's call them Bodgem and Scarper) sitting on the roof, hacking away at the chimney. Two ladders, one propped up against the house, one on the roof. Very dangerous looking. Dodgy looking van out front, no company markings etc. not even a name and phone number on the side.

Across the road from this house is another which has had extensive work done on it for months. Builders were up in the scaffolding today. They were laughing at B&S across the road.

I walked past a couple of hours later, chimney has been completely hacked off.

I will put money on B&S knocking on my door in the next couple of days to tell me about a problem they can see on my roof. How they were only passing as they having being doing work for so and so at no ?? How they can get their ladders now and have a look for me...

[AlexD72]

It's a scam. My husband is a builder and he hears about these exact circumstances all the time. I have had the same thing. Nice chap knocks on the door delivers his little speech. What I say is " I couldn't care less if I have
A tile missing
Bad guttering
Old windows
But I will point it out to my husband who fixes roof tiles,guttering and can fit windows. Ta very much.
They cost up the job then add on "little" extras.

[AlexD72]

Oh and they also say " I'm doing some work for a neighbour of yours and I noticed......"

[Jingleyflashyballs]

Exactly Alex, and as a pp said, decent roofers/builders don't need to be knocking on doors like that.