'Roofer' from 'MyBuilder' poor workmanship & roof leaking

[chaoticj]

Hi,

I'll try and stick to brass tacks here but.. in July 2022 I had an individual found on the 'MyBuilder' website come and quote for various roofing works. This was sent via email and listed the works, warranties; 5 / 15 years (which I knew can be worthless as stung in this manner in the past) and a price which was £2,375 fully inclusive of materials, access and labour with picture based evidence made available. It included a full roof assessment when work commenced to find any problem areas/worn areas that may become a problem in the future.

 

In hindsight there were a number of red flags indicating that they were not proper roofers and I now believe they are 'jobbing builders'. I tried to be diligent and asked a lot of questions to which reasonable responses were given.

 

For example, the roof is Welsh slate - they said that they'd try and get reclaimed Welsh slates, but might not be able to and would use Spanish slate instead. I asked them to try their best, but if they couldn't - it was OK - of course they used Spanish slates which they said were just a bit thinner and easier to slide in place etc.  but it's since become apparent reclaimed are readily available - just at a cost of £4 each rather than £1 for Spanish. The slates are the wrong type and even the wrong size and shouldn't have been used.

 

The first lot of work was carried out one day in early August 2022. I'd mentioned some missing and slipped slates that had been missed which they said would be attended to on the return visit, so I paid the first invoice of £1,250 via bank transfer.

The front of the house is very high up and has uneven terrain so it required scaffolding and this took a long time to go up, after which, I also noticed some fascia board and another small piece of wood that needed attention, they quoted an extra £800 for this which seemed expensive and the response when queried was that it was labour intensive taking the guttering off etc. and the scaffolding needed extending over my neighbours bay window which was also costly.

They then carried out the rest of the work late August 2022, again there were some slates that had been missed and they returned to attend to these. I paid the second invoice of £1,925 via bank transfer making a grand total of £3,175 paid.

 

I was under the impression that after having the work carried out, my roof would be brought back to a well maintained condition. They did mention some points that needed attending to and as they did not want to undertake the work themselves, I had two other trades attend to most of this and the final point I'd planned on having sorted around spring 2023.

 

Fast forward to January 2023 and the roof is leaking in a number of places. I tried calling them but there was no answer, so I Whats Apped and had the response that they were away on holiday and had a big waiting list. I asked when they would be back and how long the waiting list was, but they didn't get back to me. A week later I sent them an email asking them to return within 7 days to which they replied - they were fully booked for 3 months. I then mentioned the 5 year guarantee and they stopped responding.

I complained to MyBuilder who told me to leave negative feedback as I'd held off leaving any and to speak to Citizens Advice. After contacting the CEO who put me in touch with their Operations Manager it looked like they were going to help, but in reality all they did was 'encourage' the individual to get back to me within 24 hours which they did not. I left negative feedback and as I'd had the roof looked at by professional roofers as well as the leaks I sent a list of points I was unhappy about regarding the work they had done and requesting their public liability insurance details.

- The front patch already has a slipped slate, angular pieces of slate that form the edge of the valley are missing, I'm advised the exposed felt can cause ingress of water via wicking. The slates are uneven and incorrectly laid.
- Already had to have the wood on left hand side of front apex replaced as new wood badly screwed to fascia at an angle and rotten wood left in place with water running between the pieces when raining.
- Various slates replaced around the roof appear to be stuck in place with mastic - no suitable fixing methods are visible. Near the roof light there are slates cracked through stuck together with mastic and gaps that should have been attended to.
- Low quality materials have been used - Spanish slate, unbranded felt and rough timber, in multiple sections on the capping areas renewed.

They then responded but appeared unwilling to return saying they can't drop other jobs and run to mine, the guarantee only covers the original works not the whole roof - various other points where they appear to blame me/my roof and don't accept my points above. They ask for pictures but end the email 'I suggest you find yourself another roofer'.

 

Since then it looks like none of the ridge tiles they said were rebedded have been (this wasn't on the original quote - but in their invoice it was listed as having been done) and the dry verge which I thought was the only thing they had done correctly - has been cut down to fit incorrectly on the extension gable with inappropriate drywall screws only suitable for internal use. The verge should have been sitting under battens and fixed through - it could come off in strong winds. It has old silicone on it so may even be secondhand.

I haven't communicated with the roofer/builder since.

 

I've emailed MyBuilder a couple of times but they've since quoted their T&Cs clauses 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3 which basically exonerate themselves from any liability. They allow the individual to advertise on their site as a 'Pitched Roofer' so it can happen to someone else - which I think is just absolutely terrible. I don't believe they've carried out a proper vetting/checking procedure, I think the individual has no public liability insurance. They say that their website is a free service for homeowners, but they have 6 websites in their Instapro Group with just one raking in millions a year as they charge the tradespeople a fee when they get 'shortlisted' for a job. I suggested they send an independent surveyor to look at the work, reimburse me and pursue the individual themselves - they are no longer responding to emails.

I believe if I want to pursue the original roofer/builder via small claims I need to send a 14 day letter before action.

I then need 3 quotes.

 

Currently I have 1 quote which gives a figure but doesn't break anything down. It's complicated because whilst it looks like most of the work needs redoing - I think there is extra work that needs attending to which they missed, for example on some pictures another roofer has taken, I can see exposed wood on the lower part of the roof light which explains some paint loss/marks inside - I thought it was condensation but it looks like water ingress. The original roofer/builder said this roof light 'wasn't really a problem' etc.

It is difficult enough getting a tradesperson to come.. then chase the quote.. some don't like to put quotes in writing or break anything down etc.

I am awaiting a second quote - they gave me information to go back to the original roofer/builder with but don't seem keen on writing a report and a third roofer; he was sending me pictures but after texting him at the beginning of this week, he hasn't got back to me.

So in addition to 3 quotes, I believe I may also need a report on the original works stating why they need redoing.

Where does access come into play - as scaffold will definitely be required to redo the front patch of slates? Is that something I'd need to get separate quotes for? It feels really complicated and in the roofer/builders favour.

So just looking for some advice as to how I can proceed please.

Many thanks,
chaoticj
 

Edited February 15, 2023 by chaoticj

[chaoticj]

Hi,

Would really appreciate if someone could advise please? These are the main things I'm unsure of;

- When sending an LBA, do I ask for a full refund, partial refund or just ask for the work to be rectified otherwise I'll obtain quotes and bill them for the cost (bearing in mind, I don't yet know what it'll cost to rectify and they appear to deny everything)
- As the roofer/builder had said up front they might use Spanish slate, do I have no comeback regarding this? or I do, as I've been advised it was the wrong type to use?
- Do I need 3 quotes for redoing the work the original roofer/builder did, breaking each part down? There is other work that needs carrying out and the roofers seem reluctant to break anything down.
- How do I deal with access requirements, do I need to get a separate quote for scaffolding for any of the work the original roofer/builder did that needs redoing?
- Do I need an export report on the work the original roofer/builder did?
- Is there any comeback against the MyBuilder website?


Thanks in advance,
chaoticj

[chaoticj]

Hi,

I have now sent an LBA to the roofer.

Thanks,
chaoticj

Edited March 20, 2023 by chaoticj