Need help with customer complaint

hi folks

just after abit of advice

i cleaned a chaps gutters last week(relative new build 4-5 years old)with my gutter vac

to be honest they werent bad at all so was straight forward

after finishing the chap went and looked all round from ground level(which i thought was a little odd at the time coz you cant see owt)

he text me last night and said he got his father inlaw to inspect them and there is a cracked tile that i must have done with my pole

the tile is right on corner where im the most careful because the gutter end caps can be knocked off easily so i go gently at those bits anyway,nor did i notice doing any damage or sucking up a piece of tile into the drum

this is the 1st time anything like this has happened so im not really sure what to do next

any advice would be great

Has he paid you? Sounds like he's tying it on. Why would he feel the need to get his father-in-law to check for cracked tiles after you've cleared his gutters? And what can he inspect from ground level in the first place? Is he one of our barterer friends? Sounds very much like the type of thing they would try on.

Sorry to hear that neil

I've never been accused of damaging roof tiles clearing gutter out and if so I would have photos/vids as evidence to show them should they want to try it on.

By any chance did you do a camera survey first or use a camera whilst you where clearing them out?

yeah he paid on the day

i kinda feel if i had broken the tile i would have known at the time

like i said im very careful especially at the ends coz the caps can come off if you look at them wrong

i get the impression he wants me to have the tile replaced,i have insurance(which he pointed out) but it does seem abit odd he would look and then get them checked afterwards(never had that before)

just not sure what to tell him next

"Sorry to hear that neil


I've never been accused of damaging roof tiles clearing gutter out and if so I would have photos/vids as evidence to show them should they want to try it on.

 


By any chance did you do a camera survey first or use a camera whilst you where clearing them out?"

no i stopped using my camera as i felt it slowed me down

Where abouts is this so say cracked tile then?

on a corner near the downpipe,the place where im most careful

i think he must mean the very edge tile

Where you using carbon or ali poles and what type of nozzles where you using?

Also what type of roof tiles are they?

The reason why I'm asking all this is to ascertain if it is physically possible for you to break tiles with the methods you used or not.

Also it's important to find out exactly where the so say broken tile is too and take some pics. I could say if it's an old break the edge of the tile would be weathered. However if the tile was already cracked and moved apart when you where clearing the guttering then it may still look like a fresh break. If it happens to be slate then is very difficult/impossible to know when this was done.

All the same deny you are at fault unless you think you broke it then just get it sorted.

I know gleaming insurance that I'm with will also back me up if they feel I was not to blame for any damaged caused to property im working on.

Most insurance policy's that cleaners have is just for public liabilty which would be not a lot of help in this case.

It sounds to me like its your word against his. I could imagine it to be very difficult to break a tile with a gutter pole, but I've never picked one up so I don't know how much heft they carry. I would personally never use insurance for something so small, as a tile is easily fixed, so why put a black mark against your name for future renewals for the sake of a cheap tool and a bit of your time, or even just getting friendly with a roofer and having him do it. In the case of this though I would not even entertain the idea of fixing it, as it sounds like a bit of a scam to me.

:itwasntme:

I would stand my ground if it was me and justify why I could not have caused the damage.

Where you using carbon or ali poles and what type of nozzles where you using?Also what type of roof tiles are they?

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aluminium with a tapered crevice end

tiles are similar marley mendip

i should point out however(and no laughing)but i have a phobia of heights and ladders so there is no way i can go up and check

Harris pole with a camera set to record a vid clip on the end would do surely?...or even a smart phone set on video tapped to a pole if need be? as all you want to do is see a close up of the tile in question then tell him you did not break that tile.

Where abouts are you @neil fearnley as if you are not to far away I would glady take a look for you.

Great offer by Smurf and I'm sure others would go up for you if it is too far for Smurf. He is right, you need to check the edge of the tile and see if the crack is weathered or not. I suspect that as soon as you phone the fella and tell him you are bringing another person to inspect by ladder he will come up with an excuse and shy away. Don't panic though, as someone else said, if it was you it's a very easy fix.

Roof tiles are hard to break from experience i don't see how you could break one even if you were a bit forceful with the nozzle

Tell him to do one mate

I bet it was already cracked by a roofer as they tend to stomp about /emoticons/biggrin.png

Roof tiles are hard to break from experience i don't see how you could break one even if you were a bit forceful with the nozzleTell him to do one mate

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totally ignore him, if he writes to you ,never reply.

I used to do roofing I was a apprentice for 3 years roof tiles are very very hard to break they take men of 80+ kgs stomping over them all day with no prob sat all. I allso use a gutter vac with a steal crevice tool on it and when it gets blocked i tap it on the tiles and I've never had any probs what so ever. And for future reference roof tiles range between £0.80 up to about £2.50 for the most expensive ones so never go through insurance for this. Hope this helps

I agree with daveyboy. How you can crack one with a gutter pole beats me. I stand on em all the time & they do take a fair bit of weight. I always check for broken tiles before I step on a roof. I wouldn't worry about it. Worst comes to worst a tile is cheap & easy to replace.

I do think he's having you on tho.

Lovely offer from smurf.