If you value your property or your safety, don't let E&D anywhere near your home. I'm still surprised how many ways they could screw up an apparently simple job to repair small leaks in a 4th story roof:
- In November the owner assessed the roof and said they could fix the leaks for £1200 + VAT, which we were happy to pay. Two workmen came (one of them is the owner's son), did some work and took photos.
- A couple days later, the leaks got dramatically worse. E&D refused to share the photos of the work, denied they'd even taken any, though I'd seen them on their phone.
- After weeks of haranguing, the owner finally came back and looked at the roof again. He was angry at his son, said the son never finished the work. Also there were new areas that needed patching that he "didn't notice" the first time he was there. He wanted another £1000, I argued him down to £400 though when they sent me the invoice later it bounced back up to £450 + VAT.
- A few days after that, a large heavy sheet of roofing asphalt FELL OF OUR ROOF, crashing onto a lower roof. If the wind had been blowing differently it could have hit someone on the street and caused serious injury.
- I called the owner about the fallen asphalt. It turns out his son had simply forgotten a large extra unused sheet up there.
- When the son came over the next morning to take away the asphalt, he was angry (at me!) because the owner had yelled at him for the mistake. He was slurring his words and menacing. I was just glad to see him leave before he got violent.
- After more weeks of waiting the remaining repairs were scheduled in January. I waited at home all day for the workmen to come over, phoned, texted, emailed -- nothing. Two days later the owner texts me, and I quote, "Sorry was away boys did not turn in on Saturday can we reschedule". That's all the explanation I got.
- Finally two other workmen from E&D came over. They finished the job and took photos, and in fact were quite helpful and polite. So it's a roll of the dice which staff you get.
In sum, a simple job that should have been done in one go dragged out to seven appointments over three months, and we had to live with a leaky ceiling all through Christmas with the attendant damage to wood, plaster, and electrics. I'll certainly never use them again.
25-01-20
