NOT HAPPY JAN !!!!

Spell Frustrated.

C.H.I.M.E.R.A.

If you look up the definition in the dictionary there will be a photo of me beside it!


In September we got quotes to have our house insulated. At that point the Australian government was offering a $1,600 rebate to homes with little or no insulation to get them insulated.

We picked a company that have been around for a while and that seemed reputable. It was the more expensive of the two quotes we got, but their quote included the cost of lifting our roof.

When the salesperson came around to measure up for the quote I advised him that the porch & 1/3 of the back of the house would need to have the roof lifted. The rest of the house could be accessed by a manhole.

The salesperson advised that their plumber would need to come around and have a look at the roof before he could give us a quote. He asked if it was OK for them to access the yard & get up on the roof if they need to? I advised that I work during the day, but I was happy for them to come into the yard at any time, even if I wasn't home.

We received a quote. The quote didn't say that it included lifting the roof, however the e-mail that it was attached to stated that the reason it was so high was because they had to allow for lifting the roof.

When we accepted that quote, our troubles started.

1. The first 2 men turned up at the scheduled time, however they hadn't been advised that the roof needed lifting. They were only able to do the bit that they could access by the manhole so they did that & left, leaving the additional insulation under our house for the rest of the roof.

2. Someone turned up at 7:00am a week or 2 later, without notice or warning. They asked where there was a power point, I showed them one downstairs (no introductions made, but they were wearing the company shirt). Next thing they were up on the roof briefly & then they left, leaving a bag of insulation open on the roof.

3. Phone calls to the company reveal that the fellow was an apprentice & wasn't sure how to lift the roof. Problem is after that it became windy & then started raining & they can't work in the wind or the rain.

4. A few weeks later, all the insulation disappears. Another phone call to the company & we are told that they have completed the house. DH advised them that they can't have because there was a small portion left to do inside the main part of the house (that requires us to let them inside). They call back later & advise that they haven't done it & that it can't be done as we have a clip lock roof. DH says not good enough & they say they'll send someone over to have another look.

5. Fast forward several weeks. We have had a number of people from the company around to look at the roof. We get told different things, but basically it is hard & expensive to lift clip lock roofing. We say not our problem. We have a quote & they have done half the job already before telling us this.

In the meantime the government grant has reduced down to $1200, so the delay has already cost us another $600.

They threatened us with court. We told them go ahead as they have quoted to lift the roof & they haven't done what they quoted.

They have tried to get us to sign off. We refused. We have also threatened to call the government hotline which will then mean their company gets audited by the government body responsible for the rebate.

Many of our phone calls are not returned although eventually we will get someone who 'does something' (precious little that has been so far - they keep sending people out to have a look but nothing happens).

Currently we are waiting to hear back yet again (since being threatened with legal action & threatening straight back - at least now we are in direct contact with the manager). We will continue to allow them a bit of grace to see what happens, which is why I haven't named them yet. Although I will have no hesitation in doing so if this keeps up.

Currently I am regretting not going with the cheaper quote which would have meant getting our own plumber in to lift the roof. It seems if that had happened it would at least be done by now.

NOT HAPPY JAN !!!!