its zee calture

[maude]

Hi folks,had damage to garage roof and house roof due to the horrendous storm saturday night (s.e.vendee).Sae our insures yesterday,and was asked to send or fill in an official claim-email would suffice in English with photos if possible.Then on way home called into local maconniere/roofer and asked for quote for insurance claim.phoned later by owner who spoke a leetle anglais who said they would visit today.This morning three men turned up in the owners "uniform" with a load of tiles,mortar,ladder etc.Took a looksee,and made good the damage,no coffee stop,nothing.work done,2hrs later.told bill will follow in due course.Hows that for service!Couldnt imagine UK like that!!Mais oui,donc,alors!!!Superbe!!! Maude

[Théière]

Well you should, if you appoint a proper repairer in the UK there is no reason the same would not apply subject to materials being available after such a devastation. It is the insurance companies in the UK that slow repairs down and are just as slow to pay repairers.

[Gardengirl]

There are also good people and companies in UK, not just fly by nights!. We had bits of chimney come down in a storm about three years ago. I phoned a guy who had done work for us in the past, left a message on the answerphone. A couple of hours later he arrived, climbed up to the chimney, checked nothing else would be coming down, said it was quite safe. He was back next morning to repair it. If it had been necessary he'd have fixed it on the first visit, but was trying to get round as many people as posssible and only fixing at first where absolutely necessary. He's a great guy, does excellent work, is always cheery and I'd recommend him to anyone.We ring him if there's a problem at our house, even if it's not in his area of expertise, which is all types of roofing, gutterwork and small jobs; he always has someone he can recommend - and wouldn't want to lose his own good name!

We first found him in the little green book years ago; do these exist everywhere in UK? A business based on recommendations, all in a little green book. We also found our central heating man through it; we've used both for about 15 years.

The chimney mortar etc which came down landed on my husband's old Porsche - his pride and joy! The roof was damaged, and the bonnet was pitted with holes. [:(]  He phoned the car insurance company in trepidation, expecting to be told he'd get the value of the car - not much at all; it's in pretty good condition, but old and high mileage. He spoke to a guy who was an enthusiast, which helped, and was told to go ahead and get it repaired under the policy. It cost around £2,000, and looked wonderful afterwards, to my husband's delight. We still have it, but I find it harder to get in and out now. He talks of selling it, but I can't see it happening! [:D]