AdrianW

tinkywinky - it's very interesting to have your insight. When I did some research into Top Roof (after placing but then cancelling an order), I found verious concerns about their selling methods but none regarding their work. Even if you would generally recommend alternative types of roof renovation, do you think Top Roof at least do the job they offer with a reasonable level of professionalism, and at least leave the average roof in a better state than it's in before the work is done? I was pleasantly surprised that after I cancelled the work, my cheque was soon returned with a polite letter and no steps were taken to urge me to reconsider. Do you think this would generally happen? It may have been the I 'wore out' the sales people who came round; they must have spent at least 3 hours at my home before I decided to place the order, and that was down to me rather than them!

The post from podgygooner reminds me that I never said what happened with regard to the Top Roof contract I cancelled. Soon after I told a workman not to come because I'd cancelled, my registered letter was returned undelivered, which was worrying as payment had been processed and the period in which I could cancel had by then passed. I got advice from an appropriate body who basically said don't worry because it was clear I'd sent it in time, and I should write again, explaining the situation. It then appeared to genuinely be bad luck that the first letter was returned as Top Roof then sent me a polite letter and refunded my payment. I was expecting an attempt to encourage me to change my mind, so I was pleasantly surprised that this didn't happen. To be fair, I have no evidence that they are rogue traders and I never found any complaints online about their work. I looked at two houses with their roof coating and they looked OK. However, their marketing and company history seems dubious and I expect they recommend their treatment irrespective of whether a roof actually needs it. The salesman that visited me was professional and there was no hard-sell pressure, but you can be 100% certain that everyone is told that they are being offered a very special deal that will only apply if they sign more or less on the spot!

Hi, I'm new here. I live in Croydon and found this thread when looking for information on Top Roof/Weatherex. I had a similar experience to PurleyMan. Being aware that my roof needs some attention, and perhaps swayed by the person doing the initial call being unusually low-key and polite, I accepted a visit from one of their sales people last Tuesday. I must say he gave a quite impressive presentation without any overt 'hard sell' pressure, and his photos of my roof did illustrate some problems that need to be addressed. There was the inevitable: "I've got a crew available soon that I want to keep working and if you sign now, I'll do it for cost price." I was skeptical as I've heard that sort of thing before, but the price quoted (which was about ?4,600 and included painting all the wood beneath the roof) didn't seem vast in view of the work involved, so I signed, although I emphasised that if my research brought to light any causes for concern, I would cancel the contract. Threads including this one certainly did cause concern, so my registered letter of cancellation was sent on Saturday and should have reached them on Monday. Surprisingly, I had a call on Monday evening from someone lined up to do the work, asking if they could start the next day! He hadn't heard about the cancellation. It was also surprising as I'd been told that some sort of surveyor would arrange to come before the work started, so this would have worried me further if I hadn't cancelled. I thought my cancellation my cause a concerted attempt to encourage me to reconsider, but this hasn't happened so far. However, they did process my deposit payment, so I won't relax until this has been returned. Even having read the contributions here and on a comparable thread on a Swindon board, some things still seem unclear about Top Roof and Weatherex. Presumably the Top Roof is a name that has only been used for a short period? And is Weatherex still offering Anduraguard wall coatings under this name? I also suppose there's a link with Apex Direct Promotions, especially as Apex use the same Sunley House address used by Weatherex, despite having offices elsewhere. Could it be that Apex recruit local people to do the initial door to door work for Top Roof/Weatherex? Finally, another odd thing is that I have been unable to find ANY comment anywhere good or bad about the quality of their work! The door to door person let slip the address of two adjacent houses not far from me with Top Roof coating (although the salesman said he shouldn't have done so, due to data protection issues), so I might ask one of them. Maybe the quality of their work isn't too bad, as they seem to avoid 'making waves' in big way, despite their dubious sales methods.