02 Oct Ways you spot a rogue Satellite and Aerials installer
Post installation support and advice, If in doubt ‘The Confederation of Aerial Industries’ (CAI) are the most respected trade organisation within the industry and you could do far worse than seeking them or their members advice.
The installing company advise and should help you and if it is their fault and under guarantee put of charge. The business should be grateful that you are calling them and not someone else, if you need advice. If you can not contact them or they are not returning your efforts to get hold of them this could be cause for concern.
Where is my paperwork?
Anyhow I hope that this helps you avoid the bad guys!
In our view this is very little effort to guarantee the customer you are who you say you are. When jobs are personally attended by me. I introduce myself as being from Fylde Aerials. The customer sees the uniform, the van along with an ID card produced upon request.
Aerial bracket spacing less than one sixth of the general mast height — If you have a 6′ pole, you should have a minimum 1′ bracket size or size to ensure it can take the wind load. Okay so if your new aerial is leaning over or when the satellite dish is ignored offline it is not always easy to see poor workmanship so here is a few examples specific to the airborne and satellite trade for you to take off:
Payment today, cash only Overuse of technical jargon The engineer should at least attempt to describe things in a way that people can understand. You should be cautious if your installer is trying to do this as they may be trying to confuse you. In practice however it isn’t always as easy as it seems as often the installer in required to summarise something in terms something that has taken them years to fully comprehend themselves so please take this into account.
Aerial has been drilled into the chimney stack- should be fastened with a lashing cable which goes around the chimney.
DISCLAIMER Please note that I am not saying that anyone who’s guilty of the things I raised is automatically a Rogue Trader. By way of instance there must be thousands of traders that are skilled and guys who use a mobile phone and have a naff website or none at all.
Lack of identification
I’ve started with the one because in my opinion that is the one. I’ve struck stories where”installers” have referred to these as glorified alignment tools. The installer who made this remark didn’t understand his job or was either too tight to buy one. Unlike the analogue days, for digital TV by looking at the TV picture 23, it is impossible to recognize a problem. As the picture becomes something that’s virtually perfect in something or appearance that breaks up and becomes unwatchable. Without appropriate test equipment your installer repair blindfolded or would effectively be doing the installation and EVERYTHING becomes guesswork, as you’ll pay for his guessing, be extra cautious when said installer can also be on a hourly rate. Test equipment that is good is not cheap to buy so consider this when comparing quotes. As we are able to diagnose a host of issues and perform installations with no guesswork having state of the art test equipment saves our customers money. Often before I connect the cable the customer says. “The moment of truth” and that I can confidently explain that I understand the antenna to be working already through use of my test equipment.
Very rarely do people if you can see it — browse through every last detail of the print is! If you feel that you’re being pressured to sign without reading refuse to sign altogether. I’ve encountered stories where the installers have agreed something entirely different to this in writing and in the eyes of the law that the one in writing is. There’s a difference between protecting the company’s best interests and downright criminality. If you do sign, are unsure or need to cancel be conscious of the 14 day’cooling off’ period that existing for consumers to cancel.
No test equipment
If you don’t have an arrangement where payment is agreed upon conclusion or work. Otherwise I would suggest payment provisions within 7-14 days to be fair. The trader should never ask for cash and you get a receipt if they do make certain. As these behave as evidence of payment, cheques, BACS payments and card payments make for more secure methods of payment. Not always known but most card payments arrive so in the event you do not get the support you felt you should or have been scammed you might be able to get your money back. Please consider for traders and smaller businesses the cost of processing fees so they might not provide this method of payment.
Satellite dish or aerial has been drilled into the mortar or cement as opposed to directly into the brickwork.
If you have received nothing in terms of writing regarding your job, you have a right to be careful. For bigger jobs you should expect a quote or estimate before the work starts. For jobs that are smaller it is not always financially viable to do so in which case a verbal agreement should suffice. Following the work you should get an invoice and/ or receipt as often also this may act as your warranty. If terms and conditions are in place you should be given a copy of them too.
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