Rogue Traders

[ArtfulBodger]

Is it just me or has this programme become even more of a joke than it used to be?

Is it supposed to be a serious bit of investigative journalism or just light entertainment? in my opinion it falls short of either.

I have never seen a less convincing 70 year old Welshman, and I am perpetually puzzled by the contribution of the mincing Portugese motorcycle rider who can't speak any kind of language, let alone english.

I also wonder about the safety of leaping on and off a motorbike like some demented ballerina on crack. I think the HSE should be informed.

Finally, surely it would be the decent thing to do to inform the viewers of how many honest tradesmen they filmed before picking up a wrong 'un? It's getting to the stage now where my customers follow me around their houses meaning it is impossible to root through their belongings let alone take a whizz in their cold water tank.

 

[PEDANTICVINDICTIVEMAN]

Yea I know what you mean, it's a real ****** innit.

 

[masona]

I'm afraid it's cheap TV entertaining, there's no point looking for honest tradesman because it will be boring and a free advertising for the company! It's a no win situation. Plumbing trade seems to be the easiest to pick on though.

 

[SzeJu]

I must admit that programmes like that have made me more cautious of hiring professional electricians/plumbers etc just in case they are dodgy and trying to rip people off...unfortunately the problem now is where do I find a decent one?
I guess that's why more people try to do it themselves? and could cause more harm......

 

[kevplumb]

I must admit that programmes like that have made me more cautious of hiring professional electricians/plumbers etc just in case they are dodgy

and you post on here

sating nowt else the horse needs feeding

 

[andy]

I must admit that programmes like that have made me more cautious of hiring professional electricians/plumbers etc just in case they are dodgy and trying to rip people off...unfortunately the problem now is where do I find a decent one?
I guess that's why more people try to do it themselves? and could cause more harm......

there are many honest people around. there are just a few cowboys. but they make it worse for everyone else

 

[DarkInferno]

I actually got filmed once.. We'd brought up a bit of an iffy company's phone numbers.. Obv. I didn't rip them off..

Have you noticed once in a while its an obvious setup... the fine wire across the spark electrodes (which to my knowledge has /never/ happened)I know if I'd have had the same symtoms I'd test the aps, then look at the pcb, can't say I'd look closely for a fine wire somewhere it has no business being.

I remember one of them saying £7 was the absolute top for a thermocouple, next day I have to change a "457381 RADIANT 87002LA THERMOCOUPLE £53.70". and the customer goes absolutely mental as he'd seen this £7, to a point where I'm actually keeping an eye on the customer so I can avoid him chinning me.

Love that show..

 

[ollski]

I remember one of them saying £7 was the absolute top for a thermocouple, next day I have to change a "457381 RADIANT 87002LA THERMOCOUPLE £53.70". and the customer goes absolutely mental as he'd seen this £7, to a point where I'm actually keeping an eye on the customer so I can avoid him chinning me.

Yes love to find a thermocouple for a leblanc 4.20 for £7 aswell .The trouble with these shows is that they already have a target and need to damn them so they will pick on any small fault made and blow it out of all proportion. To be honest I felt a bit at one point for the underskilled guy who had to repair the fuelsaver on r.t, he was caught between the customer and the company and didn't really deserve a shafting on national tv. There are plenty who do, like the guys on house of horrors afew years back who were charging for parts they blatantly didn't replace and for time that wasn't related to the job....at 120 an hour.

 

[ArtfulBodger]

I remember one of them saying £7 was the absolute top for a thermocouple, next day I have to change a "457381 RADIANT 87002LA THERMOCOUPLE £53.70". and the customer goes absolutely mental as he'd seen this £7, to a point where I'm actually keeping an eye on the customer so I can avoid him chinning me.

Yes love to find a thermocouple for a leblanc 4.20 for £7 aswell .The trouble with these shows is that they already have a target and need to damn them so they will pick on any small fault made and blow it out of all proportion. To be honest I felt a bit at one point for the underskilled guy who had to repair the fuelsaver on r.t, he was caught between the customer and the company and didn't really deserve a shafting on national tv. There are plenty who do, like the guys on house of horrors afew years back who were charging for parts they blatantly didn't replace and for time that wasn't related to the job....at 120 an hour.

Actually that bloke seemed OK to me - he obviously didn't want to be put in that situation and actually offered to repay the bill - first time I've seen that. He also had the sense to leave the terrible company he was unlucky enough to be working for.

 

[WoodYouLike]

I'm afraid it's cheap TV entertaining, there's no point looking for honest tradesman because it will be boring and a free advertising for the company! It's a no win situation. Plumbing trade seems to be the easiest to pick on though.

We don't watch Rogue Traders anymore because I feel it's all fake and overdone.
But I hope they'll bring back: Disaster Masters: fun, honest professional traders, plus giving you an inside on alls sorts of 'disasters' and how to tackle them (have them tackled).

 

[AdamW]

"Holmes on Homes" is good. It is a Canadian one where (usually) some poor sap has hired in a cowboy, and "Holmes" is the contractor who comes in and sorts it out. He gets in some really good subcontractors to do stuff, so they end up with a beautiful finished project.

Plus you get to pick up the amusing points of Canadian English... eh.

There was one episode where a lady had a garage built onto her house, turned out they hadn't got the necessary permission (it seems that for that project it was up to the prime contractor to obtain it), it had been built on a skew, without foundations, and had to be totally ripped down before they could start again.

 

[Steve]

I do enjoy watching holmes on homes, because you know he is one of the few people out there who believes in doing a good job. I visited the website, and though they do charge the home owners, they try to make the charge as small as they can, because they know the homeowners have already shelled out for the job to start with, and been given a load of grief. This entirely contradicts some of the stuff they do though, like using more expensive drywall or flooring products etc.

Some of the things they uncover is really shocking though. One episode showed a floor in a new home, big open space, and it was too bouncy. They went downstairs and there was only one central column holding it all up, and their new tiled floor had cracked during a party when they had 50 odd people on the floor above! And disgusting things like not glueing solvent weld waste pipe, just because its going in a concrete subfloor etc and plugging hot tubs into power outlets in the ceiling even i know these things are stupid, even in canada!