[robbie14000]

Hi, I wonder if any of you can give me some advice.
We cleaned some windows last wednesday which had a flat roof.
Customer rings me today saying we have damaged his flat roof.

The property was absolutly fine when we left.
Going to see them tonight.
Advice would be appreciated on the matter as this has  never happened to me before.
I had asked the lady if we could walk on the flat roof and she said fine when I priced up the property.
Cleaned it 4 times and now this.
I think they are trying it on so how do I stand.
Many Thanks Robbie -Clearshine

[Captain Scarlet]

Firstly do you have public liability? Secondly, the owner knows the risk associated with climbing on their roof and you asked permission, learn from this and next time make people sign a disclaimer, Luke

[Captain Scarlet]

Go see them with a smile on your face and be kind, don't be forced into an argument this will make them less reasonable. Take a camera to take a picture and DO NOT go back up onto the roof to take it, take it from a ladder. Explain your side of the story and keep calm. If it was not your fault ( be honest ) then I would not pay out myself. If it is your fault then you may want to consider paying out or if it is going to cost alot, phone your insurance, Luke

[Allied Insurance]

Robbie,

Perhaps we can help you with regards to your problem. There are quite a few issues and considerations with regards to this situation and I will be glad to discuss them with you, but one of the issues you may wish to check is whether your existing insurance policy has an exclusion with regards to "access via a flat roof" Some insurers have this exclusion, others dont.

You may also wish to visit out site for more information on the comprehensive covers we can offer you:

http://www.window.cleaning-insurance.co.uk/

If you contact us through the site, I will get one of the team to give you a call should you want some more in-depth advice.

Regards
Allied Insurance

[NWH]

Most window`s on flat roofs can be poled,if they won`t let you walk on the roof don`t do them.If she said you could walk on the roof and you  know that`s the truth just drop it,don`t let them get there roof repaired from just trying it on,in all honesty you know if You damaged it so You make the decision.

[ok cleaning]

hi good luck to you you have some expenses coming up mate we dameged a flat roof before but insurance doesnotcover walking on the roof any roof not just flat roof read the small print on your insurance papers so we had to pay it ourselves try to come to agreement with the customer like 50 50 good if you can or ask them to pay the VAT or some amount good luck

[Mike_G]

What damage do they think you have done?

[windowwashers]

find out the damage first that has been done, unless you have moved or damaged a tile, I would say they are trying it on and they need to prove you did the damage, the lady said to go on the roof, if it is a dangerous roof you should not be on it, slate is a defo no no.

[dai]

Flat roofs are often problematic and they don't last for ever. It's very easy for a householder to say that any damage must have been caused by the window cleaner.
I had an incident recently, I was accused of scratching glass. It was the first clean [for me] on a block of 12 luxury flats. The scratches were on first floor french windows that had safety guards in front of them. These guards are in the form of diagonal bars, and can only be cleaned by putting the brush through one section at a time, and cleaned in diagonal movements. The scratches were vertical and over 20 ins long. I handed my pole to the occupier and asked him to try and make a vertical movement that could cause the scratching. He couldn't and neither could I. His wife was still adamant that It must of been my fault.
The glass in question has recently been replaced. The verdict of the glazier was that the scratches could only have been done from the inside when the doors were open.
Inspect the damage, if your responsible hold your hands up and get it sorted, if not stick to your guns and ask for proof. You have probably lost the job anyway. Dai

[Village Gleam]

How many of us have actually has claims against us, whether we thought they were justified or not?
Were our insurance policies and associated insurance companies okay or a waste of time.?

[colley614]

Thats a good point that mate! its only when you make a claim that you find out how good your insurance is and I paid a small fortune for mine. I would be gutted if I made a claim and it turned out that I had just bought a set of " Term and Conditions."

[Allied Insurance]

Your insurance broker has a duty to disclose all the important exclusions that your policy contains, so check your documentation now !

The comments made here highlight one very important exclusion that a high proportion of Public Liability policies contain

- Exclusion of Damage to Property Being Worked Upon.

This effectively means if your policy contains this clause, then you have no cover at all for anything that you are actually cleaning. Scratching glass, frames etc will not be covered.

This is why it is important to have the correct level of insurance cover and a policy that is specific to your industry and the risks facing it.

Our policy includes this cover automatically and has no restrictions about working on a flat roof.

For more information or further assistance please visit our website.

http://www.window.cleaning-insurance.co.uk/

[windowwashers]

Your insurance broker has a duty to disclose all the important exclusions that your policy contains, so check your documentation now !

The comments made here highlight one very important exclusion that a high proportion of Public Liability policies contain

- Exclusion of Damage to Property Being Worked Upon.

This effectively means if your policy contains this clause, then you have no cover at all for anything that you are actually cleaning. Scratching glass, frames etc will not be covered.

This is why it is important to have the correct level of insurance cover and a policy that is specific to your industry and the risks facing it.

Our policy includes this cover automatically and has no restrictions about working on a flat roof.

For more information or further assistance please visit our website.

http://www.window.cleaning-insurance.co.uk/

What is the costs of your insurance ??

[Allied Insurance]

We treat each customer individually and their needs will vary dependent on the limits they need, the numbers of persons involved, claims history etc. so it would be hard for me to come on here and give a definative price.

What I will say is that I am not going to pretend, that we are mega-cheap just to entice a lot of business, because that is not the issue as far as I can see. The issue is getting the correct level of cover for to protect the policyholder.

Sole traders can get Public Liability starting from about £75 from the general market, BUT this is a policy that excludes property being worked upon, and will generally have height restrictions and restriction on the type of properties that you can work on. Therefore what is the actual value of this cover to the policyholder ? It will cover him for dropping a bucket on to someone or something but that is about all.

We know that the biggest risk in terms of cost to a window cleaner is scratching glass/frames and likewise we appreciate that they dont want all the small print of how high they are allowed to work and on what type of property.

Our product has all these covers built in automatically, but the cost will obviously be higher than the mega-cheap policy out there. However, as with all things, you get what you pay for.

Hope this helps.

[supernova77]

Hi, I wonder if any of you can give me some advice.
We cleaned some windows last wednesday which had a flat roof.
Customer rings me today saying we have damaged his flat roof.

The property was absolutly fine when we left.
Going to see them tonight.
Advice would be appreciated on the matter as this has  never happened to me before.
I had asked the lady if we could walk on the flat roof and she said fine when I priced up the property.
Cleaned it 4 times and now this.
I think they are trying it on so how do I stand.
Many Thanks Robbie -Clearshine

If you feel that the customer is "trying it on" and that they are not genuine then ask for evidence that you damaged the roof and drop them!

I'm sorry but if they are trying it on then it's just not worth worrying about!

If however there is a possibilty that you did damage the roof then work something out with them.

Andy

[Allied Insurance]

One other thing to take into account when you are speaking with your client, is that Flat Roof's usually have a working life of between 10-15 years and most insurers will put a clause on the householders policy that makes them responsible for replacing it after such time.

It may be that the customer's roof has just degenerated through wear and tear and they have tried to claim off the household insurer who has knocked it back and they are coming after you as a last resort.

[robbie14000]

Hi , Thanks for all the great reply,s.
Went to see them last nite.
The roof was not in the best state anyway but there was a small slit in the canvass when the chap removed lots of moss and gravel.
I am very honest and would have told him if we had caused any damage.
I have 2 employees and it was one of the lads who was on the roof ,of which he said he just cleaned the window and got down.
The guy thinks it will cost £50 to patch up.

I rang FSB at T/time and they rang me back with legal advice in 10 minutes.
I am also already insured through Allied Insurance paying £800 per year.
I will be in future asking clients to sign waiver forms in future or they do not get cleaned.
You learn something new in this game every day.

The chap was very good about the situation and said he could not prove that we had done the damage and admitted the fact.
Thanks for your help anyway

Robbie-Clearshine Ltd

[M & C Window Cleaning]

Some years ago I was chased up by an insurance company who had pad out in respect of a claim for a damaged flat roof. They said I was to blame for the damage as I had been the only one to ever go on the roof.
I had been going on the roof for over ten years to clean this custies windows with no problem when suddenly I noticed the it going soft in places. I reported this to the custie concerned, along with the fact I was no longer going to go on it for my own safety till she'd had it dealt with. She must have told the insurers this fact and they tried to reclaim the nearly £1,000 they paid to her for the repair from me.
I wrote them a polite but firmly worded letter explaining that the 'roof was well over ten years old, and that I could not accept responsability for what the customer had asked me to do knowing what the consequenses might be. I'd warned the customer, not because I was accepting resposability but because she needed to know the condition of her roof and she wasn't going to know it unless someone who could see and feel it could tell her or it sprang a leak and damaged her interior decor. by which time it would be too late and the repair bill would have been bigger.'

I never heard from them again.