I've been scammed :(

[Deleted]

Long story short, I had a hole on the side of my roof. It was not a big hole, just that one of the tiles on the house had broke and rain was leaking. I wanted to have it fixed and a few days ago someone rang at the door. They had a firm that dealt with these king of things and were spreading flyers. I asked how much to fix the hole, complete with work and materials. He said a sum around 50 euros. I said great, and it was agreed they'd come today. So they did. 2 guys. We went to attic and one climbed on roof. He started removing a few tiles and I said that's not where the hole is but he said he needed a better footing. I don't know shit about constructions but it seemed logical.
Anyway, he went there, in the end had to provide my own tiles for fixing the hole. Fine I thought. He then said that it would cost close to 800 euros since he had to remove all the tiles toward the hole and clean the drain pipe. I said I did not ask for that and he said he had to or he would not have been able to complete the repair.

I said we agreed for 50 euros and I would pay 100 at most, not more. So he said that if this is the case, they would pack and leave. Take in mind I was now missing several tiles from the roof which he had removed for footing. In the end he placed those back and then demanded the 800 euros. I again said no and he said he'd call his boss and then it would cost more. In the end I gave in because they were 2 guys, bigger than me and with their work tools(so weapons). I eventually gave them around 500 euros after much bargaining but still, they scammed me, lied to me then demanded more.

I don't know what to do. If I go to the police they could say I am lieing and they are 2 against my word. I feel so stupid.

Update: Went to the police, a bored lady listened to the story while rushing me to "get to the point" then said they can't do anything and if I'd have called then they maybe might (so not surely, just maybe) have been able to do something. I also asked if filing a report would do any good and if they'll do something to make sure this doesn't happen to others. She said no. This is the police here, this is why I didn't trust them in the first place.
So that's that. I took this as a life lesson on how not to trust anyone and how useless the police is. So, bottom line, even if I had truly called the police, they only maybe might have been able to do something. This if they would have even come in time, since when I was robbed 10 years ago they came after 3 hours after I called them.

[Independent voter]

I would call another roofer and get a second opinion.

[Deleted]

Didn't you sign something that shows what kind of work they were going to do?

[Deleted]

I would call another roofer and get a second opinion.

It is the only thing you can do at this point.

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Didn't you sign something that shows what kind of work they were going to do?

For small maintenance it often isn't done because usually you pay them under the table so they can do it cheaper. Most of the time it works out ok.

[Butler to Baby Sloths]

I would call another roofer and get a second opinion.

BEFORE having them start any work, too.

After the fact, I'd talk to a lawyer, then call the police and report them and their firm. If they didn't give you an invoice then they're probably dodging inland revenue too.

[Deleted]

First - call the police and report the situation, might be something they can do about it.

Second - try and get estimated quotes in writing before giving workers permission to carry out any work

Third - never ever ever ever hire a tradesman because they came to your door, hire from recommendation only

[LiiLoSNK]

Contractors are notorious crooks.

You still shouldn't have caved in like that though. Pretty weak move.

[Revi]

If you gave in out of fear, that's a mugging not a scam. I'd go to the police, if they can't get anything done they'll still have it on file, which helps if anyone else experiences the same thing.

[Xilurm]

Contractors are notorious crooks.

You still shouldn't have caved in like that though. Pretty weak move.

What if they attacked him?

[Dispraise]

What if they attacked him?

Did they make any actual threats?

[CheeseSandwich]

What if they attacked him?

Then it is assault and he can press charges? I would think the last thing shonky contractors would want is police involvement.

[LiiLoSNK]

Then call the police. You can't just stereotype big people as dangerous thugs.

They threatened to pack up and leave, not kick his ass.

It's like me saying, "Oh well I hired a black guy to fix my piano, but he hiked up the price on me and I still payed him because he was black and I was afraid he was going to kill me if I didn't".

[Deleted]

You pretty much deserve it. Should have called the police instead of paying them.

[Deleted]

Then call the police. You can't just stereotype big people as dangerous thugs.

They threatened to pack up and leave, not kick his ass.

It's like me saying, "Oh well I hired a black guy to fix my piano, but he hiked up the price on me and I still payed him because he was black and I was afraid he was going to kill me if I didn't".

No, it's more like someone agrees to fix your wall as there's a tiny hole, breaks the wall then says a hyped price while your wall is broken and you can't fix it yourself. If you disagree, they leave and you are left with a giant hole in the wall. Same issue here, he removed a bunch of tiles while I did not agree, removed tiles around the broken tile then hyped the price and threatened to leave. Also, after he had put the tiles back and we went down to talk, he threatened that if I don't pay, he'll go back and remove the tiles again. It was not a 'I'll kick your ass' threat, but I can't afford to sit with a hole in my roof, especially now as I have lots of work at my job and don't really have much time to sit after workers. Was I weak? Maybe I was, but it's easy to say that when you're not in the situation.

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You pretty much deserve it. Should have called the police instead of paying them.

I live in Romania. 10 years ago my house was broken into. My mom came hone first and called the police. It took them 3 hours to get here. So allow me to say I don't trust on the efficiency of the police.

[Puupi]

Hopefully you learned a lesson.

[chubbybunny]

speak to trading standards, you see these sort of tactics all the time on programs like rogue traders, or even watchdog in the UK. It would have probably been a simple job like replacing the tile which would have cost little more than 50 euros. Never trust someone who just randomly knocks the door and offers to do any work for you. If they have got a flyer and you've got it, then feel free to get in touch with the police and trading standards and pass it on to them, so that they know who it is and will be able to stop them scamming some other people...

[THoyt]

Sounds to me like they charged you €50 for an estimate -- which is extremely common for contractors in the US and EU. Coming from a construction background, I can attest that any roof repair (even DIY) will cost more than €50, even for a small fix. Materials alone are far more than that. Tiles/shingles, felt or iceguard and sheeting would run you into the hundreds plus labor. It's not as simple as just replacing a single tile. If your roof is leaking, there's more damage than just a broken tile.

I'm not siding with the contractors, they possibly could have been a little more clear with you, but surely you couldn't have expected a leaking area on your roof to cost €50?

[Yunru]

Sounds to me like a mafia work. One of my friends had a similar story.
In other words.. people send some advertisment and they pull on a fake addres. So if you are trying to get your money back from company, you may end up hitting on a door of some old lady.

[belfpala]

I don't know what to do. If I go to the police they could say I am lieing and they are 2 against my word. I feel so stupid.

In the future, written estimate, written contract, both with prices. And get insurance, let them deal with contractors. Period.

[Puupi]

Sounds to me like they charged you €50 for an estimate -- which is extremely common for contractors in the US and EU. Coming from a construction background, I can attest that any roof repair (even DIY) will cost more than €50, even for a small fix. Materials alone are far more than that. Tiles/shingles, felt or iceguard and sheeting would run you into the hundreds plus labor. It's not as simple as just replacing a single tile. If your roof is leaking, there's more damage than just a broken tile.

I'm not siding with the contractors, they possibly could have been a little more clear with you, but surely you couldn't have expected a leaking area on your roof to cost €50?

It's Romania. 50€ is quite a lot of money there. 500€ is an absurd sum in Romania.