NOT calling the repairman

[tjika]

<bg> I rent a house from a large company. Last summer my street, 10 houses, received solar panels. This was during a huge renovation of which the bulk took 6 weeks for my house, but really lasted closer to 6 months to have every little thing finished.</bg>

Last saturday as I was de-icing the car and about to leave a man came up to me and asked me if I lived in this house. He looked to be some kind of repair man and this was confirmed when he introduced himself. he explained he had been hired to replace all the transformers of the panels as there had been complaint of noise. Ok fine, they do make some noise. He asked if I was home on monday so he could come. I said no. Told him I was available all day thursday. He said it would be expensive to have someone come out just for me. was there any other way. I again said no. I offered to give him my phone number so he could call me for an appointment. In response he gave me his card and said to let him know when I was available. I again told him I was available on thursday and any other thursday afternoon. We talked about the noise and if it was a problem for me. Not really, I had noticed it but can live with it.

I was expecting some one to come today. Nobody did. Is it now my responsibility to call the company?

I feel it isn't but I did take his card. I don't care if the transformer is replaced and have had workman in my house on and off from February to July. This has made me rather tired of them which may affect my view.

[Yvaine]

Are you sure he's with the actual company? I've had freelance repair people coming by a lot lately to try to solicit work--I think the economy is the cause. There are also scammy repair people out there in addition to real freelancers.

I'd call the company, if for no other reason than to be sure this work is actually supposed to be done.

ETA: And did you actually make arrangements for him to come by? I can't tell by your OP. I'm not sure there was an actual appointment made--you can only do Thursday and he can't do Thursday, sounds like you were unable to schedule one.

[CaptainObvious]

It doesn't sound as if you had an actual appointment.

[rose red]

I would check to see if it's legit.  Wouldn't the landlord send out notices to the tenants?

[WonderWoman]

Definitely follow up, but not with him. Call the company you rent from.

You don't know if this guy is legit. I definitely would not be telling random guy on the street when he could find me home alone, no matter if he looked like a repairman, a police officer, mail carrier, etc.

[MrTango]

I wouldn't call him.  I'd call the landlord and give them his information.  Work it out with them when (and if) the work needs to be done.

Since you're a renter, I'd argue that it's your landlord's responsibility to ensure that repairs are made and if you aren't available to be there when repairs are made, then your landlord needs to be there (or one of their employees, since as you say, they are a large company).

[Donovan]

I'd call my rental agency and make sure this is legit.  I also would have thought the agency would have called me first to let me know to expect to be contacted from a repairman about the transformer replacement work.

I can see where you call the guy, make an apt, and then they charge you because you called them and asked for work to be done.

[tjika]

I have no reason to believe he is not real. there have been plenty of break ins here and there has never been suspicious behavior like this. All break ins were opportunists.

Also, this is not the first time the rental company has sent someone round like this. I live in an area where this can be trusted.

i did wonder if there was never an appointment, but he never said he couldn't come on thursday. just that it would be expensive. he kept asking me when i was available and I told him very clearly.

[JaneJensen]

besides all the points made above, why does *anyone* need to be home for solar panel repair work? I mean, aren't the panels on the roof outside- along with the breaker box and meter and all of that? Sounds fishy.

[tjika]

the transformer is inside next to the fuse box.

[Moray]

I'll add my voice to the chorus saying "Follow up, but only with the landlord."

I know you don't feel like you have any reason to doubt, but this sounds quite fishy and calling the landlord to confirm won't hurt anything.

[DistantStar]

You must live in a very trusting area.  I would never in a million years have believed he was legit, and I join the "call the landlord" chorus.  I would always expect a landlord to let me know of any scheduled repair work, not just have a guy walk up and say they're supposed to work on my place. 

[YummyMummy66]

Yeah, I am not sure about this one either.

Now, this so called repairman knows exactly the one day you will be home and the other days that you will not be home.

I would be googling the information on the card and giving them a call to see if they are legit and I would be calling my landlord first to also inquire and maybe ask a few neighbors.

[johelenc1]

If you weren't absolutely certain he was form the landlord, wouldn't you be responsible for paying for the repairs?  I would definitely call the landlord.  If he did NOT send someone around, I'd then call the number on the card and see if it was legit, and if not, then possibly the police.