Monday 17 August 2015

How to Spot a Cowboy Aerial Installer

If you’re looking to have an aerial installed at your property then you want to make sure that the person you hire to do it is qualified and reliable. Unfortunately, there are some rogue traders out there who will take your money and do a less-than-professional job of installing the aerial.

Often they will be people who have little, or in some cases no experience of installing aerials but see an opportunity to make some quick money. It goes without saying that you want to avoid such people at all costs since having someone like this install your aerial could result in a lot of extra work and expense when you need to correct their mistakes. 

Warning signs

To help you avoid hiring a cowboy aerial installer, below are some of the biggest warning signs to look out for.

Cold calling – If you have been cold called, whether by phone or at your front door, you have to ask yourself why a reputable installer would need to do this. Most good aerial installation companies have a good supply of work thanks to recommendations and advertising so they don’t need to cold call in order to drum up business. Always be wary when you’re contacted out of the blue by someone offering to install an aerial.

Pushing upgrades – If you’re having an aerial installed, there’s usually no reason why you’d need to get any upgrades. Whether you want the aerial so you can access Freeview, or a paid service such as Sky or Virgin – the person installing the aerial should never try to convince to get upgrades that you don’t really need.

Lack of credentials – If a person does show up at your front door offering to install your aerial, the first thing you should do is ask to see some ID. Any credible aerial installer will be able to produce this without any arguments or excuses. Look for RDI symbol on their ID – this shows that they’re fully qualified and safety checked.

How to find reputable aerial installers

Now that you know how to avoid cowboy aerial installers, let’s look at how to make sure you hire someone reputable. One of the best ways to hire an aerial installer is to go by a recommendation by a friend or family member. Personal recommendations are invaluable since you know that the person making the recommendation was happy with the work they had done.

Personal recommendations aren’t always possible of course, so the alternative is to look for aerial installers in your local area by doing a Google search. When hiring someone to install an aerial, you should always agree on a price upfront and never pay anything before the work is done. You should also find out how long the job will take to complete. A simple domestic aerial installation if normally a quick job but for communal aerial installation, such as you’d find in a hospital or hotel, it can take a considerable amount of time so it’s always worth finding this out up front.

About the Author:

Peter has an interest in aerial installation and associated with Aerial Services Ltd. His articles cover topics such as how to avoid cowboy aerial installers.




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