offer from Homebase

[Dave_]

Alright lads,

Had a call from my local Homebase store in Harringay today.

They had found me on the NIC website and were making me an offer. For £10 a week (plus vat) they will give me and another electrician total exclusivity of work generated through the store. This means they would make business cards with all my details and push them on to customers. It seems like a good idea but I do not how much work will actually come from this. I wondered if anybody has experience of this.

Dave

 

[woodsta]

don't do it I unfortunately did. I have had one phone call in 18 months. it is not homebase exactly its an advertising company. They made out it was homebase and homebase would pass on my leaflets to customers who had queries. oh and I never got the job from that call either lol

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don't do it I unfortunately did. I have had one phone call in 18 months. it is not homebase exactly its an advertising company. They made out it was homebase and homebase would pass on my leaflets to customers who had queries. oh and I never got the job from that call either lol

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don't do it I unfortunately did. I have had one phone call in 18 months. it is not homebase exactly its an advertising company. They made out it was homebase and homebase would pass on my leaflets to customers who had queries. oh and I never got the job from that call either lol

 

[Gavin A]

Yeah im guessing that giving it a try won't hurt. They want me to sign up for a while but I need an insurance.

Trade referral sites like MyBuilder work very well if you know your way round them and there is enough demand. This is unknown to me though....

no, please don't, it's a complete waste of money and will end up being a 2 year contract.

As Grange Hill put it Just Say No.


not that that worked particularly well with my generation for it's intended purpse mind, biggest generation of caners ever.... erm anyway, you'd be better ****ing your money up the wall than paying for cards in homebase IMO.

 

[maffa ent]

i did it. waste of time!

the only positive was that they do check your cards are readily available regularly, so whenever i was passing i'd call in and clear out my cards, leaving maybe 5?

it'd have been cheaper to get some cards done in the usual way, but this was my way of feeling less ripped off!

 

[Farmelectrics]

give it a go nothing to loose

 

[Sparkysoldman]

Hi. Don't do it it's a scam I had a similar call a few months ago

its not actually home base it's an advertising company all they do is put your cards (if your lucky) in a display hidden somewhere in the store.

They talk a good game and try to con you the staff at home base will be pushing your services they don't

Better off with local mags or similar where u have control over ongoing costs.

 

[Catweasel]

I done it, ,signed up for a two year contract its a complete I went to the local store and inquired about having a shower fitted and wasn't directed to card cards by the member of staff i then tried to cancel as felt it was miss sold but couldn't. Avoid avoid

 

[Octopus]

To anyone reading this thread, go to your local Wickes or Homebase or similar, look for the cards display cabinet, take a couple of cards and call the people and see what they say!

 

[Neale]

I had a 2 year contract with 3 Wickes stores but never had one job ! Waste of time .

 

[odawire]

Its a con, it is just a way of you paying for advertising, I have heard this several times, I have had someone tell me they were phoning on behalf of gloucestershire police and I would get all the work relating to that, total rollocks, save your money and stick a card on the wall at the local cafe' lol

I had a similar call a while back, said it would be in a police magazine, was gonna try it for a bit but looked into it and realised it was a total con and the magazine didn't exist, were the people you spoke to from Liverpool?

 

[odawire]

I done it, ,signed up for a two year contract its a complete I went to the local store and inquired about having a shower fitted and wasn't directed to card cards by the member of staff i then tried to cancel as felt it was miss sold but couldn't. Avoid avoid

How much money have you given them upfront? don't pay them anymore whatever action they threaten you with! letit go to court, they wont turn up, if they've lied at all they broken there contract.

 

[MDJ]

I had a similar call a while back, said it would be in a police magazine, was gonna try it for a bit but looked into it and realised it was a total con and the magazine didn't exist, were the people you spoke to from Liverpool?

Not sure m8, I have had the same from someone calling on behalf of the fire brigade and glos county council, all a con, they want your money for advertising and this is their only interest, there will be nothing more than 50 cards stuck in a wallet on a wall somewhere and thats all, I would recomend sticking a card up at your local cafe, free and it will get more visibility lol.

 

[contractor999]

What a complete waste of time and money, worth a try? why not just chuck a tenner down the nearest drain every week, at least that way some robbing parasitic shyster,who hasn't the capability of finding a proper job wont make any money out of tradesmen.
I can't believe that intelligent skilled people are still being duped by third party telephone canvassers to hand over their hard earned money.
Mind you if you have a few minutes spare when they call, string them along for as long as possible,preferably without laughing, and then tell them what to do with their ' exclusive offer'. its great fun and they are paying for the call.

 

[bigbaddave]

Its a nice little earner for them aint it.. The say 2x sparkies.. Therefore 2x Plumbers Etc so lets say 12 x trades
thats 2x12 = 24 x 52 x £10 = £12480.. and thats per store..

My advice is stay clear...

 

[Adam W]

The 'police magazine' and 'Fire Brigade Benevolent fund diary' advertising over the phone are some of the oldest scams in the book.
As for Homebase putting cards with your details in their store, while it might not necessarily be a 'scam', would it actually benefit you? Either way I wouldn't sign up there and then over the phone but consider the details and call them back using the store number from their website, or better still go into the store and speak to the manager face to face.

 

[telectrix]

had the same sort of offer from wickes. turned out to be an advertising company scam. they had no connection with wickes except an arrangement to put cards in a display board. steer well clear. better off slipping your cards into CU boxes at the local DIY store.

 

[JulianC]

Had a call from my local Homebase store in Harringay today.

No you didn't. You had a call from a bunch of parasites who give the impression they are calling from your local store. Waste of time and money.

 

[bigbaddave]

I had a similar call a while back, said it would be in a police magazine, was gonna try it for a bit but looked into it and realised it was a total con and the magazine didn't exist, were the people you spoke to from Liverpool?

Snap.. The bloke was a total door handle.. Started with hello im from the police.. Anyway.. I put the phone down..

Same company called back and when the said im from the police... I went off on one "Ahhh have you found timmy.. He went missing 10 years ago and you said you would be in touch.. I loves that rabbit i really did

 

[MDJ]

Snap.. The bloke was a total door handle..

:smilielol5: hahaha, I hope you don't mind me stealing that phrase sometime dave, I nearly spat my beer out, ruddy brilliant lol

 

[telectrix]

Snap.. The bloke was a total door handle.. Started with hello im from the police.. Anyway.. I put the phone down..

Same company called back and when the said im from the police... I went off on one "Ahhh have you found timmy.. He went missing 10 years ago and you said you would be in touch.. I loves that rabbit i really did

that reminds me of 1 christmas. a present for my little lad aged 4 was left up in the attic forgotten for 12 months. shame really, he would have loved that kitten.

 

[Dave_]

Wow! Thanks for all the responses, I totally see every point made by everyone, and it sends alarm bells ringing, the staff wont push the work my way in this real world (what was i thinking yesterday)

for your information:

I was supposed to be meeting somebody today to finalise things. I rang him to no avail, left a message explaining that I'd like to trial the offer for three months. He never rang back and never even turned up to the meeting.

so yes, a complete scam.