What happens next
You have pressed Send my details. Here is everything that happens now, which is less than you might expect.
Where you land
Section titled “Where you land”If you left the account box ticked, you land in your account, with your estimate already saved in it.
- Saved. Your estimate is here whenever you want it, and the installer has your enquiry.
- Your estimate, listed with its date, its status, and the headline figures. Tap it to open it in full.
- You can run another estimate at any time, for a different roof or a different set of answers.
If you unticked it, you get a confirmation page instead: a thank you, a line saying the installer has your details, and when they will be in touch. It also tells you either that a copy of your estimate has been emailed to you, or, if that installer has no email set up, that the estimate stays on that page and you should take a note of the link.
When they will call
Section titled “When they will call”The confirmation gives a specific window, in hours. It is set by the installer themselves, and the same number appears in your email.
It is a promise about a first contact, not about a survey date. What arrives depends on what you asked for at step 6: a written proposal if you asked for a proposal, a phone call if you asked for a call.
The email
Section titled “The email”If your installer has email set up, a copy of your estimate arrives shortly after you submit, with the four figures in it so you have them without going back to the site.
It comes from the installer, in their name and their colours. Nothing in it mentions Solar Desk, which is the software they use rather than the company quoting you. If you are hunting for it in a full inbox, or in a spam folder, search for the installer’s name.
Every one of those emails carries the same footer: the figures are an indicative estimate based on what you told the calculator, they are subject to a survey, and the installer is responsible for any quotation they issue.
What is not booked
Section titled “What is not booked”Nothing.
- No survey has been arranged. Somebody has to visit your roof before any of this becomes real, and that visit has not been scheduled.
- No quotation has been issued. What you have is an estimate. A quotation is a separate, itemised document, and if the installer sends you one it will arrive later.
- Nothing has been ordered, and no money has changed hands. There is no deposit, no contract and nothing to cancel.
- No credit has been applied for. The instalment plan you may have looked at was an illustration. Nobody has run a check on you.
What the estimate is not goes through this properly.
While you wait
Section titled “While you wait”Read the four numbers so you can argue with them intelligently when the call comes, and how your estimate is worked out if you want to know where they came from.