Dealing with a Dodgy Builder

[Deactivated] on 25/08/2018 - 15:38
Last edited 30/08/2018 - 08:52 by 1 other user

Hi people,

Need a bit of advice on how to proceed with dealing with a builder who was supposed to build a carport for us. They have taken an initial deposit and money for the delivery of materials, but we haven't got anything to show so far. The work hasn't started and the materials never got delivered.

They don't reply back despite numerous phone calls and messages. The only communication was last month when they mentioned that one of the guy had some sort of surgery on his hand and the things are getting delayed because of it.

Now, I think that is a load of crap. I am stuck as I don't know whom to approach for help.

Any advise is appreciated.

I am in Victoria.

EDIT 1
I have lodged a complaint to DBDRV.

Also, from Facebook I have managed to find out that the guy who's hand is supposed to have been operated upon was playing golf last weekend. The same guy is also a vice president at a local cricket club and plays for the same club too.

Guy #2 I have managed to find out his home address and phone number, but the home phone always goes to answering machine after a few rings.

Both the guys are fairly active on Facebook.

EDIT 2
Google review of the company (not done by me)…

[Removed for now while the case is with DBDRV]

EDIT 3
Managed to talk to one of them (the one with the hand surgery) yesterday. He wouldn't give me a start date and got angry saying, "I don't need this on a Sunday. Don't call me back" and hung up the phone. Tried to call later, but it went straight to answering machine.

Also, have notified them that an application has been lodged with DBDRV.

EDIT 4
Talked to BACV and was advised that as the amount of contract is less than 10K, it will need to go to VCAT and not DBDRV. Also, was advised to cancel the application to DBDRV.

I will be lodging an application with VCAT today.

EDIT 5
The Google review got updated…

(Liquidated Feb 2017) Do not use this company they are an absolute disgrace got a quote over 10 months ago they took a two and a half thousand deposit and never bothered getting back to me I have sent over 45 text messages and they're only excuse is sorry boss is sick then the next one, boss is been really sick, then the next one boss wasn't really sick boss was overseas! Excuse me!! Have asked them to ring me, no! Have asked them for deposit back, no! How do you people sleep at night after ripping off the elderly!! You should be ashamed of yourselves!! You are not MEN, you are a poor excuse for a human being!! Karma is a great thing and so are Google reviews! And that's why you are getting this one!! ( This is the only authentic one) SHAME ON YOU!!
Foot note:
Have contacted ASIC and this company went into liquidation Feb 2017 and suspect of buying back a month later in March 2017. Now trading under S****c Building. Beware!!

TL;DR - Builder took money and is not doing the work.

Home & Garden

Comments

      • AlexF on 28/08/2018 - 21:19

        … fees can be added to the existing debt. The sheriff has the power to seize everything that has monetary value …

        that’s how I got money back for botched job, though, Sheriff had to visit twice. Don’t give in to MoFos.

  • Seiko on 27/08/2018 - 22:13
    +2

    This is of no use to you now, but the one and only time I have engaged a trade and had to pay a deposit was when I put a new kitchen in my house. He wanted a payment (can't remember figure) but I insisted on taking a photo of his driver's licence. I told him in a friendly way that he knows where I live and I'm not going anywhere.

    All I have from you is a piece of paper with your company name and back account details and no way of seeing my money again if you decide to go quiet. I also let him know I work in the building industry and can drop 18t of concrete blocks in his driveway if we ever have and issues finances.

    I guess I have trust issues. I always pay the minimum deposit and always pay with credit card when possible. I was one of very few people that got my credit card deposit back when a furniture company went under a few years ago.

    • HighAndDry on 28/08/2018 - 12:21

      I guess I have trust issues. I always pay the minimum deposit and always pay with credit card when possible. I was one of very few people that got my credit card deposit back when a furniture company went under a few years ago.

      Seems like you have "being prudent with your money" issues, not trust issues. Though this is hilarious:

      I work in the building industry and can drop 18t of concrete blocks in his driveway

      Better than dropping it on his house or him I guess…

  • THICKnSLOW on 27/08/2018 - 23:47
    +4

    I sympathise with O.P, pretty bad position to be in. Shithead tradies are the worst people to deal with, guttercrawlers.

    However, don't lose hope, but keep your expectations low.

    The weather has been shockingly unpredictable in Melbourne recently, do you think the builders are buying time, waiting for better weather for a 'quicker job' rather than slogging it out in rain/wind/hail over several weeks. Maybe they do have too much on their plate, suffer from personal issues/mental health issues, poor client-relationship skills?

    • idonotknowwhy on 28/08/2018 - 05:22
      +2

      Maybe they do have too much on their plate, suffer from personal issues/mental health issues, poor client-relationship skills?
      in which case they should give OP back the money, not be rude to him.

      In which case they should return his money, but be rude to him…

    • DemocracyManifest on 28/08/2018 - 09:58

      Haha (profanity)

  • minniethemoocher on 28/08/2018 - 07:50
    +2

    Contact A Current Affair. They love this sort of story.

  • 6000SUX on 28/08/2018 - 08:51

    I'm sorry to hear about your situation. Its horrible to hear this sort of thing goes on in this day and age.
    I have a townhouse built in 2016. I've been fighting with my builder to repair the leaking carport roofs since mid 2016. Finally he did it in the last few weeks (yes mid 2018), but it took alot of pressure - several rows and texting every day until he went nuts (for about 2 months). Of course this hounding approach wont work for everyone and it was a major pain in the ass. But it sounds like you have some sound advice from others already in this thread, which is ace.
    Hey you're in a good position now though - you have nothing to lose. If you've mentally written the cash off and VCAT come up trumps its a bonus - good luck with it. Would love to hear the outcome.
    Where did you find the builder?

    • [Deactivated] on 28/08/2018 - 08:58

      several rows and texting every day until he went nuts (for about 2 months

      I am not sure if this is going to work as both the guys are not responding to my messages.

      VCAT is a path that I am most likely to take. Others have suggested to write a letter of demand. I talked to a legal service yesterday, and they are not cheap.

      Where did you find the builder?

      Wife researched on the internet and got a few quotes from various builders. This one seemed reasonable and looking at their website, didn't raise any red flags. They were quite responsive.

      Things got pear shaped last month when they received the payment from us. They stopped communicating unless we contacted them. Now, they don't even answer any via any form of communication.

      • 6000SUX on 28/08/2018 - 10:04

        Yeah the texting/nagging method isnt my recommendation. More to share the pain of what i had to go through.

      • Blitzfx on 28/08/2018 - 10:31

        What's their website?

        You can pull a lot of information from the domain registrar if they didn't hide it.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/08/2018 - 11:07

          I have pulled a fair bit of information from the web about the company.

  • AFOS on 28/08/2018 - 10:22
    +1

    You referred to a contract.

    Who is the contract with (company, individual, partnership)?

    Check them through ASIC site. For $10 you can obtain their legal address. This is your starting point for further communication.

    What are other contract terms:
    - commencement date,
    - finish by date,
    - force majeure clause,
    - penalties for non compliance.

    Without this info there is not much point discussing possible options

    • [Deactivated] on 28/08/2018 - 11:12

      Who is the contract with (company, individual, partnership)?

      Contract is with a company (run by two individuals)

      commencement date

      No date specified, but says "as soon as reasonably possible".

      Contract was signed in April and at that time they said it should be done in June as there was a lead time of 4-6 weeks for material delivery.

      They messaged is July that material has been delivered to the factory and asked for payment - which my wife made.

      That's it… since then it is us chasing them.

      • AFOS on 28/08/2018 - 11:45
        +1

        I would get their legal address through ASIC. Company extract costs less than $10 but you will get list and addresses of all directors plus company's legal address.

        Then write to them (registered mail, of course) using all addresses from company extract demanding either immediate commencement of work or refund. Give them two weeks for response and then apply to VCAT. Application costs less than $100.

        The problem here is "as soon as reasonably possible" clause. If they can prove that one of them was seriously ill (broke his hand) and they communicated this to you, you may not be successful in VCAT as far as refund is concerned. However, the application itself may push them to start doing the job anyway.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/08/2018 - 11:48

          If they can prove that one of them was seriously ill (broke his hand) and they communicated this to you, you may not be successful in VCAT as far as refund is concerned. However, the application itself may push them to start doing the job anyway.

          Not sure if the Facebook posts are admissible as evidence. As far as I can see, he doesn't have a problem with playing golf or footy on the weekends. Doesn't look like his hand ever broke.

        • AFOS on 28/08/2018 - 12:15

          @homersimpson: Surely admissible. However, if he provides any sort of medical evidence then it will be a different story.

          I would put it that way: you can require refund if you can prove that they have breached the contract which does not seem easy given "as soon as reasonably possible" term.

          Another way of doing that is proving that the contract is void: say their license is expired etc. This will also entitle you to refund.

          At this point I would try using formal communication channels (reg mail to legal addresses) as means to get them to do the job they were contracted for or at very least get a formal response to determine further course of action.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/08/2018 - 12:17

          @AFOS:

          Surely admissible. However, if he provides any sort of medical evidence then it will be a different story.

          That's right. I am pretty sure he is capable of producing some sort of medical evidence.

  • elgrande on 28/08/2018 - 12:41
    +3

    If I lost $9k I would be ringing back as a new customer at a different address (and not show up), wait until he leaves and then following him to his home.

    Now thats when the bikies come into it..

  • BilboBoggles on 28/08/2018 - 13:52
    +4

    It can be hard to impossible to reclaim the money. We had a builder who did something similar for a similar amount but on an entire house… We spent nearly as much again in lawyer fees, until it became evident that he had no actual assets and was technically living with his mum on paper… So we would have won, but never got anything back..

    IF you can get him to complete the work, would you trust it? Once you piss them off, these scum can do all sorts of things to short change you on workmanship and materials.

    So we ended up sucking the costs up as a bad learning experience. And moved on. We got a new builder some 5 years later and went ahead.

    In our experience tradies that consider doing small jobs are 80% mongrels even if they appear to be nice… If you can find someone you know well who has had a good experience with a tradie then maybe that tradie might be ok. Picking a tradie living locally is good, because they are more likely to care if they live around the corner and know people in the area.

  • buckster on 28/08/2018 - 15:23

    You could use VCAT as proof for the bank that the transaction should be reversed since the works have not been done? In the situation that VCAT doesn't go anywhere fast

  • Lockieasy on 28/08/2018 - 16:15

    That's why it's often best to ask for referrals from friends/family or even online forums like here or a Facebook group local to you area, because going in blindly with a tradie for a job as big as this can leave you open to exploitation.

  • bugman on 28/08/2018 - 17:57

    its hard finding a good Builder/Tradie.. that why I do 90% stuff my self, replacing carport, building fences which I have done… in saying that ONLY PAY 5%-7% deposit. If builder needs more than that, Alarm Bells should be sounding. It could be a scam OR most likely Cash flow issues.

    I find good builders mostly only do large jobs, like extensive renos or new builds ect. They are often to busy to worry about stuff under $20k.

    • [Deactivated] on 28/08/2018 - 19:30

      in saying that ONLY PAY 5%-7% deposit.

      Oh well, an expensive lesson learnt.

  • Conka on 28/08/2018 - 18:34
    -2

    If you are indeed Homer J Simpson, surely they know you’re the chosen one and must obey.

    If they are unaware, It could be they’re new member and you’ll need to use the secret Stonecutter’s Handshake.

    That always fixes up any issues I’ve had with trades
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DCXtGhtKk28

    Good luck. OP.

    Dodgy people with your money is never great. Per previous advice, if you’re able to get in touch with them, and they want to start, run. Get your money back and call it a day.

    I’d avoid bringing social media into this yet. Get your money back and then blast them.

    Please keep us updated.

    • [Deactivated] on 28/08/2018 - 19:28
      +1

      I haven't posted anything on social media apart from this thread here.

      Sure will keep you guys updated if anything changes.

  • BartholemewH on 29/08/2018 - 01:32

    I had a local fencer take approx. 4 months to show up and replace a couple of fences earlier this year. The difference was I know who he is and I didn't pay him a brass razoo until the job was completed. He did a great job and got his $8400.

    Any builder that needs money up front for a carport is having a laugh, they buy materials on account and could likely return them if it was really necessary (I used to takeoff/purchase for a building company).

  • [Deactivated] on 12/09/2018 - 21:34
    Merged from Dodgy builder - gone into administration

    Background information is in the thread…

    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/399017

    Found out today the builder went into liquidation on 31st of August 2018. Talked to the administrators and they said the chances of recovering any money are fairly slim. The building company has no assets and had $350 in their bank account.

    Is it possible to prosecute the directors? Bit shocked that in this day and age people can get away with such fraud.

    • HighAndDry on 13/09/2018 - 10:48

      Very unlikely to be any criminal prosecution. More likely is recovery against the directors personally if there was any insolvent trading. If they knew what they were doing then, I'm going to assume all their assets are actually in other people's names (wife, brothers, parents, etc) - but the administrators should be looking into that as part of standard liquidation procedure.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/10/2019 - 20:02

    There's some terrific advice about Victorian building disputes (and how to avoid them) here: www.builderchecks.com.au/resources/contracts-lawyers-when-th…

    There's plenty more free informative articles and advice on building problems as well. The smart move is get a Builder Background Check report before you sign a contract, see www.builderchecks.com.au There's a lot of great builders out there, one of these reports will help you avoid the dodgy operators.

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