Should I Be Suspicious - Tradesperson

Placebo on 24/01/2019 - 23:21

Hi Ozbargain Community,
I think I need some moderating from others to decide if my concerns about a tradesperson are reasonable.

Mid December I had a quote done and placed an order for a roller door for our carport. As the manufacturing of the doors shuts down over Christmas I was told to expect installation in the first week of January. Late December I received a text from the guy to say the door wasn't ready yet and he would contact me on the 19th Jan to arrange an installation date. On the 21, the Monday following the 19th I sent him a text asking about installation and received no reply for hours, however when I tried to call, he called back in response and arranged installation for today, Thursday.

After 11am today he sent me a text to say he is unwell and unable to do the job today, but wants to reschedule for Tuesday. I was angry, so I left the message and replied around 4pm today asking for a time for Tuesday. I'm yet to receive a response.

We've paid a 40% deposit for this job.

I'm torn between feeling furious and badly for the guy. It is possible that events have conspired against him, but I'm starting to feel icky about it. Do you think my concerns are reasonable? Any suggestions for what to do from here?

Out of interest, I've looked up his ABN, he's been active for almost 10 years. He has good reviews on Google, only 7 of them but they're glowing, although on closer inspection I think about half of those could be dodgy (they've only ever left one review, or have left reviews for companies all over Australia with no particular pattern). I chose him because he is local and had good reviews.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • AlienC on 24/01/2019 - 23:44
    -2

    Humans get sick even especially hard long time workers. Give him a few weeks or days to recover that time limit is up to you and if it goes over a month and he has no good reason like more bad accidents or something then you can start the refund or worst case scenario dispute process first with the party invovled and if they are not compliant after a few days or weeks then the police as it will become now a civil matter.

    But yeah people get sick but yeah it is unfortunate and suspicious I can see from your point of view but always give the other party benefit of the doubt and give them enough leeway you would to say if a close friend was doing it for free out of their own pocket on their own behalf but don't leave it forever.

    They could be as they say just sick and most tradies are honest in my opinion and you can actually sometimes even tell the dodgy scammers.

    Make sure you have all their details in case it goes sideways so you can follow up with the necessary authorities if you do get slighted.

    • Placebo on 24/01/2019 - 23:50

      Thanks AlienC, I appreciate your response. I'm sure you're right. I'm not at all angry about him being sick, that absolutely happens, but I was very angry to not receive a message about it until 11am, which was the time I was expecting him. It just feels like I've been put off more than would be the norm. But you're right, I probably need to relax a bit.

      • AlienC on 24/01/2019 - 23:55

        I understand but having met with a tradie recently if they did end up call in sick I would be mad also but understandable.

        Let us just hope your door job goes well and smoothly.

        A nightmare tradie right now would be awful.

    • follow on 25/01/2019 - 00:00
      +2

      then the police as it will become now a civil matter

      ??

  • djkelly69 on 25/01/2019 - 00:30
    +4

    Every right to be suspicious IMO.

    If there are any more excuses I would doing something like asking him to drop off the roller door as well as an invoice from the manufacturer so you can arrange your own install from someone else.

    • Placebo on 25/01/2019 - 11:52

      That is a good suggestion I hadn't thought of, thanks.

  • HighAndDry on 25/01/2019 - 01:25
    +3

    You paid him a 40% deposit? Last year? And you've received…. text messages? I wouldn't be suspicious yet, but if nothing happens within the week I'd start being less polite.

    • whooah1979 on 25/01/2019 - 12:16

      We've paid a 40% deposit for this job.

      We've never paid a deposit for renovation work. It's always installments or a lump sum after completion.

      • HighAndDry on 25/01/2019 - 12:23

        Yeah - this is something I hear brought up time and again. It seems crazy to me, I'm glad I'm not unique in feeling this.

  • jason101 on 25/01/2019 - 06:20

    I find dealing with tradesmen who seem to think only their time is valuable and mine isn't absolutely infuriating, but at the end of the day he has your 40%, you want a roller door - All I can suggest is that you telephone rather than text and try to keep calm. I am sure the contractor gets many messages (mostly from time wasters) and managing hundreds of messages rolling in every day while trying to work (or if you are sick) becomes very hard to effectively manage - a telephone call from a legitimate customer who has been messed around already should garner a better response from a responsible businessman.

  • shrek4 on 25/01/2019 - 07:37
    +1

    I’m not sure why people get mad or angry over someone being unwell.
    If he is unwell (benefit of the doubt) there isn’t much you or he can do about it.
    Sure it is an annoyance and disappointment but why get angry?

    People get sick, we can’t choose the timing to suit and I’m sure he feels bad enough he’s let you down.

    I would hope that when I’m sick and can’t get to work and inadvertently let people down that folks are understanding and compassionate.

    Good luck, hope this gets resolved soon for you.

    • Clear on 25/01/2019 - 08:09

      Years of ACA and Today Tonight doing stories on dodgy builders hasn't helped.

    • [Deactivated] on 25/01/2019 - 08:35

      I’m not sure why people get mad or angry over someone claiming being unwell.

      Contractors in every other country I am familiar with have to pay penalties for missing due dates. This is the only country I know that doesn't have any penalties and even gets sympathy.

      Tradies should be factoring shipping delays and being sick and having backup plans. They certainly price their services as if they've costly contigencies to cover.

    • Placebo on 25/01/2019 - 11:56

      I think I should clarify that my issue isn't so much with him apparently being sick, it is with the poor contact I've received from him. This wasn't helped by the fact that we were expecting him here at 10:30 and he messaged me after 11am to say he wouldn't be here. Had he sent me that message at 8am I would feel far less concerned than I do now. Given the way he has put me off with minimal contact, I'm concerned that it might be less illness related and more to stall me.

      Never mind the fact that Tuesday is inconvenient for me and I will need to cancel the other appointments I had made for that day.

    • HighAndDry on 25/01/2019 - 12:24

      but why get angry?

      I mean, paying 40% of the price and getting 0% of the work seems like a decent reason.

    • Banana on 25/01/2019 - 12:41

      We have had to deal with so many tradies and somehow they all fell sick/family fell sick/have to take someone to emergency ward after re-scheduling the appointments at least twice with minimal communications.

      I am beginning to see a pattern here…

  • BargainCowboy on 25/01/2019 - 08:10
    +4

    Why did you pay 40% deposit? Is this standard? Sounds crazy to me

    • [Deactivated] on 25/01/2019 - 08:37
      +1

      The 40% may reflect the cost of the door. I would have paid for the door directly.

      • Placebo on 25/01/2019 - 11:58

        Yeah, I assumed it was to cover the cost of the door as I understand he needs to order that before he can begin work, so I took it as a reasonable request.

        It would never have occurred to me to pay for the door directly, perhaps that is something I should consider in future.

        • [Deactivated] on 25/01/2019 - 12:09

          I am guilty of having made that mistake.

          Always purchase hardware directly if the item is a big ticket item. The order can be placed by the tradie but your name should be on the invoice and delivered to you, otherwise you may have to contest ownership of the items paid if the tradie decides to declare bankruptcy and keep the goods.

          Never pay for services not rendered. There is no need to pay anything upfront for relatively small jobs. The tradie has a right to refuse the job but you also should be aware that this common practice is not ethical practice nor necessary practice.

          • Placebo on 25/01/2019 - 12:12

            @[Deactivated]: That is great advice, thanks.

            • HighAndDry on 25/01/2019 - 12:25

              @Placebo: Plus that way you can be sure the money's actually being spent on what the tradie says it's being spent on, without a mark-up.

              • [Deactivated] on 25/01/2019 - 14:47

                @HighAndDry: They still mark it up. Whenever I deal with tradies and ask for them to invoice directly to me, they will never speak to the supplier in front of me.

                The supplier will also not give me a quote because I'm not a tradie and if they did will take several days to come up with a price for very standard items. The process should be computerised so no reason for the delay.

                I suspect they arrange kickbacks so either way, there's a mark up.

  • ego22 on 25/01/2019 - 17:31
    -1

    seems about right…i renovated a whole house with almost every trade being like this or worse. but it always got done. either they have to much on their plate, lazyness, didnt get the parts, could be many things.
    give him a week and bit and im shure something will happen.

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