Hi all, I had hired a handyman to do garden work for $1700. He had done a good job with rubbish removal in the past and I had liked his work. He asked for a deposit of $700 for equipment hire and soil etc., which I paid via Payid. He initially said it will take 3-4 days to finish the job but for next three weeks kept delaying on one pretext or other. After lot of chase ups, he worked for few hours and did about 5% of the job.
After pressing him to complete work, he refused and asked me to hire someone else. On return of deposit (minus the value of work done so far, which is yet to be agrees), he refused.
Now the issue is - he brought in a rotary hoe to do the job and it's still lying at my property. I've told him to either return the money or I won't let him take the equipment until then. The equipment has no hire company label or anything. It's of no use to me but that's the only leverage I have. Work he has done is not worth than 150 but I am ready to take a bit of hit but not letting him get away with it for free.
What are my options?
Tradie deposit dispute
Comments
how do u know he has done more than 150 bucks worth of work?
have you been spying on op?or
are u the handyman!
plotthickens
It's even worth less. Since he left, I have worked my a** off to complete work. But I'm happy to take a hit to close the matter but for him, it's non starter
That's your opinion and you're entitled to that, but doesn't answer the question of what was the actual work he completed?
It's easy for you to sit there and say it's not worth $150, but that's only one side of the story.
Yes that's my opinion. It was a five stage work, he did not even do half of first stage. We can always agree on the value of work done if we negotiate but the guy is refusing to accept anything at all
$1700 for 4 days work.
Sounds really cheap. Is he a registered business or just a handyman you know?
Did he provide a receipt for the $700 paid so far?
No receipt but I paid via payid to his phone, so I
have a bank receipt with his name on it. The guy is not a registered business, afaik, but does work for cash. Like he charged me 200 for rubbish removal, the second best quote I had was 320. 1700 looked good value and I didn't negotiate at all. But that's the price he quoted after looking at the job.
Like he charged me 200 for rubbish removal, the second best quote I had was 320.
Probably threw it on an empty lot :P
$1700 for 4 days work.
My plumber charges that for 4 hours work.
There’s a sucker born every minute…or 4 hrs.
There’s a sucker born every minute…
That what our obstetrician had on the poster behind his desk…
About $55 p.h. (probably tax-free) for a "handyman" is not particularly cheap
First write a letter of demand asking for a refund of your deposit minus what you consider fair compensation for the work he has done.
Wait about 2 weeks for a response, if no response or refund is forthcoming then make a complaint to fair trading.You will most likely need to take him to the small claims tribunal, in which case he will be forced to refund you for not doing the work that was agreed to.
Make sure you bring proof of communication between you both and the statement showing the payment.
He may be even forced to pay for the costs as well.Thanks for the suggestion. I will send him the letter.
He has been coming up with all excuses under the sun to collect equipment. Like sending hire company directly or that there's a tracking device on it to report me for theft. He comes with something new every few days to lay his claim. I have told him that I have already paid the value of the equipment (and have a bank receipt) and I have checked thoroughly, there is no label or device that he is claiming.Oh if I had a dollar for every time I've heard of handymen conning people. Handyman=conman. Why don't people understand that. Do what Garetz has suggested but I wouldn't give him 2 weeks to respond.
With your letter of demand you need to send written advice Telling him you're reporting him for scamming and conning you. Also reporting him For stealing money from you as he has not provided the services he was hired for. Also reporting him to the ATO for tax evasion. Send all this in writing along with advice that he is not allowed to enter your property and any such action will be considered harassment and tresspassing and result in further legal and police action.
Keep the rotary hoe until this is resolved. A strong offence is the only way to try and get your money back without going to small claims or involving police. You could find a nice policeman and have them make a call to this conman to help you as well but would depend on how busy they are.
Thanks, I will send him written advice on all these matters.
This garden is my wife's dream project and I've seen her struggling with enormous stress due to this guy. I'm looking for a fair outcome here.You have to give him a reasonable time to respond, if you do not you might not win the small claims and you are back to square one.
They might even side with the tradie.Not all handymen are con jobs
Partners colleague husband started within the last year. He has his panel beaters/spray painters license and AC license. AC work is really seasonal unless you have contracts for businesses to service in winter. Both of these guys did their apprenticeship when panel beating would mean being covered in dust most of the day due to sanding bog. Its a lot less dusty these days but still a crappy job.
If I were to swap and do a "trade", I would be a handyman. I have enough experience in electrical, plumbing, building and rennos that I can pick and choose what I want to do without having to do a 4 year apprenticeship and be stuck in one field. Any major works I can sub it to friends with a ticket.
The down side is, you need tools to cover a lot of different jobs and people expect to pay less per hour. You also have to deal with the stigma such as in this thread because it is easier to get into.
One thing I would suggest is when looking at a handyman you dont really want to hire the young guys unless they have been doing it (with ABN) for a few years. The older guys is what you want since they should have the experience. The guys that are at retirement age can be good but also a hit and miss since they work slower and arnt as strong but often have a huge experience pool, often have several trades and are very skilled. Some may even do extra work free. The young guys in their 20's are more suited to rubbish removal/demo and more labor intensive stuff. Of course there are exceptions but this is enough so you can get a feel for it.
Unless the handyman operated as a registered business then Fair Trading cannot assist.
Lodging a claim with the small claims court will entail costs of $1,000 plus
https://www.mcv.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-12/Court…
I've told him to either return the money or I won't let him take the equipment until then.
Be careful there. Holding their equipment hostage is illegal and may be construed as theft.
The handyman MAY file a police report (probably not). It'll depend on how much the rotary hoe is worth to them, or if it is hired, to that company.
Be careful there. Holding their equipment hostage is illegal and may be construed as theft.
Be careful there. Holding people's money hostage is illegal and may be construed as theft.
Ah ok, so not competing work agreed to….does that not constitute as theft as well?
Holding their equipment hostage is illegal and may be construed as theft.
It was abandoned on their property.
I won't let him take the equipment
That's not abandonment.
How did it get there?
Sounds like the ATO may need a tip off
Sorry, I only accept Bitcoin.
and makes it impossible to cheat on taxes
feel free to post your public BTC address for all to see, though not sure how it would avoid taxes being paid… could just make a new one anyway…
What does the ATO know about my cryptocurrency trading?
01/05/2019 | CryptocurrencyWhat does the ATO know about my cryptocurrency trading? | Munro's Accountants and Advisors
As we anticipated, the ATO has released a media statement explaining that it is collecting cryptocurrency trading records dating as far back as 1 July 2014. The intention is to use those records as a “key element in the ATO’s compliance program”.
What information does the ATO have on cryptocurrency trading?
Together with your name and other personal information, the ATO is collecting, amongst other things:
Details of cryptocurrency bought and sold (date, crypto/token name, amount, $ value)
Associated wallet addresses
Other unique identifiers
https://www.cryptocurrency-accountants.com.au/blog/cryptocur…Cryptocurrencies are not anonymous
According to H&R Block Inc (NYSE: HRB)’s Australian tax communications director Mark Chapman, one big myth about digital money must be dispelled.“Cryptocurrency is not really anonymous,” he told The Motley Fool.
“The ATO receives data from Australian designated service providers (DSP’s) which enable it to identify the name of the cryptocurrency investor, date of birth, addresses, ABN (if applicable), email address, contact phone numbers and social media accounts.”
https://www.msn.com/en-au/money/markets/how-does-the-ato-kno…
I hope OP you have security as the tradie might turn up with some bikies to get back his stuff you have stolen .
Police is too boring .Will it be considered stolen when I have a receipt of payment made to the person? He has used my personal property as his parking lot, he left equipment for a week after he refused to work. Despite saying I'm am coming to pick up everyday (even though I didn't agree), he never showed up.
The suggestions of take it somewhere legally .
The tradie could do a counter claim smashing your $700 claim with loss of income due to your actions .
Any legal experts out there ?I'd say give the stuff back and figure out your actions from there .
your $700 claim with loss of income due to your actions .
I doubt the $700 deposit can be used for such claims legally.
It was a deposit for their contract of work.
@jv: The guy markets his business on Facebook and that's I got in touch. It was a verbal contract but since then we have a million messages exchanged between us, first during three weeks when he dilly-dallied and in last week since he has refused to work.
@jv: He would promise to work one day and never show up. Various reasons given - it's sunny, it's wet, he is not in a good mood, he forgot to come and when he did promise he will turn up, he would go incommunicado. Last instance, one fine day he said he will come tomorrow and will prep everything today, next day he was yet to prep, third day he forgot!
When reminded this was happening way too often and he is always finding excuses, he accused us of calling him a liar (which he did on 30 occasions) and refused to work!
paypal = chargeback
lodge a dispute / services not delivered, let him keep his hoe (maybe use it yourself if you know how)
I don't get why people pay deposits. I have never paid a deposit for work. I only pay once the work is complete and defect free.
I have never paid a deposit for work. I only pay once the work is complete and defect free.
For large jobs, most businesses will not start until a % deposit has been paid.
Also, there maybe cashflow issues with small business if they need to purchase a lot of materials as part of the job.
So, lol @ you saying you never pay deposits.
Tell him you will take the hoe to cash converters for a loan and he can pick it up from there
So that's what Pam would do! lol
(To be honest, I'd probably do something similar as a last resort. But I'd give him notice of intention in writing a couple of times before actually doing it).Lol agree that's an absolute last resort, I'll need to see how this plays out over next couple of months
That's actually a great idea. Hopefully it is worth what's been paid
What actual work did he do before stopping?
Well the job was to remove all weeds (large number) and take them away, remove pavers and stack them on side of house, put weedkiller, run hoe, clean soil and remove any weeds and roots, add mushroom compost all around and install garden edging (which i had bought) and take away some wood (which he wanted for his personal use).
What he did - removed pavers and piled them where they were removed from, removed 10% weeds and left them at their place
Should have just called a Landscaper. They could have just sent apprentices to do this
Take note of serial number… could be stolen equipment.
You unfortunately have to take this guy to Tribunal.
You have all the records… bank details, phone details, etc….
You have th eTribunal sort this guy out.
DO NOT let this guy back onto your property. UNDERSTAND.
He is not to retrieve his equipment… tell him the police are coming to inspect it.
You need to accept the fact you’ve done your doe. Sell the rotary hoe or store it so where so it can’t be stolen. This is the problem when you get backyard douchebags doing work. No invoice, no written work/contract. He probably doesn’t even have liability insurance.
If anything he’s probably a crackhead smoking a pipe.
I’d install some security cameras if you have any concerns or this person may trespass later on. I’d be telling your neighbours as well, so should anything happen and you need to file a police report you may have a witness or two.The tradie probably doesn't give a toss about that particular piece of equipment and has moved on to work for a few hours elsewhere to make money to get a new one. I suggest you do the same and hire someone new from a reputable business. It'll cost more but you'll have more peace of mind that they will know what they're doing and will complete the job. You can offer to sell the equipment to the new person doing the job. We will always come across these types of unreliable people from time to time.
What work has he done so far? I think you'll find its worth more than the $150 you claim.