Gutters: is this a cowboy job ?

[andy.diy]

thanks datarebal/^woody^.

i've asked for a part refund. we'll see how that goes down.

 

[andy.diy]

i got a response:

"this is not how business works the work is fully guaranteed please send me pictures of what issues you have and they will be a rectified that is what the guarantee is for".

i don't want him to come back and "rectify" the issues. he could end up doing more damage. he clearly doesn't know what he's doing.

is this how business works ? a trader does a poor quality job and you can't expect a refund, only for them to rectify the issues ?

no wonder he asked for payment straight away - i had to stand on the door-step with my ipad making a payment into his account. normally you're given an invoice and told to pay within x days.

 

[^woody^]

You should give him the opportunity to rectify any defective work, rather than demand a refund. That's how it normally works with a service contract.

I don't think that you are yet on a position to have completely lost all confidence in him, in law.

 

[chappers]

It needs a swan neck at the top, to bring the downpipe down against the wall and fixed with brackets. That's the crucial bit.

Exactly, also where is the overflow on the water butt running to. the normal setup would be to fit a diverter into the downpipe which feeds into the water butt, then once the butt is full any further water just continues down the drainpipe.
The main reason the pipe work is all to cock is that he hasn't got the angle of the pipe running into the "y" branch correct

 

[andy.diy]

You should give him the opportunity to rectify any defective work, rather than demand a refund. That's how it normally works with a service contract.

i would agree with you had he say, fixed a running toilet and left the job site with the toilet working and fixed as far as he was aware, and then it started running again after a few flushes.

but he left the job-site looking like this (photos in first post). any tradesmen would have known this was clearly inadequate work, yet he left it in this state and with £300 of my money.

does he deserve a chance to rectify ? i don't think he does personally.

i know legally, there's nothing i can do. but i can either try to appeal to his good nature or threaten to write a negative review.

 

[JohnD]

his advertising site will probably make it difficult or impossible for you to leave a negative review.

Google "tradesitename complaints" and you might be surprised.

 

[andy.diy]

he's on check-a-trade, so i'm covered there.

and has a 9.63% rating with many positive reviews.

which makes it all the more bizarre - i wonder how many of those reviews are real though.

on a local forum for my area; some people have told me the vetting process for check-a-trade is a 5 minute phone call and a small fee. so much for these sites.

 

[JohnD]

Google "tradesitename complaints" and you might be surprised.

 

[Rufus Raintight]

does this sound like a cowboy ?

he shows up to clean gutters; £160.

after he's done, he starts recommending i get the front pavings cleaned. £350. including the back patios, £1200.
i say no, not today. he knocks off £100. i say no.

he then says he spoke to my neighbour, who says rain water from my garage leaks onto their shed.

we went to speak to them and turns out that was the case. i have no reason to not trust these people. they seem decent.

so this guy says he can fix the garage guttering there and then. says it will take 3 hours.

he goes away for 2-3 hours, comes back (after i call him to ask where he's gone), 1 hour later he's done. £300.

he then says there are a number of issues with the roof - he goes around and points them out to me.

mysteriously, one of the tiles had worked itself loose, so there was a gap in the roof. i can't say if this was like this already.

he says altogether half a day work, he'll come back next week.

gut instinct; this guy is a cowboy. it's frustrating i don't have the experience to tell how much BS is going on here.

thanks for all your replies.

To quote Monty Python

 

[andy.diy]

lol. sadly he's the one who's run away. with my money.

another thing that made me suspect this guy.

he wanted to be paid immediately after the job was done. i had to stand on the door-step with my ipad while he waited for me to load up my barclays app, set him up as a new payee - reading the bank details from his credit/debit card. this can't be normal procedure.

with the limited tradesmen i've used in the past they hand me an invoice and i have to pay within a set period (24hrs, 3 days etc).

he probably thought get the money before this sucker works out he's been conned.

 

[Bosswhite]

Give him seven days to correct the problem, as Chappers has said there does not appear to be a diverter in the downpipe so what happens when the barrel is full ??

Get onto Trading Standards you have nothing to lose

 

[^woody^]

yet he left it in this state and with £300 of my money.

Ouch. That's way too much even if it was done correctly.

Too late now, but for anyone else, bear in mind that someone who cleans gutters for a living (unskilled chancer) is not the person you would want to fit gutters (skilled plumber or tradesperson). Vice-verss wold be fine.

 

[bernardgreen]

i had to stand on the door-step with my ipad while he waited for me to load up my barclays app,

I hope he was not able to see what you were typing on your ipad when you opened up the Barclays app. Could he have seen your user name and password. If there was any chance he could see them then change your password and keep an eye on your account.

 

[andy.diy]

i had already signed in before i went to the door, so that was OK.

had some communication from him today. he seems very keen to fix the problem and says he's never had an unhappy customer. he said he'll do whatever i want to fix the problem - i sent him some of the feedback from this thread. he said he wants to leave customers happy.

i still don't want him back though. i want the job done properly.

i think i'm just going to end up writing this off as a bad experience.

 

[andy.diy]

Too late now, but for anyone else, bear in mind that someone who cleans gutters for a living (unskilled chancer) is not the person you would want to fit gutters (skilled plumber or tradesperson). Vice-verss wold be fine.

yes, his business is home improvement. when he came around, i asked him what his company did - to which he answered everything. that should have tipped me off.