Weasels Ripping at my Flesh

Odds

Odds

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Greasy weasels, ripping at my flesh - to paraphrase the late, great Frank Zappa - are making my blood bubble.

It's gone beyond the parody of a cowboy builder, or an extortionate plumber...although i've met my fair share of them in the past.
No, now i've got a weasel who's trading even though his 'company' has been in liquidation since October 2019.
I'm after a competent guy to renovate a bathroom; new floorboards, replastering, tiling - the works, and this greasy geezer's been stringing me on for over six bloody weeks: verbally quoting me an estimate of £7,500 for the job.
Now i know he's a busted flush should i simply tell him to bog off or report him for illegal trading?
 
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Pay him, you say?
For what?
The 'pleasure' of his conversation? The quality of his bullsh**?

I don't doubt you've had your share; but i sought a fair appraisal of the job in good faith and i'm annoyed to be strung along for so long - time spent that could've been used to find an honest tradesman.
I'm sure they exist, it's just finding them is the trouble.
 
A company can be in liquidation for a couple of years. Ask him about his company. Is it his limited company that is in liquidation and quoting for the work or is he quoting personally? If personally, as long as you pay him in stages for work satisfactory completed, I don’t see a problem.
 
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He claims the company was dissolved before he bought the new shop.
It all seems very iffy to me.
 
OddsBodkin said:
He claims the company was dissolved before he bought the new shop.
It all seems very iffy to me.
Click to expand...
So, back to my question. Is the person quoting you as a sole trader or on behalf of the liquidated company?
 
He says he's 'helping out' and another guy, who's listed as secretary and director, does the work.
He has a habit of waiting to see who's phoning him up before answering by leaving the caller to ring off, checking the number, then calling back.
When i asked why the guy who does the work can't give me a quote he says it takes hours to come up with a figure.
He says a lot of things. None of which i beleive.
 
Cannot see the problem tbh

ask around get a recommendation from some one you know ??

plenty of one stop
Bathroom / kitchen fitting companies out there surely

bathrooms are not my cup of tea tbh so generally swerve em unless they are existing customers
 
Your basic instincts should be telling you to have nothing more to do with this guy. Not some strangers on an internet forum.
 
My intuition was telling me to avoid him, and i did, but i just wanted to vent some steam, really.
It can't be just a sign o' the times, as cowboys and con-artists have always lurked but i've met more weasels in the trades over the past ten years than in 35 years previously.
If it walks like a weasel and talks like a weasel, the chances are it's a weasel: In my experience the only thing you can trust is your intuition.
 
OddsBodkin said:
My intuition was telling me to avoid him, and i did, but i just wanted to vent some steam, really.
It can't be just a sign o' the times, as cowboys and con-artists have always lurked but i've met more weasels in the trades over the past ten years than in 35 years previously.
If it walks like a weasel and talks like a weasel, the chances are it's a weasel: In my experience the only thing you can trust is your intuition.
Click to expand...

Thats right and you seemed to have done the right thing. Have you paid in any money yet.
I've seen some awful installations that are of a poor standard. But it's a minefield and you really have to do your homework on picking your Man woman or other.
Word of mouth isn't always full proof.
Reviews will give you a good idea but not full proof.
Looking at some of their installations is the only sure way to know if they are good or not.
 
OddsBodkin said:
My intuition was telling me to avoid him, and i did, but i just wanted to vent some steam, really.
It can't be just a sign o' the times, as cowboys and con-artists have always lurked but i've met more weasels in the trades over the past ten years than in 35 years previously.
If it walks like a weasel and talks like a weasel, the chances are it's a weasel: In my experience the only thing you can trust is your intuition.
Click to expand...

there are plenty of skilled tradesmen, but they are difficult to find, the good ones get all their work from networking and repeat customers.
 
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