workman peed in my house and ripped me off

ChrisCobra

No receipt or any paperwork , he wanted cash. Dodgy builder and you knew it and took a chance , didnt pan out did it.

Your far better off either using friends contacts to get a good builder in to sort things if you want it as cheap as possible if you dont know anyone.

Makes me sick these cowboys , no wonderpeople look at you like crap if you say you work in construction....

Pee

Put it down to experience and only consider making a cash deal with someone you know and trust - if you wouldn't lend them your car, don't do it! think yourself lucky that despite the hassle the work done was probably worth more than you paid for it and get someone else in. You've learnt a lot of valuable lessons.

ameliarate

People really should take the employment of tradesmen more seriously. Just because a quote is cheaper doesn't mean it's better and certainly when it is something like electrics/gas you are far better to pay a little more but be certain of a decent, safe, job.

I would never every employ someone who had not been recommended and I believe there are lists at your local council if you can't get a friend's recommendation.

bestpud

I have nothing much to add to the builder story, except walking away seems the best option now.

However, would you please use a different font, as your posts are very hard on the eye and it will put some people off reading them?

claireac

saveup2doup wrote: »

II went out of my way to be hospitable to them, i told them to use the bathroom whenever they needed to, i told them to help themselves to a drink at any time as i do not drink hot drinks, so forget to offer sometimes, i even offered to make him sandwiches and stuff at lunch time.

My dh and ds are roofers (reputable and reliable ones), and they love customers like you!

I hope you get it sorted soon, I really would recommend that you get some recommendations from friends or try your local council.

saveup2doup

hi, thanks again for the advice and ideas, and i agre with those who say i am not going to get anything back from him in all likleyhood.
however, with regards to why i picked him .....
i will say again, i checked that he was certified and registered with the regulating body. nobody i know, who lives in my area had been using any electricians and so getting a recomendaton was not working for me, i looked into it and was informed that i needed someone who was certified and registered - so this is what i looked for. i did not knowingly employ a dodgy tradesman.
he was listed on the niciec site, not just someone i found in the local paper.

the quotes i had were all between 1700 and 2000,
quotes i recieved ( all from comapanies registered with niciec) were
1700
1780
1850
1995
so as you can see, not suspiciously cheaper than any of the others.

as far as i was aware, the fact that they were all certified meant that they should be the same standard. i was convinced that i would get an equal service from each of them. that being the case, i took the cheaper of the two quotes (1700 and 1850 - the other two were unable to fit the job in the time frame i had open to me).


as i have already stated, looking back it was niave of me to trust him without the paper work, but i certainly did not just look for the cheapest person i coud find, if that had been the case i would have looked for someone un registered, and had infact had leaflets through the foor a few months ago from someone offering their electrical - and other house hold services..

saveup2doup

claireac wrote: »

My dh and ds are roofers (reputable and reliable ones), and they love customers like you!

I hope you get it sorted soon, I really would recommend that you get some recommendations from friends or try your local council.

lol, just had my roof done too they completed this week - they were great guys who i did get through a recomendation - as my mate was lucky enough to have used them too. they did drink me out of house and home though lol:D

saveup2doup

bestpud wrote: »

I have nothing much to add to the builder story, except walking away seems the best option now.

However, would you please use a different font, as your posts are very hard on the eye and it will put some people off reading them?

no idea why the font was not the same, thin it is the same now though

MrsTinks

There is no way the guy will be able to get a CCJ against you there is no financial agreement between you and although personally I would go through small claims to get my money back if I were you (because I'm a tenacious moo) then I guess it depends on how badly it irks you
If he did try to recover the outstanding amount from you then I have a feeling any judge would laugh him out of their court room

elaine373

Sorry that you have had a bad time but i find it slightly hypocritical that you reported him to the inland revenue. (Trading standards would have been more appropriate imo) If he had completed the work adequately you were quite happy to go along with the cash in hand system, therefore you would have been aiding tax evasion.sorry if this seems harsh but its just my opinion. I hope you get your electrics sorted ok but this is a lesson learnt surely?