Angry Phone Call

spookalili

A bit of an odd one I suppose...I'm not even sure if this is on the right board!

We had a few quotes to have some work done. We were sent two quotes via email and dates were suggested over the phone. Nothing was signed for either company and no response was sent via email. I was under the impression the date given was provisory.

I went with one company as they were very local. They came out literally straight away and did the work. I was going to phone the other company and advise them we were no longer needed, although the provisional date they had given me wasn't until the middle of April.

I received a phone call today asking if they could come on Monday. I advised that I was sorry but we had already had the work completed. He then became very rude and ended the phone call.

A few minutes later I received another call from another person from the company who just completely laid into me! He told me he couldn't believe I had done this, I was a terrible person, had lost them work and money and then told me never to use or contact them again! He was very, very aggressive and knew I had already had a conversation with another team member.

I am really, really upset by this phone call. I've had a lot of issues recently and although this person wasn't to know about these issues, I feel like this is a huge setback for me. I could understand the frustration during the original call and apologised for forgetting to call sooner, but the second one was just unnecessary. I think there may have been some kind of misunderstanding.

Do I just accept they were probably annoyed at losing a job and I should have let them know literally the second this other team was booked in that we'd gone with someone else? I just feel absolutely awful, firstly because they were so upset and secondly, because they just laid into me twice!

hollydays

Well as soon as you had chosen the other company, it would have been good manners to let them know immediately.
On the other hand, them ringing you and being rude was totally out of order.

spookalili

hollydays wrote: »

Well as soon as you had chosen the other company, it would have been good manners to let them know immediately.

I accept this, hence why I somewhat accept their frustration. I should have let them know as soon as I booked the other company but due to other commitments, it had slipped my mind. No excuse of course, but there was reasoning behind why I had not contacted them.

My problem was more to do with how they called me up twice, both times being very rude and one time being quite threatening, both within five minutes of each other.

Given the circumstances and that I didn't let them know straight away, I suppose I should just accept that this was an acceptable level of disappointment that a job wasn't going to be accepted, which probably caused them inconvenience.

Thank you for your reply.

hollydays

If you feel they were threatening, perhaps you could discuss it with the police, you don't have to make a complaint to get some advice or reassurance. I can't help thinking you've had a lucky escape by not having these people in your home. Personally I will only choose workmen by personal recommendation or ones that have the trading standards approval.

Sometimes too much stress is too much and you need to proct yourself from it as best you can.

spookalili

hollydays wrote: »

If you feel they were threatening, perhaps you could discuss it with the police, you don't have to make a complaint to get some advice or reassurance. I can't help thinking you've had a lucky escape by not having these people in your home. Personally I will only choose workmen by personal revommendation or ones that have the trading standards approval.

Thanks hollydays. The strange thing is, they were heavily recommended by Check a Trader, where I got the original quote from. I wouldn't invite just anybody into my home (for this very reason!) so we made sure the quotations we got were all from reputable traders.

I don't really want to waste the polices time with this issue. As you said, I should have let them know we were going to use them, regardless of my personal circumstances. They were probably just angry. I panicked a bit, got very upset and thought I would turn to the forums...perhaps this should be treated as a venting thread

McKneff

They are idiots.
If they have spent time doing a quote they should have followed it up themselves, it is good business practice.
I hope they learned from it.


My husband was a decorator and always, after a week, checked that the prospective customer had received his quote and asked if it was of any interest. Everyone knew where they were then. He never, ever presumed that any quote would be accepted..


It would have been nice for you to have let them know, but it really is 95% their fault for not following things up. So I wouldn't worry about it.

spookalili

McKneff wrote: »

They are idiots.
If they have spent time doing a quote they should have followed it up themselves, it is good business practice.
I hope they learned from it.


My husband was a decorator and always, after a week, checked that the prospective customer had received his quote and asked if it was of any interest. Everyone knew where they were then. He never, ever presumed that any quote would be accepted..


It would have been nice for you to have let them know, but it really is 95% their fault for not following things up. So I wouldn't worry about it.

Thank you. I just didn't like the fact I took abuse from the first guy, then another guy from another company who knew him (separate companies but they use each others men) called me up for round two. It was like a double whammy!

It has taught me to keep on top of quotes though, which is good as we're due to have a lot more in the next few years.

NiallB

spookalili wrote: »

....and then told me never to use or contact them again!

Well I don't imagine that'll be a problem for you :-)

marleyboy

Sounds like you got off lucky. It could have been worse. You could have hired them.

daytona0

I think they have a point. Depending on the scale of commitment made by yourself (setting a "provisional" date is a commitment of sorts) then you might be in a varying degree of wrong on this occasion. Consider the possibility that they were under the legitimate impression that you had accepted them to work for you (there doesn't necessarily have to be a WRITTEN contract) and the possible loss of earnings they may have suffered from turning down work.

If they can prove loss of earnings and a possible contractual breach (despite you saying no paper contract was signed, as you can make a contract verbally AND having paper evidence of a provisional date would help that argument) then they should take you to court for that. It wouldn't be fair on the company, and part and parcel of consumer rights is that there are two sides.

However, on the face of it I don't think you have to worry about any of the above because it seems unlikely that this is a strong enough case.

I echo everyone else's thoughts in that their call was probably well out of order though. So unprofessional! If they have a case then they should take you to court. If they don't then they shouldn't be tarnishing their name like that.

At the end of the day I think you possibly need to reflect on this whole situation, and the possibility that you have just burnt bridges with these people. Sometimes it is better to box things off straight away, instead of leaving it. You never know when you might otherwise need their services in the future, of which you now no longer have access to (it would seem).

Edwood_Woodwood

What kind of work was it?

Sounds like the company you didn't go with are struggling a wee bit as they sound desperate.