Pls help, dodgy driveway workers!!

mrsbudget

hi, everyone, just want you to know that I feel that have been conned and badly need your help.

This is my story, last Sunday, a man came here and offered to do our driveway for £1800 that got down to £1500. He said he was working on the corner road and would be give us a deal because his machineries are already here in the area. So my husband and I thought, £1500 for tarmac for a 3 cars size driveway plus a footpath would be ok. So we said ok.. then yesterday, I came home from my children's activities which i left the house around 3.15pm back at 6pm the work is going on already. I dont have a clue if they made a good leveling or if they are doing it right.. they said they are coming to do the last bit, which is tarmacing today and i have to give the £1500 to them, cash.

I was worried that I went to the corner house and asked if that person works for them and they said no.. What shoudl I do now!!

I havent got any name or details of the person..job is not finished yet and he's not here yet but i dont know if what to do, to stop them the work since he lied to us but job had been started or just continue the work and tell him that i know he was lying and therefore pay him a smaller amount..but how much? pls help,., my husband is not here and im alone here as well, am too scared.

chipmunk

I'm sure I don't need to tell you that you made a HUGE mistake even contemplating doing business with this man. You don't know who he is or where he comes from and yet you have agreed to give him £1500 for what will, without doubt, be sub-standard shoddy workmanship with absolutely no guarantee or comeback.

The story about them working around the corner blah, blah, blah is the oldest one in the book and one most certainly used by rogue members of the travelling community.

I'm not really sure what you can do to be honest. I think I would try and contact your local Trading Standards and explain the situation to them and tell them that you are on your own, and ask if there is anyone who could come to your house to be there when they come back who could question their capability. Do you have any male friends/relatives who could be with you (preferably big and tough looking). They could say that although you agreed to the work, you didn't give them permission to start without you being present (did you?) and that you had changed your mind, though I can't see them being too happy with that.

Other than that, I don't know what else you could do. A lesson learnt the hard way I feel.:undecided

mrsbudget

Thanks Chipmunk, I think it is really a lesson learned the hard way, especially for a foreigner like me, trusting everyone.

I already phoned the Trading Standards and they said that I have the right to stop the work if I would like to because of the 7 days cooling off period but that scared me more to ask them to stop in case they come back to us with a vengeance.

I asked one of my neighbour and he looked at the work and he thought as long as the men will put a lot of stone and thick tarmac it will be ok. No use mentioning that I know that they are conning me in regards to their work at the other place. He just warned me not to let them get in our house for whatsoever reason,(pee or drinks,,.etc)

And yes, my neighbour said, just learned from this conman!!

Well, my only worries now is, I might paid the £1500 and then after a week the driveways are all cracks,,???

deanos

http://www.pavingexpert.com/tarmac03.htm

pinkshoes

I would at least get a written contract off them, AND a VAT receipt!!! (otherwise their cash in hand job is just a way to avoid paying tax, which is illegal and should be reported to the Inland Revenue!).

The problem with tarmac drives is usually drainage, and to do a tarmac drive properly, it takes alot of time!

Have you handed over the cash already?!?! Please don't hand it over yet! Or at least demand a VAT receipt off them, and get all their (correct) contact details, van registration, and maybe eventake a photo of them!

antilles

My Dad runs a landscaping company and is constantly going around cleaning up after people like this. These kind of people (assuming they are actually conmen - they certainly sound like it!) give the industry a bad name.

As pointed out in a previous post tarmac is actually quite difficult to lay properly as it requires a proper base(s) to be laid first. The classic trick these people use is to simply slop a very thin layer of tarmac over everything, typically no more than a few cm thick. It looks professional at first but once it dries and you start putting weight on it (e.g. a car) it quickly dents and starts to break up. Because tarmac takes some time to set properly, they will tell you not to drive on it for something like 8 hours - so there's no way to test it until the firm have long gone with your money.

My advice would be to find a reputable company to come out an inspect the job, if possible while they are doing it. If it's not up to scratch then refuse to pay them - simple as that. If they get threatening then call the police. You certainly shouldn't part with that much money for a job you will end up getting redone anyway.

I'm still surprised that people fall for this scam.

changkra

antilles wrote: »

My Dad runs a landscaping company and is constantly going around cleaning up after people like this. These kind of people (assuming they are actually conmen - they certainly sound like it!) give the industry a bad name.

As pointed out in a previous post tarmac is actually quite difficult to lay properly as it requires a proper base(s) to be laid first. The classic trick these people use is to simply slop a very thin layer of tarmac over everything, typically no more than a few cm thick. It looks professional at first but once it dries and you start putting weight on it (e.g. a car) it quickly dents and starts to break up. Because tarmac takes some time to set properly, they will tell you not to drive on it for something like 8 hours - so there's no way to test it until the firm have long gone with your money.

My advice would be to find a reputable company to come out an inspect the job, if possible while they are doing it. If it's not up to scratch then refuse to pay them - simple as that. If they get threatening then call the police. You certainly shouldn't part with that much money for a job you will end up getting redone anyway.

I'm still surprised that people fall for this scam.[/quote]

If you read the post by mrsbudget you will see she posted she is a foreigner which makes it easier to be taken in:)

mrsbudget

Hi, everyone, thanks for all your concerns and time to share your thoughts. Yes, I didnt realise how vulnerable I can be, I really feel so stupid that I fell for this scam.

Anyway, so far, the whole day yesterday, nobody came and now, it's a nice day and no sign of them yet. For me, it would be better if they dont come anymore which I doubt it, because they will want their money for what they've started doing.

Thanks "deanos" , got this site already..

Antilles, I dont think any reputable company would be willing to inspect it at this time because they will not gain from looking at it, although I could phone the Trading Standard if they can do that for me. Am not sure if they will do it though.

Thanks to all of you, I will update you with what's happening..and just to make clear, I havent handed any money at this stage yet..(thnks goodness for that:-)

C_Ronaldo

What the reputabel company could do would be to tell you if whats been done so far is correct and if it isnt then how much it would cost to put it right

marleyboy

If you havent paid yet, ask for the name of his company and his phone no. and decreetly take his registration vehicle number (just in case).

If the job is not yet complete, agree to pay the job on completion or if he insists agree to pay a percentage. Always ask for a receipt before handing over anything, ensure it has his details on it. Dont feel intimidated or threatened by ANYONE, always remember in the back of your mind if he does anything illegal, you have the law on your side. Good luck, my thoughts are with you, be strong.

antilles

changkra wrote: »

If you read the post by mrsbudget you will see she posted she is a foreigner which makes it easier to be taken in:)

Thanks, I did read it properly but this is one of the oldest scams and it isn't exactly limited to the UK. If anything, as a person in a foreign country, I'd be more wary of scams than if I were at home. Maybe I'm just too suspicious?

I've seen enough of these jobs to know that, once you've handed your money over, you've got almost zero chance of getting it back. Trading Standards are next-to-useless and no-one will be interested once you've paid up. Even if the work is shoddy then you'll still not get the money back - that's exactly why these firms run these scams, because they know they will get away with it.

Many companies will offer to come out and have a quick look at the work for free, and this may give you grounds to refuse payment if the job is not up to standard, although another company may well charge to do a proper inspection.

Problem you have here is that, once you've paid up, the firm have done nothing illegal - they've laid some tarmac and you've paid them money for it - whether or not you've gotten good value, the tarmac is thick enough, etc. doesn't matter.

Lesson being - don't hand over anything until you're happy with the job. Trust your instincts. A reputable firm will offer a satisfaction guarantee on all work, will be easily contactable, and will be happy to fix a job, and talk through any concerns you have.