Cutting my losses?

welshmoneylover

At what point do you cut your losses with a tradesperson?
just curious as I paid a deposit for materials for a job over 3 months ago, despite sporadic visits to do some of the work , I have been let down on more than 4 occasions of him returning; I feel a bit daft that I might have fallen for a con man .
 Is it worth hanging on or shall I just now engage someone else to finish the job and try and get some ££ back?

Jeepers_Creepers

Have there been comms, explanations, excuses, anything? How did you pay the deposit? 

Obviously C-19 has messed up a lot of things for a lot of people (it delayed our extension by 3 months, for example) but that's only a valid excuse if it's true.

I suggest you want to play this with assertiveness but not haranguing - just be factual, un-emotive and say that you now NEED to know FOR CERTAIN when he IS going to start work, and that he'll SEE IT THROUGH to the end. Otherwise you'll have no alternative but to find someone else and get your money back. You ideally want him to say 'Fair-do's, my bad, I've let you down, and I'll now put it right' ?

If you want this to force this to a conclusion, you need to give an ultimatum - set a date by which he must start and then devote the required time to see the job through, or else you consider that he's broken the contract between you and you will find someone else and he'll need to refund the deposit in full.

(He'll probably use the excuse that he's bought the parts so you can't get your money back, but I don't think a Small Claims (or MoneyClaim.org) adjudicator will sympathise with that.)


I suggest you outline as briefly as possible the chronology of events: factual and un-emotive;
Eg:
1) 15th August 2020 MrY provided a quote for the works which I agreed, and provided £x as a deposit for materials by cheque/transfer/cash. You said you'd begin on the xth Aug. I have a text from you confirming this.
2) You failed to turn up on the xth. You made no contact with me. 
3) xth Aug I phoned you and you said "kfgvi7yfw4aiuhrfkuhfgukhk" and promised to start work on the xth.
4) Xth - you turned up, checked a few things, said you'd return to begin the work properly, and didn't return.
5) Xth - I tried to call you 3 times with no response. Left messages for you, which you didn't return. Tested you, no response. (I have copy of text).

That kind of stuff. When written out in B&W it can seem very damning. If you need to go for the 'ultimatum', then include this in your message, demanding that he starts work or refunds in full. Send by email or Messenger or similar - something that you know he'll receive. Following it up with a phone call if he doesn't respond.

Do you have Legal Protection on your insurance? If so, they'll guide you on this.