Builders

curvy398

Patio needed doing and a company called out of the Blue. Happy with the initial quote of £7500. THEN after starting they found problems and wanted another £9000 THEN more problems and wanted £6000 Unfortunately all paid and they haven't finished. I have no doubt we have been conned and want to know what we can do to recoup some of the money

Emmia

How did you pay?


* A company approaching you like this is a MASSIVE red flag.

It's probably a bit late now, but did you do any due diligence on them (companies house listing, a Google search of the people involved), or even get other quotes to compare before handing over your money?

Cheslea2010

Any landscaping company that isn't booked up in advance is a big no no in my experience. These guys rely on reputation and a good one will be booked up months in advance and will will very rarely have to go touting for work. No reputable company would want paying until the job is finished and the customer satisfied. Hopefully you have something in writing from with the quote breakdown etc?

Section62

Cheslea2010 said:

Any landscaping company that isn't booked up in advance is a big no no in my experience. These guys rely on reputation and a good one will be booked up months in advance and will will very rarely have to go touting for work. No reputable company would want paying until the job is finished and the customer satisfied. Hopefully you have something in writing from with the quote breakdown etc?

That isn't necessarily true.

A perfectly reputable company may want payment up front for some materials, or stage payments (agreed in advance) as the job progresses.  Some won't do anything without payment in advance.

Unfortunately there are too many people who get work done and then don't want to pay (for spurious reasons) and the hassle involved in getting payment where the customer refuses to pay simply isn't worth it.  Therefore the old approach where traders would do work and not expect payment until some time after completion doesn't always apply.

And some customers will never be satisfied.

Martyn_H

My motto is, 'Don't call us, we'll call you'.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

curvy398 said:

Patio needed doing and a company called out of the Blue. Happy with the initial quote of £7500. THEN after starting they found problems and wanted another £9000 THEN more problems and wanted £6000 Unfortunately all paid and they haven't finished. I have no doubt we have been conned and want to know what we can do to recoup some of the money

Do you know if they are an LTD or a sole trader?

If an LTD as above check companies house to see how long they've been in business and whether the people named have been associated with other companies in the past. Filing history might give an idea of assets. 

That's one hell of a lot of money for a patio, what were the problems they found and how did you pay them?

You say it's unfinished, are they still working or have they not come back recently? 

 Section62 said:

A perfectly reputable company may want payment up front for some materials, or stage payments (agreed in advance) as the job progresses.  Some won't do anything without payment in advance.

I'm usually happy to pay for materials as they land, I'd expect people taking on jobs for thousands to either have credit or enough cash to front the materials for a couple of days. 

Staged payments is sensible for both sides really for obvious reasons  

stuart45

curvy398 said:

Patio needed doing and a company called out of the Blue. Happy with the initial quote of £7500. THEN after starting they found problems and wanted another £9000 THEN more problems and wanted £6000 Unfortunately all paid and they haven't finished. I have no doubt we have been conned and want to know what we can do to recoup some of the money

In a previous post you said your brother is a barrister. Have you spoken to him about this?

Tucosalamanca

Perhaps make an enquiry to Trading Standards to see if this company is on their radar?

As previously mentioned, £22,500 buys a very substantial patio. How big is it?

Risteard

Section62 said:

Cheslea2010 said:

Any landscaping company that isn't booked up in advance is a big no no in my experience. These guys rely on reputation and a good one will be booked up months in advance and will will very rarely have to go touting for work. No reputable company would want paying until the job is finished and the customer satisfied. Hopefully you have something in writing from with the quote breakdown etc?

That isn't necessarily true.

A perfectly reputable company may want payment up front for some materials, or stage payments (agreed in advance) as the job progresses.  Some won't do anything without payment in advance.

Unfortunately there are too many people who get work done and then don't want to pay (for spurious reasons) and the hassle involved in getting payment where the customer refuses to pay simply isn't worth it.  Therefore the old approach where traders would do work and not expect payment until some time after completion doesn't always apply.

And some customers will never be satisfied.

Absolutely. 25% or more upfront is not unusual. Obviously a written contract would be prudent to say the least.

casper_gutman

Blimey. Sorry these rip-off merchants got their hooks into you. I'm trying to imagine what sort of 'problems' they could have come up with to justify tripling the cost of a patio. Short of finding an old cellar that needed filling in where they expected solid ground, I'm at a loss.

Mr.Generous

I presume they found a WW2 bunker full of live amunition, or a cave network to rival Wookey Hole to justify the extra charges? Or both?