How to challenge work done by painter

[Littlemisswarrior]

Hi all, I was hoping for some advice. We are having the outside of my mum’s house painted. The painter said it would take a week to do and 50 litres of paint (that we had to supply) quote was £1000.

He started on Tuesday (due to Easter Monday), Tuesday we had rain showers and we were surprised/ disappointed to see he went ahead and painted, Wed no work due to torrential rain all day, yesterday he had gone by 12.30, but phoned me at 4pm to ask if I could go round in the morning to check I am happy, I said I could be there in the afternoon due to work commitments in the morning, he said he only had 2 hours left to do so wanted me there before work. When we saw the work yesterday evening there is paint smears over windows and door frames (not the professional job we thought we were paying for).

So I’d like to know if I am justified in asking for a reduction?

[pontiouspilates]

If you are unhappy with his work I would expect him to make good eg clear all paint smears and get it to a standard you are happy with.

[NoSquirrels]

He needs to make good. Do t pay the whole amount if he doesn’t. Take pictures etc.

[Littlemisswarrior]

Thank you for comments, he is chasing payment already, I sent him a text to say we are disappointed it was actually a very short job in the end and have asked that he come back to clean the smears. He phoned me back immediately to say he isn’t a window cleaner and what do I want him to do. He refused to knock any money off the quote but finally agreed to come back to tidy up. Not looking forward to seeing him tomorrow. All very disappointing, Mum and I have an abject fear of getting work done - we are always let down 😩

[pontiouspilates]

How did it go? Hope he left you with a result you can be happy with x

[InfiniteSheldon]

You can't complain about how long it took him but you can complain if he has left a mess.

[InTheRoseGarden]

You have my sympathy. I've had lots of this. Unfortunately you need to be prepared for confrontation and hold firm on what you expect from the job. I think these shoddy workmen rely on the fact that most people hate confrontation. They want the money so just refuse to pay until it's done to your satisfaction/knock off the amount it will cost to get someone else to finish the job.

[InTheRoseGarden]

And no way should there be paint smeared on the windows! Window cleaner indeed

[Littlemisswarrior]

Hello all, he came back yesterday morning, whilst he cleaned Mum and I gardened. We ended amicably. I personally would have offered to help with the many other jobs we quite clearly need doing (we are painting whole house inside, garden wall needs painting - he knew all this) but instead took £1000 for 1.5 days work (he said would take 5 days) 😡 that’s just me. Not going to let it get me down, I am considering a change of career though! Thanks for all your advice and support xx

[Kismett]

How frustrating! Maybe you could ask around here to see if anyone recommends a painter local to you?

[MargotLovedTom1]

Are you happy with the finish now he has cleaned up? Did he use all the paint you paid for?
I don't think you can expect him to help out with other work you need doing. You were quoted a price for a job; not a daily rate. The fact he finished early is neither here nor there (as long as the work is up to scratch).

[Youradviceneeded]

I understand where you are coming from. You probably thought £1000 for 5 days of work was reasonable, at £200 a day, and thought that as a day rate was fair. Except that you have paid a day rate of £700. Which is incredibly expensive. You van definitely insist that he makes good the damage but can't hold him to the time estimate.

Something similar happened to us with an electrician, who was recommended by a friend. He was one of the first tradespeople we used when we moved in. We needed some electrics work doing, we didn't really know what the jobs entailed, but the guy was recommended to us. His quote seemed expensive - it was about £1200 - he estimated about 4 days work. We thought that seemed a lot, but hey, he was available quickly and his work was recommended. Turned out that he did the job in a day and a half, which included one late start and insisted on being paid cash. Quite a steep learning curve for us. I wouldn't recommend him, but I think he made so much on our job he probably doesn't care!