Fuming- apparently I need to be more "chill"

[FurCoatNoSnickers]

this is going to be ranty.

Entirely unprofessional. Demand they are taken down and if he doesn’t, write a scathing review.

I would be just as upset. He's not entitled to show anyone round your home without permission and allowing her to take photos is disgusting.
Similar happened to my SIL - she used to live in a house which was in a very famous location. She invited a friend round and found after afterwards that she had blogged about the visit, making a series of very judgmental comments about the house and my SILs lifestyle. SIL was as angry as you are.

Give him a chance to get her to take them down or you will leave a public review and send a solicitor's letter and contact any guilds/ professional organisations he will be part of.

For the review of the business it would depend on whether he does sort it out in next 24 hours.

Nope. He let someone in to her house, and when she said he shouldn’t have done that, he told her she was wrong. That’s not someone who made an innocent mistake and can be given the chance to fix it. He thinks what he did was ok, would do it again and nothing will change that. Even if the photos come down, OP will be branded as being unreasonable, he did nothing wrong.

Report to checkatrade, leave a review saying what he did. I’d want to know this as a potential customer.

Holy shit, I'd be so angry. And he needs to shut up with how you should be 'flattered'.

Yes give an honest feed back for him as in ''Yes he very professional with in his work, but he betrayed our trust by bringing in a stranger to take photo's of his work for there own use''.

I would also contract facebook and explain that these photo's taken in side your home without permission and would like them removed''.

There is a vast difference between a tradesman asking to take photo's to use as publicity and what he has down. They will also take them with no identifying details.

''Yes he very professional with in his work, but he betrayed our trust by bringing in a stranger to OUR HOUSE TO take photo's of his work for THEIR own use''.

Oh FFS down - DONE.

I absolutely wouldn't be saying his work is professional!

Say the workmanship was ok/good and no more.

My builder has, on occasion, asked if he could bring a potential client to see our extension. No problem. But without asking? And she took photos? Absolutely appalling.

Police. Huge invasion of privacy. The builder had no legal right to let her in. Sounds like harassment to me.

Sounds like harassment to me.

?!

Big difference between a decorator posting photos of his work and inviting a relative to come to OPs house without permission to take photos

Sorry if I've missed it, but did QB woman definitely know whose property this was?

I completely agree that the workman should have asked permission before letting anyone else into your property, but you probably wouldn't care if it weren't someone you personally know and dislike. If you'd found out that he let his cousin Susan in to have a quick dekko at your light fittings, I doubt it'd inspire any particular feeling.

But workman do take photos of their craft as kind of an online portfolio to advertise their work, and during your initial contact or contract, this would be highlighted

Yes, and the client would have to agree to it. There is no way they could go ahead taking photos without the client’s consent.

I'm with Marvelousnight, Don't give full payment until he has got her to take the pics down. He started this, he can finish it. Total betrayal of trust. And yes I would seek legal advice, or speak to the police on 101.

GDPR breach?

Totally not acceptable. It would be completely truthful to leave reviews which stated that the quality of his work is good, but he allowed other people into your home and allowed them to take photos without your permission, and you are now following up the security implications of that.

If he'd responded to your complaint with an apology and acceptance that his judgement was very poor then it might be possible to find some common ground, but his insistence that you should be happy about this invasion of privacy would make me very cross!

Hi. What a bloody cheek. I would be seriously mad. So far I think you are showing great restraint.
Unfortunately if the work was good you could bring a whole heap of trouble to your door.
I'm afraid if it was me I would tend to act first though.
However he should not be allowed to get away with this. He should not have taken photos without your permission and as for inviting someone into your home it's totally unacceptable. I would definitely post about it and warn people that this might happen.
Best wishes.

I think this sort of thing goes on all the time, we just don’t know it. Nosy neighbours who befriend the decorators while you’re at work; tradesman who takes photos of his own work for advertising purposes and doesn’t tell you; kitchen fitter who tells his sister to pop round and have a look at the job he’s doing if she’s thinking of having a Shaker kitchen installed too.

This woman’s mistake was putting the photos online.

I’d go mental on her FB page: how did you get into my house? Who gave you permission to take photos of my house and put them on social media? Etc etc.

I’d also, absolutely, be complaining to whatever ombudsman applies here, and be leaving an online review saying exactly what’s happened.

Don’t be shy. What’s the point of ranting in private and forcing yourself to just get over it? Where will that get you?

Wow, that's huge violation of your privacy.

He should not have allowed another person into your house and take photos of your home without your permission.

Definitely mention it in your feedback.

I would review saying that his work etc was great but that he let random people into your house without permission and let them take pictures.

Dreadful. I wouldn’t care if it was the Queen, they don’t get to come in.

Checkatrade have a Checkatrade Standard on their website and a complaints procedue. It does say that you should try to resolve it directly first. One of the things on the Standard is:

Be courteous. Treat you, your property and belongings with respect

I would say that the P&D has failed miserably in that respect!

He should of course asked you for permission to take non-identifying shots of his work and permission to put them on his website/social media.

The fact that he let a family member in, is disgraceful. He clearly cant see that he has done anything wrong, so I would now take it up with Checkatrade.

Can't add much to what others have said but sorry you're going through this. I'd feel totally violated by something like this and furious that I'd been made a fool of … trade photos (with permission) might be one thing but people coming round 'for ideas' is very off and I strongly suspect it was no such thing and she just wanted to get gossip fodder. Then to suggest you should be 'flattered' FFS. What if something had gone missing? What would his 'trust' in her mean then? In fact, how would he feel if you suggested stuff had disappeared now? … he'd be lying himself wide open on that one.

In any case, whenever I've looked at trades FB pages, the examples of their work strike me as being taken as they've literally finished, but before you move your belongings back. So …. a new bathroom would be just that, no shampoo etc., and a newly decorated living room wouldn't have photos or pets in it ... people wouldn't see anything to identify you.

I’ve had work done recently and would go ballistic if this happened.

She took advantage and he was a fool to let her.

This kind of stupidity deserves a bad review and withholding payment until the photos are down and you get an apology.