naive....been conned out of £500....AIBU to not want DH to go round to this persons house?

[mistletoekisses]

Bit of background, we have known this builder/ plumber for 2 years. He has been round to our house about 4 times over that time to do some plumbing and electrical jobs for us. We had built up a good relationship, to the extent that on the last job we gave him a set of keys to be able to get into our house and fix a leak.

The last job was sizable enough for us to claim through the insurance company...he started work and asked us up front for cash for materials. Given that we have never had a problem with him at all, we gave him the money. Then gave him the cheque to cash and he promised once funds had cleared to give us £500 back.

He has not turned up when he said he would, his mobile doesnt work and I am pretty certain that he is up shit creek financially and has no intention of returning the monies.

Now we have his home address and DH wants to go round and see him this weekend and ask for our money to be returned. Failing that, he then wants to pursue through the small claims court.

I want us to chalk this up to a very expensive lesson and leave it. He knows where we live and although I am getting the locks changed, really don't want any fall out from potentially pursuing this guy. AIBU?

DH thinks I am being a wuss, I think karma is a bitch and what goes round comes round.

Opinions please, WWYD?

Send your DH around. At least you'll know why he cant pay.

If hes just scamming you, then perhaps your DH can persuade him to do what is right.

Is DH in a position to make a credible threat of physical violence... ?

god no, would never do that.

He owes you 500 quid. Hes not answering his phone. Whats wrong with DH going and knocking on the door?

Being wary of confrontation is one thing, but giving up after a few unanswered phone calls is just daft.

Five hundred quid. Thats his christmas sorted. How about yours?

I read this as saying you gave him a cheque, not cash? Then there will be a record.

Google small claims online.

stubborn she gave him a cheque, so has proof!!

Op if I were you I would pursue this. Most people back down at the threat of legal action. Look online for a template letter and write out a concise letter explaining why he owes you money and your intention to go to court. (Its called a letter before action). Send it recorded delivery.

If that doesn't work then file small claims, it doesn't cost much to do and you can claim it back from him when you win.

Good luck!

No, we gave him cash unfortunately.

The insurance company payment was a cheque. It is the cash element we need back.

I cannot help but think he is in bad times. We needed some more work done in the new year and we would have used him. We also had some other business to refer him into for the new year. Through both pieces of work, I can guarantee he would have earned at least £1k. Why would he piss over all over that for £500?

We got done out of £500 in similar fashion - we pursued him for £200 of it (which was generous, he'd done practically nothing). You're not in Herts are you?

He's probably spent the £500 and then the cheque too and is embarrassed to answer your calls. Why doesn't your dh go round and ask for either the £500 or for him to do your next lot of work for free - to clear off the £500 owed.
He's probably just rubbish at managing money - rather than a crook - iykwim.

I think it would be OK for your husband to go round and see if it can be sorted out, TracyKs idea of getting him to do the next job free might be a good option.

Sorry if this has been covered but how long ago did he get the cheque?

Try and get them to write you a cheque. They'll then stop it, but from that point you've got them as you can't cancel a cheque from a legal point of view, it's referred to as the "cheque rule"

Now i like the idea of the next bit of work being done FOC. Good option to give. Thanks all for your advice, will discuss with DH and figure out next steps.

What if he didn't live near you, would you still be discussing going round? No, you'd need to ask for the money back. If he is as dodgy as you make out why on earth would you change your locks and then invite him back into your house yet again and ask him to do more work?!

I can see the sense in sending a note round just say "Hi X, have to chase you up as we need that £500 cash but for Christmas, see you soon, cheers Mistletoe"

DH once got paid by cheque for some work he did, which bounced, twice. He found out where the guy lived and went round, this was after several conversations with the guy who promised us the cheque would clear etc etc. Put the wind right up him, though DH didn't threaten him or anything. Same deal as your plumber, cashflow problem, it was a tiny outfit (him and two mates) taking on help then not having the funds to pay for it. Not done maliciously, but through bad management. I can only assume he robbed peter to pay paul as DH brought the problem to his doorstep, he got his £150 in several dribs and drabs but he got it. Don't write off £500 and don't assume this guy is a tyre slashing maniac. Presumably you have his name and address, normal people don't slash tyres when asked to repay money they owe, and the chances of him being a complete bastard are quite low.

Similar happened to me a few years ago. Mechanic friend offered to fix an expensive job on our car cheaply but said he would need £300 up front to buy parts. Never saw parts or the money again. In the end I had to take car to garage and it cost me another £1200.
My DH was too soft to go round to his house
Would love to slash all his tyres see him get his come-uppence

Well locks are changed, so we are ok on that front.

Thanks for some of your stories, have decided to drop him a line via email and post and we'll take it from there.