To keep quiet for the sake of Niece

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Nieces partner of 4 years has recently started his own landscaping business. To help him out with work l asked him to quote for taking an old shed down (was about to fall down) and put one in its place.

Replacement shed was second hand in 6 pieces so just needed erecting. He quoted me £120 day rate and said it was a full days work. He arrived and was here a total of 3 hours, one of those hours he was sat in his van on his phone.

To top this off, he definitely rushed the job and hasn’t put the roof back on properly so shed isn’t water tight!

I’ve asked him to come back and sort but he’s dragging his heels and l honestly feel like I’ve been ripped off.

Should l just keep quiet to keep the peace?

when l have to keep contacting him she will find out eventually

Well yes, but that's no reason to stay quiet; if she's mortified she can take it up with him

And since someone like this is probably moaning about how unreasonable you are she could well know already ...

Is he on any of those find a worker sites, or Facebook, does he have a website where you can leave comments? If so I would be telling him that unless the shed is fixed by next Tuesday at the latest you will be leaving accurate reviews of his pricing and competency. I would also be asking for a refund of fifty pounds for the inconvenience.

If he has none of the above I would certainly NOT be holding back about his work to friends and family, he will soon learn that recommendation and a good reputation is the lifeblood of his industry.

Yup I’ve had this issue with trades in the past. Good idea Viques I agree with giving feedback online.

Haven’t read the thread (yes flame me!) but surely if someone is just starting out, they make sure everything is 110% perfect??

My dp has a construction company, he makes sure everything is to how he would expect it, and he’s pulled things out in the past and replaced them at his cost because they are a few millimetres out and he can see what’s wrong even though no one else can. Isn’t that how tradespeople should be?

Stop sending nice texts. PHONE him, ideally from someone else’s phone so he cant ignore you. And TELL him you want him round on x day to fix it or you will be posting photos of his shoddy work all over Facebook or similar.

Why tell your niece if she doesn’t ask? She’s not his Mum and he is a grown up.

He quoted £120 saying it would take all day. It didn't so his final price should have reflected this. If he doesn't respond to your calls, go round to the house and speak to him personally.

Don't let this go....

He starting out... He should be making every effort to do perfect jobs so you can recommend... Unless he's a trainee cowboy

Wow I would do an e tra good job if it was for family not take the piss. He sounds like a lazy arsehole!

Call him and insist he fixes his poor work. Don’t say anything to your niece unless she asks.

I disagree. You only used him because of the connection to your niece.

I would call her and tell her you had a problem with the job and were struggling to get in touch with him. Could she ask him to pop in.

Keep it nice but why should he be able to hide behind your niece? She might be better off knowing what type of person he is. I would want to know if my dp ripped off my aunt. Especially if it was a new relationship.