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AIBU?

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Original poster

advice about washing machine man

67 replies

skybluee · 23/01/2019 09:38

hi,
will try to make this quick.
mumsnet have given me really good advice in the past.

today i am having a washing machine delivered and fitted.

i removed the skirting board by the washing machine myself in advance.
when the man got here he was grumpy.

he said he neeeded to remove the other panel and pulled it hard and ripped it out before i realised what he was doing.

he has broken the other skirting panel in half vertically.
there is a hidden screw that you need to unscrew not just pull it.

i have lived here for 10 years, it is my home, i don't have much money, i am incredibly houseproud. i have not damaged my home.

every time someone comes in they vandalise or do something shit to my home.

i am really upset.

i was scared to raise it in case he did a shoddy job of installing the washing machine.

OP posts:
Original poster
skybluee · 23/01/2019 09:40

so basically i just said to him i need to say something, this panel is damaged. he said he will put it back on and you won't be able to see anything.

but that isn't the point really. the point is that i look after my home because i don't have money. i have looked after it for 10 years. and someone just walks in and rips a panel in half.

am i being unreasonable.

he is still here. the other man is outside.

OP posts:
Ffsnosexallowed · 23/01/2019 09:40

Call the company he works for and explain the damage he's caused and tell them you'll be sending them a bill for the repair. What an arse!

ShatnersWig · 23/01/2019 09:40

Take a photo of the damage on your phone. Complain to the company now. Don't wait.

Original poster
skybluee · 23/01/2019 09:40

he has now stopped speaking entirely.

OP posts:
Ffsnosexallowed · 23/01/2019 09:40

Oh if he's still there point out the damage to him and ask how he's going to sort it.

queencrunch · 23/01/2019 09:41

Take pictures and report it to their head office.

Stinkytoe · 23/01/2019 09:43

You need to call the place you bought the machine from. Currys scraped my front door, all along my hallway and my kitchen doorway when they didn’t take care bringing an appliance in. It took me months and months to get them to fix it but they did.

Often these delivery people aren’t given enough time to properly and safely bring the appliance into your home but this isn’t your problem. He should be have damaged anything.

Original poster
skybluee · 23/01/2019 09:45

i am not going to say anything UNTIL the washing machine is in and working in case he does something to it.

i hate this so very much.

i dont understand why people have such disrespect.

he could have asked and i would have unscrewed the panel instead of ripping it out.

he is being awkward. he asked if i had any old towels and got mad when i said i havent. i literally havent i hacve 4 towels 2 blue ones were a gift (one bath towel one hair towel) and the visitor towels that are two green ones i dont have anything spare i live in a virtually empty flat i have exact items of property and no extra or spare items i am not lying to him that is literally what i have and nothing else.

OP posts:
Original poster
skybluee · 23/01/2019 09:45

thank you all for replying because i feel upset now. i know it's not the end of the world but the stuff in my apartment has to last and i respect it all.

OP posts:
Original poster
skybluee · 23/01/2019 09:46

if i had known i would have bought a towel.

OP posts:
Original poster
skybluee · 23/01/2019 09:49

i have found a kitchen towel which i have given to him.

OP posts:
BlackPrism · 23/01/2019 10:00

You need to chill, he didn't mean to do it, he wasn't trying to be disrespectful. I know it's annoying but just email his co with pictures and explain you will send a bill.
It's not the end of the world though I understand why you're upset. He's not an evil invader, he's a hapless delivery man.

steff13 · 23/01/2019 10:00

I would take a picture and contact the company after he leaves. I would just let him get in with the installation.

If he's from a reputable company, it's unlikely he'd intentionally sabotage the machine. He'd be risking his job, I assume. There's really nothing to installing a washer anyway, so it would be easy to see if he'd done it incorrectly.

steff13 · 23/01/2019 10:02

When you say skirting panel, do you mean the baseboard in your laundry room? Baseboards are pretty easy and inexpensive to fix yourself. Although you shouldn't have to.

Original poster
skybluee · 23/01/2019 10:05

i know he isn't evil, it's just i have been unwell for the past few years in and out of hospital and i just dont have any spare money, ive been trying to live on £1000 per month and i cant get damage to the flat repaired. if someone comes out to repair i lose a full days work which can make the difference between a month where i live easily and a month where i have to forfeit eg seeing friends, having a haircut or anything like that. i know this situation isnt anyone elses fault but mine but it is just not great to see someone come into your home that you love and look after very very much, to rip a panel out in two when it is meant to be unscrewed. if he had said anything i would have willingly unscrewed it and the thing is that second panel did not need to be removed to install the machine. i dont know why it was done as it is a separate area under the oven which is nothing to do with the washing machine. to some people this isnt a big deal but i am not well any more and things that used to be little and easy to deal with, quite simply, arent any more.

OP posts:
Original poster
skybluee · 23/01/2019 10:08

it is the skirting panel that runs beneath the oven. it is basically, my lounge and kitchen are the same room, it is the room i work in, and it is also directly in my line of sight from where i sit 90% of the time, which is why i was upset. it is an open plan lounge and kitchen if that helps to explain.

OP posts:
GreenFingersWouldBeHandy · 23/01/2019 10:10

You not saying anything gives him the opportunity to deny it was him... 'Well, she didn't say anything at the time...'

Say something!

Justaboy · 23/01/2019 10:11

I'd be very suprised if a skirting board would have to be removed to install a washing machine. Normally they just need pushing inot the place where they will be used connect up ie plug in to the mains connect the water hose and finally put the drain hose in the connector under the sink.

A few pictures perhaps to clarify the damaged part?

Unless this was a "Built in machine" that to say part of the kitchen units as such?

Original poster
skybluee · 23/01/2019 10:13

it is an integrated appliance so it is behind a white door because of the kitchen and lounge being in the same room. i removed the skirting board below the washing machine so he could access the piping and the two holes on the bottom of it. that needed to be removed for it to be put in. the second skirting panel should not have been touched, it runs below the oven and i dont understand why it was even touched let alone ripped in half.

OP posts:
SoupOnMyTableNowSir · 23/01/2019 10:14

Does the other chap know? I would inform him of the damage too.

Take photos. Do not feel intimidated by this. You can also video.

If he is installing washing machines all day he should have his own towels provided by the company.

I would complain to the company about the damage and his attitude.

babysittingplus · 23/01/2019 10:19

Sorry this has happened. You should definitely tell him you're unhappy about the skirting board and complain to the head office.

I am so sick of rude workmen that I often just decide not to use someone if they have a shitty manner when they turn up. I had a plumber here once who every five minutes asked me for a pencil or a cloth or a bucket or a towel or a tape measure. It's so unprofessional and irritating. And I hate that if they get shirty with me I feel intimidated because I'm on my own. So I basically complain every time someone is unprofessional or rude. I've had some good results - apologies, compensation for damage etc. I actually see this as a everyday sexism thing. Women in their homes being intimidated by (some) incompetent and aggressive workmen. (Obviously I've also had loads of lovely professional guys too
And I make sure I give them good feedback to their bosses - and a cup of tea and a biscuit). The only way to improve things is to not put up with it.

lottiegarbanzo · 23/01/2019 10:21

You're talking about the plinth that runs along the floor, in front of the integrated appliances. Skirting board is the board attached to the bottom of a wall.

TheQueef · 23/01/2019 10:24

Yeah it's the base plinth not skirting.

lottiegarbanzo · 23/01/2019 10:26

Take pictures. Tell him you're unhappy that he's damaged the plinth and ask what he's going to do to repair it. If he puts it back and says it looks the same and you think it doesn't, say so. You can't let him leave thinking everything is fine, as this would make complaining afterwards more difficult.

Tradespeople can be very narrowly-focused on their task, heavy-handed and oblivious to the surroundings sometimes BUT this wasn't accidental damage. He ripped something that he could have asked you to unscrew, in front of you. Grounds for complaint and replacement.

RunningFeisty · 23/01/2019 10:27

Are we really correcting the OP on her terminology? It's beside the point do you not think?

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