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Original poster

Tradesman fucked off with my money

137 replies

Blublubblubbing · 23/03/2021 09:57

I need advice, I found a tradesman through mybuilder to do some garden work for me. He had 100% positive feedback and so I hired him. He turned up when he was expected and did a good job. I left positive feedback saying this.
Whilst on the job we agreed that he would replace our patio as well as he had been good with the first job. He asked for money for materials upfront which I was fine with as he had been very reliable so far. You can see where this is going.. 3 times he has cancelled now and last week I sent a message saying I would like a refund as it had been a month since I transferred money so I got an immediate response saying he would come today. Well guess what... he is not here and he is not answering the phone so have I lost my money? I don't have his address only a phone number.
I know people will say don't transfer money upfront but a lot of trades people ask for that as they could lose out from customers cancelling etc. What do I do now?

OP posts:
Hankunamatata · 23/03/2021 09:58

He cancelled 3 times. What time period is the over?

MondeoFan · 23/03/2021 09:59

What were the reasons why he cancelled? Was he ill? A lot of tradesmen take on too much work, and tell people "oh I'll do it next week" but you'll find they've told all their customers that so the jobs keep getting pushed back. They normally prioritise the jobs they make the most money from or the easiest ones first.

HollowTalk · 23/03/2021 10:01

I would do my best to find out his address - on that website do they state addresses?

Original poster
Blublubblubbing · 23/03/2021 10:02

So the first one was the weather was bad, the second time I got a text first thing on the day to say his slab layer had cancelled so he would come next week... didnt give a day and when I tried to call he didnt answer. I asked for a refund at that point and he called straight away. The excuses were his van got broken into and tools stolen, his car was cloned and his wife's nursery had all had covid. If all that was true he would have explained I think at the times he cancelled and not ignored my calls. This is over a month period

OP posts:
Original poster
Blublubblubbing · 23/03/2021 10:03

No address on my builder. I have reported him to them but I dont think they'll be able to do anything as the second job for the patio wasn't arranged through them it was in person. All they'll be able to do is remove him from the site if they get enough complaints I guess

OP posts:
ProfessorSlocombe · 23/03/2021 10:06

I know people will say don't transfer money upfront but a lot of trades people ask for that as they could lose out from customers cancelling etc.

It's not foolproof, (but can be a scam stopper) if you order the materials to be delivered to you. That way if a tradesperson has an attack of the cheeks, you've still got your moneys worth of material and just need to find a new tradesperson.

It's not uncommon when tradespeople do get an advance like this that they spend it on materials for the job they are still working on ...

Obviously if the tradesperson you are engaging has a problem with that, you can draw your own conclusions.

MondeoFan · 23/03/2021 10:07

How much have you given him for materials? And would you have to pay him more once the work is done?
I'm still convinced he is going to do the work.

Original poster
Blublubblubbing · 23/03/2021 10:09

It's not foolproof, (but can be a scam stopper) if you order the materials to be delivered to you. That way if a tradesperson has an attack of the cheeks, you've still got your moneys worth of material and just need to find a new tradesperson.

Funnily enough I did that with the first job. He delivered my materials in advance and then turned up to do the job as expected so that obviously built up trust so I didnt request the same for the patio

OP posts:
Original poster
Blublubblubbing · 23/03/2021 10:11

I've paid £690 and the rest would have been at the end of the job. If he is still going to do it why is he ignoring me? He was supposed to be here this morning at 8 and he's not answering my calls. I waited until 9.30 to call just in case but it is clear now he was never coming. I suspect he has cash flow issues

OP posts:
Cuddling57 · 23/03/2021 10:16

I totally get why you gave him money upfront as he did a good job for you already.
Is he a company or do you only have his name?
Any chance of finding him on Facebook?
I was getting quotes for new kitchens and really put off by the ones who wanted paying loads before they even turned up!

oldshoeuk · 23/03/2021 10:23

Well worth taking him to small claims if you can get enough of his details. You don't need a solicitor and the judge will decide based on balance of facts, not beyond reasonable doubt.

Keep the evidence and you'll certainly win, or he will refund before. He just has no motivation or pressure to do the work and is busy chasing other jobs.

Original poster
Blublubblubbing · 23/03/2021 10:28

I only have his phone number and not on social media. I googled his name and nothing came up so I'm not sure how I can find him otherwise? Do I need his address to take him to small claims?

OP posts:
Insomnia5 · 23/03/2021 10:29

I think you’re best off messaging him with a date to get it sorted or refunded before you take him to a small claims court. Obviously you will actually have to go to court if he doesn’t

FourWordsImMuNiTy · 23/03/2021 10:30

If you Google his number you might get more details. What does mybuilder have on file?

CyberdyneSystems · 23/03/2021 10:30

You can't take reviews at face value unfortunately. I know somebody who has a small business and nearly all of the reviews are from friends giving it five stars, they've never used the business

There are also ppl online who are paid to give good reviews. I've read it happens on Amazon a lot. My neighbour used a builder last year who was awful from start to finish but the Facebook reviews were all brilliant

I've also read about negative reviews never being published on Trust a Trader

Insomnia5 · 23/03/2021 10:30

It shouldn’t be hard to find his address. I’d ask around on social media, or trace him through 192

Itsokthanks · 23/03/2021 10:30

Too late now but always ask for an invoice and check out the company details on it before paying.

ProfessorSlocombe · 23/03/2021 10:32

@Blublubblubbing

I only have his phone number and not on social media. I googled his name and nothing came up so I'm not sure how I can find him otherwise? Do I need his address to take him to small claims?
You need an address where it can be shown they received the summons. That's hurdle #1.

Then you need an address where they can be shown to have some assets for when (not if...) they don't pay up.

You can end up spending even more without result.

Mummyoflittledragon · 23/03/2021 10:33

You can try contacting your bank as you’ve paid him for a job he hasn’t done. But it may be your word against his. Do you have an invoice for the original work? Or a receipt for the money you transferred or anything in writing?

ProfessorSlocombe · 23/03/2021 10:34

You can't take reviews at face value unfortunately

Any site where the tradesperson is paying to advertise won't allow bad reviews as a rule. Their T&Cs are designed so that you have to enter into a dispute resolution service first.

Kintsuji · 23/03/2021 10:35

I have had a tradesmen not reply to contact before when they're not ready to do the work yet. They did turn up eventually. Did it when it suited them.

Mummyoflittledragon · 23/03/2021 10:36

Oh and as you didn’t have an address, it was actually illegal to take payment for anything from you. I went through all of this with trading standards. Also ripped off. Decided not to take to court as I’m not a well person and didn’t want the scammers to come after us. The bank refused to refund any money as they viewed the work had been done (it hadn’t) and viewed it as a dispute on the standard of work.

Original poster
Blublubblubbing · 23/03/2021 10:36

Only have a text from him confirming he has received the money. All I have is texts with quotes and what's been agreed. I feel so annoyed at myself for trusting him but I was very cautious in the beginning and had everything delivered in advance etc. Am I likely to have been scammed here or is he just taking on too much?

OP posts:
Original poster
Blublubblubbing · 23/03/2021 10:39

I'm sorry to hear that mummyoflittledragon

OP posts:
SkittlesRainbow · 23/03/2021 10:43

I can see why you are so anxious about this. How stressful for you. We engaged some gardeners in November and they came on the first day and then we had excuses from then until the first week of March. I wasn't too worried as I had only paid been for materials and they were delivered to my drive, and the weather has been pretty rubbish this winter. Once they came they did a brilliant job and it's all finished now.

I hope this guys is just disorganised and poor at communicating. If you manage to speak to him again you can easily ask him to arrange for delivery of the materials you have paid him for, even if he can't do the work yet. That will give you peace of mind. If he doesn't agree to this, I would tell him you are reporting to the bank for fraud - the account you sent the money to will have his address at least!

About 15 years ago my in laws had a serious problem with a scam artist taking their money, and the police did get involved to help them. There are people who can help you if this is worst case. I hope you manage to sort it.

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