Poorly laid Patio - I am suspicious about the excuses given for delaying the repairs

[LizzyA123]

I had a patio laid in April, it looks lovely we paid for the work once completed and were mostly happy with it. Patio Man, will call him PM, said, if any problems he would come back in a fortnight to sort them out and snag fixing was included in the price paid. Over the course of the next few days and weeks , several flags became a bit loose. PM came and relaid some of them, he said the mix mustn’t have been quite right. He has relaid 9, they still need re-pointing, and we have discovered a lot more. PM has promised to come on several occasions to finish the job but keeps coming up with excuses not to turn up on the day. Excuses usually involve medical emergencies or illness for his family. I am deeply suspicious. I told him that I wanted it completing by a certain date or I would be seeking a refund and employing someone else to finish the job. He didn’t turn up but rang to promise his full attention for a full day of work today starting at 08:30. He didn’t turn up! I messaged him and was informed of another medical emergency. For various reasons, gut feeling and Social Media activity, I am deeply suspicious. AIBU to be suspicious and what would you suggest I do next? PM is unaware of what I have seen on Social Media.

Medical emergency is the tradesman's go-to excuse, usually mother-in-law ill or labuorer hurt their leg/back. He's fobbing you off.

Threaten small claims court? Not sure how far you would get but hopefully it might just put a rocket up him

No advice but sympathy as we’re in a similar position with an unfinished and somewhat bodged patio

JustinOtherDad my thoughts too but can’t easily prove my suspicions only strengthen them from various social media posts. For eg messaged that whole family is dreadfully ill, then seen on SM in someone’s photo having a BBQ with neighbours. Still ill a day or so later but seen in further pics at funfair with family. If he had wanted time off he could have just said so, I wouldn’t have been best pleased but at least he would have been straight with me - possibly!

Probably delaying until the body he buried under it has decomposed a bit more?

You're a mumsnetter. Just bury him under the patio.

Should I confront him with the evidence I have for suspecting his excuses are Bull or keep them as ammunition? Should I give him one last chance with a non-negotiable deadline and if not adhered then go down official channels to recover the cost of getting someone else to sort it out. I like to give people a fair chance to put things right but am not one to be messed about and will pursue this if necessary.

FatOaf 😂😂😂

If within weeks of him laying the patio large numbers of the stones are coming loose that suggests to me that he's done something fundamentally wrong - maybe not laid a proper base? In that case I doubt that coming round and bodging here and there to mask the problem is really going to provide a long-term solution, and he probably knows that.

MurielSpriggs, PM said as much, agreed that some of the mix was probably made with wrong ratios of cement to sand and said he should have kept a better eye on the guy he had hired to help out. He had to tell him off a couple of times for standing on some newly laid flags too. I’ve taken a video of the work still required and will be sending him a copy shortly.

Garden hard landscaping is very much the domain of the self taught bodger. Any idiot can bung a mix in a mixer so getting that wrong is inexcusable.
Give him your concerns in writing with the expectation of him addressing them in a reasonable period of time.

After that you have the option to go small claims if he has assets etc that you can recover against.

‘Aw sorry to hear of family illness! Was the food undercooked at the BBQ or too much candy floss at the funfair?’

Nicolastuffedone - I like your thinking. 😂

I have a new date from PM to fix my patio; I’ll see what next Tuesday brings; another “lucky dip” excuse or a full day of hard graft to put this right. 🤷‍♀️