Op, I’m in a similar situation having dealt with a builder who literally verbally abused me down the phone - screaming, swearing accusing me of things which were actually quite bonkers (like I as to Blair why he got through 3 electrical sub contractors despite me only having met one of them once and having a nice chat with the bloke about his dogs over a cuppa 🤦♀️). I live on my own in my 60s. It was scary, Transpired my job (massively over running, disasters happening, extra costs he needed to pay for given his screw ups) was eating his profits and he wanted me to bail immediately I’d paid the last big instalment. He literally changed overnight. I ended up at GPs and on medication, with panc anttacks, and it took me months to recover.
his web site uses photos of my project.
I could lie awake at night and say fuck that , how dare he. But I don’t …here’s the thing, if I want to empty a builder or kitchen fitter I ask for references. I base it on what people say not a few pretty pictures.
ok, in my case it didn’t help me, as he changed his business model just after I contracted him unbeknown to me.
At the end of project, my builder turned on the old sweetness and light bit again, he said he was prepared to “move on and forget the issues” 🤣🤣🤣🤯. He knew I could do a lot of damage if he let loose future customers on me. So, he has a few photos, no descriptions or identifying features, and he’s lost a customer review he could have got. The quality of what was done was actualy very good, it was the crap project management and shite comms and his attitude that was the issue. So more fool him if he can’t run a business properly
I take a degree of comfort that there is only so long he can treat customers like that before his reputation proceeds him and he goes bust.
this company you dealt with has gone bust once. Thy have already got a group of deeply unhappy and stressed customers that won’t give decent reviews. Sooner or later they will go out of business again. They will. Don’t let them control your sale.
Imho, You’ll save an awful lot of dragging a ball and chain of negative emotions around with you if you let go and just say “fuck it, I don’t care about the, and their future journey into bankruptcies again” and just get on selling the hose along the path of least resistance. You can bet your bottom dollar they don’t think about it, it won’t impact them, and they just don’t care. You caring about it so much, and trying to change their future by limiting access to a few photos will not change their attitude one jot.