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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Telling the truth about a trader when people recommend them on Facebook

31 replies

Greatrainplane · 16/01/2025 10:29

Hi All,

I wondered if anyone knew where we stood with this and if we’re opening ourselves up to legal action?

we employed a plasterer 2 years ago to do a small job that we were told would take 3 weeks. He took a deposit (apparently to buy materials), removed all the plaster and then disappeared for over a month. He occasionally let himself in to our house at night and removed the materials the deposit had paid for until there were no materials left and he wanted more money. We tried to be reasonable, we tried to manage him, gave him extended deadlines but we were left living in rubble with small children, Christmas was ruined and the impact was awful. He also damaged 2 sofas, a carpet had to be thrown away and he damaged a solid wood floor and several pieces of furniture. He visited the house every few days to demand more money.

4 months in he then sued us in small claims for more than the value of the original quotation. We counter- claimed and 9 months of stress followed involving solicitors, collecting evidence and then courts.

We won very easily and the judge was very unhappy with him and gave him a real dressing down. He admitted in court he had no idea how to do the job, no plan to finish our job and just planned to take more money off us. He was told to pay £5k to us but he declared himself bankrupt so we haven’t had a penny.

He’s still working in the area and we know he’s moved in with an elderly lady where he lives for free on the basis he’ll do small plastering jobs for her.

I’ve seen people on the local FB page ask for plasterer recommendations and his name comes up repeatedly. We know we’re not the first customers to have issues with either the quality of his work and/or him trying to extract money from them he wasn’t entitled to.

Where these people have mutual friends with me I’ve direct messaged them to tell them what happened and recommend someone else we know is good.

I suppose I’m just very angry that he’s still out there putting himself in a position where he could potentially do to someone else what he did to us. My partner also overheard him in a pub a few weeks ago telling someone what an amazing plasterer he is.

Would a response on one of this FB recommendation requests outlying what happened be OK legally or is this libel etc?

OP posts:
Original poster
Greatrainplane · 20/01/2025 21:56

Thanks everyone for your advice. On this occasion I DMd the poster and explained what an arsehole he was (sticking to provable facts). It turned out we had a mutual friend and our friend told her as well.

For those asking how he let himself in at night, at the start of the job we had a short holiday away booked months before the work was planned. We felt backed in to a corner because we couldn’t cancel the holiday and he said he couldn’t reschedule. He needed a key to let himself in but we hid the valuables and our neighbour went in several times a day to check on him. When we returned he kept coming up with excuses as to why he needed it.

There were times we would hear a noise downstairs and find him in our dining room (where he made the biggest mess and stored everything) removing materials. Other times he would walk past our kitchen windows whilst we were having dinner and let himself in without knocking or calling out to us. I was once home alone, and walked in on him taking the last of the materials and causing huge damage to our wooden floor. He got very aggressive with me but stopped when my partner came home. My partner demanded the key back and we changed the locks.

It was a difficult line between being reasonable with him to keep him happy and being taken advantage of- he was quite emotional from the start (even using my partner as an agony aunt, telling him about all of his relationship issues- my partner said it was like consoling a 12 year old).

@AliciaSoo not Mark on this occasion. This excuse for a human is called Ollie.

We reported him to Trading Standards 3 times and we had an excellent barrister who humiliated him in court. He got him to admit that he was intentionally trying to extort money from us. Seeing a grown man being told off by the judge for 15 minutes was excruciating to watch but, in hindsight, not enough considering his current actions.

He didn’t pay us anything but due to repeated errors he made in the court process he was forced to pay over £1k in court fees.

OP posts:
ultraviolet4753 · 20/01/2025 23:34

In fb groups, you can now post anonymously (by sliding a Button across on the post you are writing), so no one sees your name.

You should be OK anyway if you won the claim, but posting anonymously seems good?

Crinkle77 · 20/01/2025 23:58

I didn't name and shame anyone publicly but I DM'd the person asking for the recommendation. I just said I can't go in to detail but I wouldn't recommend him. And left it at that.

bumblebee1000 · 21/01/2025 00:03

I would message the admin and they can block him from the group, we have a gardener on our local group who gets amazing reviews but all from his mates down the pub....he is well known to take forever on jobs and just goes awol for weeks when he is on ketamine....

Applecharm25 · 21/01/2025 00:04

Greatrainplane · 16/01/2025 10:29

Hi All,

I wondered if anyone knew where we stood with this and if we’re opening ourselves up to legal action?

we employed a plasterer 2 years ago to do a small job that we were told would take 3 weeks. He took a deposit (apparently to buy materials), removed all the plaster and then disappeared for over a month. He occasionally let himself in to our house at night and removed the materials the deposit had paid for until there were no materials left and he wanted more money. We tried to be reasonable, we tried to manage him, gave him extended deadlines but we were left living in rubble with small children, Christmas was ruined and the impact was awful. He also damaged 2 sofas, a carpet had to be thrown away and he damaged a solid wood floor and several pieces of furniture. He visited the house every few days to demand more money.

4 months in he then sued us in small claims for more than the value of the original quotation. We counter- claimed and 9 months of stress followed involving solicitors, collecting evidence and then courts.

We won very easily and the judge was very unhappy with him and gave him a real dressing down. He admitted in court he had no idea how to do the job, no plan to finish our job and just planned to take more money off us. He was told to pay £5k to us but he declared himself bankrupt so we haven’t had a penny.

He’s still working in the area and we know he’s moved in with an elderly lady where he lives for free on the basis he’ll do small plastering jobs for her.

I’ve seen people on the local FB page ask for plasterer recommendations and his name comes up repeatedly. We know we’re not the first customers to have issues with either the quality of his work and/or him trying to extract money from them he wasn’t entitled to.

Where these people have mutual friends with me I’ve direct messaged them to tell them what happened and recommend someone else we know is good.

I suppose I’m just very angry that he’s still out there putting himself in a position where he could potentially do to someone else what he did to us. My partner also overheard him in a pub a few weeks ago telling someone what an amazing plasterer he is.

Would a response on one of this FB recommendation requests outlying what happened be OK legally or is this libel etc?

I wouldn't post anything publicly

wireddifferently · 21/01/2025 00:13

Can you write something short that uses facts established in the ruling and words used by the judge? If you mirror that language, I think you're less likely to be accused of libel, as it should be less subjective.

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