I'm still fuming and honestly don't know if I'm overreacting...
We hired a builder for some work around the house. At first, he promised specific materials, deadlines, and a plan that would keep inconvenience to a minimum. I even had to organise everything around looking after two kids. I thought everything would go smoothly, but once work started, it quickly went downhill.
He decided to connect a new toilet to the manhole instead of the soil stack we had agreed on, without even asking me. Then he damaged my direct power connection to the garage, and when I noticed, it turned out he'd rerouted it from the kitchen fuse, initially hiding the problem.
The new GRP roof he installed already looks like it's five years old, full of scuffs and patches, and small things kept going wrong all over the place.
He gave "helpful suggestions" that were really just ways to cut corners and save his own labour, leaving me to deal with unsafe work and shoddy results. To add insult to injury, he and his team went into my garage and used my DH tools and equipment without permission. Some items went missing, which we had to chase him to reimburse.
And then there's the new skirting he installed. He didn't even bother to remove the labels before painting. Really, this one took the biscuit. It's little things like this that make me wonder if he even cares about quality at all.
On top of all this, I've spent way, way more money than I should have, and every day felt like there was another hidden problem, another corner cut, another excuse.
Accountability? Zero. And the worst part? Feeling like I have no one reliable to turn to. How are you supposed to hire someone without risking your property, your safety, and your sanity?
I’ve spent so much time trying to fix or mitigate things myself, and it's exhausting. I feel completely defeated and honestly scared to hire anyone ever again.
AIBU for feeling like the whole process of hiring tradespeople is a gamble you’re bound to lose, especially when you’re juggling small kids and your budget?