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Original poster

Help finding tradespeople

16 replies

Writemove · 15/02/2016 22:52

Please help. I have had seven different people come and quote on re rendering, fitting a bathroom and knocking a wall down. Only one has ever come back with a quote. (and herefused to get council permission for the scaffolding so we weren't comfortable hiring him.)

We have tried rated people, local Facebook pages, recommendations from friends but nothing.

What are we doing wrong? It's a standard 1930s semi in South East London. We have the money in the bank. Why can't we find people?

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Fangs4themammaries · 15/02/2016 22:57

Try asking on Streetlife if your area has one, also try WhichLocal if you are a Which? subscriber.

TremoloGreen · 15/02/2016 22:59

I don't know, but this is the way builders operate. When you find a good one, you hang on to them! I can recommend this company who are based in Kent but used to come out to us when we were in SE London.

tallproperties.co.uk/

In general, a property management type company may be interested if you have somewhere where lots of little things need doing.

Original poster
Writemove · 15/02/2016 22:59

Thank you. That's very helpful. I will give them a try.

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Original poster
Writemove · 15/02/2016 23:00

Tremolo. Yes please. It would be great if you could recommend.

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Original poster
Writemove · 15/02/2016 23:00

Sorry. It's late. Just saw you did! Thank you

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IShouldBeSoLurky · 16/02/2016 00:48

Yep. Just going through the exact same thing in the same area and it's a total nightmare. We have found a builder who is starting work on Wednesday and tbh I have grave misgivings but no other fucker would even quote and they were recommended so... Have you tried the Brockley Central/East Dulwich forums?

Original poster
Writemove · 16/02/2016 07:42

Good luck lurky. If they're good then please let me know. We had a bad decorator which makes me extra wary. Hut at this stage I just want it done. It's so annoying to have the money saved and bit be able to find anyone.

Tremolo I just got an email to say tall properties don't cover my area but at least I got a reply. That's better than six months of silence! I'll keep trying streetlife and which local. Wish me luck!

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MrsMarigold · 16/02/2016 09:14

Avoid Rated People - I'm sure some tradesmen on it are fine, but I had a ghastly experience. Just remember good tradesmen are super busy and you will probably have to wait. We had a boiler done at a rental property we own - work ok but and the guy who installed it tried to attacked me. He hadn't even invoiced, but one day after completing the work he came round to our house forced his way in and assaulted me. (We'd paid him £2k upfront so he could buy materials etc. and owed £1k). I had already told him we would pay by the end of the week, it was a Tuesday.

Thank god we had some scaffolders outside our house who distracted him while I called the police. The police took 20 minutes to arrive and were useless. I called DH at work, he's a barrister, he came home got the police superintendent on it and informed them what the law actually says. He was a total hero.

Unfortunately, the scaffolder wouldn't act as a witness, which was a bugger, so the plumber was not prosecuted but he is a danger to society. I was too scared to leave a bad review on Rated People because I was so scared. Interestingly, he had tried to get me to rate him the day he completed the work but I wanted to wait until we had paid him. I don't think this was the first time this had happened but you can't go back on Rated People and alter a review after it has been posted which is a major flaw. He had seemingly rave reviews.

DD aged three still talks about it and was utterly terrified.

EssentialHummus · 16/02/2016 09:25

Mrs that is terrifying. I've only had good experiences on RatedPeople but it shows you that sometimes all the vetting in the world won't help.

Write - I am in Brockley SE London and have used these guys for a few things:

www.pro-fitandfix.co.uk/Contact_us.html

They are two Peruvian chaps (Luis and his brother) who do great work at blistering speed - over the last two years, they've done my hardwood floors, a bathroom, an extractor and a few odd jobs for me.

Also look at Brockley Central, ED Forum etc but note that the former does not allow negative reviews (silly policy, imo) - so the potential for sock puppetry is high and you'd do well to verify anything you find, on another site/forum.

Peyia · 16/02/2016 10:10

I'm also in SE London. Been searching since July, it's a nightmare. We've had two quotes out of the dozen of builders show an interest and or site visit.

There is a 15k difference in the quotes too so it really feels daunting as we have no idea if we are paying the right amount. We now have planning permission and hopefully the builder we have chosen comes to fruition.

Have you tried MyBuilder?

Original poster
Writemove · 16/02/2016 13:15

Mrs - that's terrible. I'm so sorry to hear that.

Thanks for the Street Life recommendation. I'm getting replies. The first battle is getting them to turn up but the next hurdle is getting the quote. We've failed five times at this before! It's such a waste of time. Why don't they want the work?

I haven't tried my builder. I will give that a go and Pro-fix and fit too. Thanks for all the recommendations. Hopefully my house will be finished at some point before my two-year-old ds leaves home

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IShouldBeSoLurky · 16/02/2016 14:34

I also don't understand why people will come round to look and then not quote - why waste their time in the first place??

monkeyfacegrace · 16/02/2016 14:36

Christ me too.

4th builder to not turn up today. Been waiting 5 months for one days pissing work to be done. That's all I need. One sodding day of someone's time. Evidently my cash isn't as good as someone else's.

I bloody hate THEM ALL.

Fangs4themammaries · 16/02/2016 18:07

This is a useful site for gauging what you should pay www.whatprice.co.uk/

whataboutbob · 16/02/2016 19:20

I FEEL YOUR PAIN! I am becoming a bore now with friends and family (and mumsnet!) going on about my tradesmen woes. Latest was a plumber who took £1000 before christmas, didn't complete the job, lied on several occasions about having done work which he hadn't, disappeared for weeks then re surfaced asking for more money. He was recommended by a neighbour. I have used Which? Local recommended tradesmen who ended up doing shoddy work. i am at a total loss finding decent tradesmen.
I thought the influx of Eastern European tradesmen would make them up their game, but I see no sign of that.
Someone should be able to explain their mindset because I am deeply puzzled.

Original poster
Writemove · 16/02/2016 19:45

Thank you for making me feel less alone. There must be more work than they can handle. It's just so frustrating. Hopefully I'll find someone soon.

Sent out eight enquiries today and only heard back from one. The builder who quoted three weeks ago has disappeared off the face of the earth too.

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