My mum (89yo) had a builder round to give her an estimate for some work on the outside of her house this week. I was supposed to meet him with her, as she doesn't like organising things like this on her own. Spent 2hrs at her house waiting for him (was due before 11am) but he never showed and I had to leave. He eventually turned up at 1pm and said there had been a confusion over the times. He inspected the issue and gave her an estimate. All she had was his phone number and first name and part of the name of his company.
I Googled the company and found zilch. I also searched his phone numbers and also got nothing. I decided to call him as I had some questions. Turns out he doesn't have a web page or a FB page. I asked how were potential customers supposed to see examples of his past and current work. He said he had some glossy leaflets. This struck me as bizarre, because it's so much easier (and cheaper) to upload pictures to your business FB page with a short description of what you've done. The leaflets will always have the same pictures on them and he'd have to keep getting them reprinted or updated at a cost. I also found out that when he'd turned up at mums, he drove a white van with no sign writing on it. I've never known a trader who doesn't have their company name and contact details on their van. So many odd things in my opinion.
When he gave my mum the estimate, he made a point of saying she might get it cheaper "but I do a good job". He also said if she did find a cheaper quote, they could discuss it further. This was another red flag for me because he should have been giving his best price, and a price he thought fair for the work, not entering into a bidding war.
Im going to advise my mum to get other quotes, and I'll source the companies based on recommendations and reviews. This particular builder is the relative of another person who did some work in her garden.
Would anyone else have doubts, or am I being over cautious?