Issue with Paving Company

Sysiphus

Hi,
We have a bit of an issue with a Paving company that was supposed to pave and landscape our backgarden. We had this company out for a quotation some weeks ago and the date for commencement of the works was next Monday. The contractor was to come back to finalise the design and to sign a contract before the job was to begin.
We heard nothing from the company and when we tried to call the mobile number and landline on the leaflet to catch up we got "The number you have called is not in service .. please .." We tried 3 days in a row and then took for granted the company had gone out of service. We also considered that in the event of a fault with the workmanship we would not have any come back, should the company "disappear" so easily. The address on the flier was also falsified.

We went through another round of quotations lastnight and settled on a new landscaper who will begin much later than planned and were considered ourselves lucky that no money had passed hands.

Today my husband got a call from the original contactor's "brother" saying that they were going to leave the materials outside the house. My husband explained the situation
1. You did not call to finalise the design
2. Both contact numbers provided were our of service, and still are/.
3. You did not call as arranged to complete details of the contract (which they wanted).
4. Nobody even contacted us in relation to a drop off of materials.

They just disappeared off the face of the earth.

The guy told my husband that they had paid for the materials and that he was going to drop them outside the door regardless. This is bound to be a LOT of material - as it is 70 square foot of paving going down.


Has anyone else experienced this type of behaviour?

B

Sonnenblumen

If anyone called to my house demanding payment etc I would call the Gardai, and explain that there are strangers at the door demanding money with menace.

This is the time of year when rogue traders are in full flight and I'm always amazed how easily people are taken in by the great discounts etc etc. To be honest I have little sympathy for people who do not do proper research.

Instead of checking bona fides, people seem more content at seizing a 'great offer' usually cash transactions, and then when matters go astray everyone including legitmate contractors are tarnished with the anger.

As a matter of interest how do you know you are in fact dealing with a bona fide and qualified landscaper?

Sysiphus

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

To be honest I have little sympathy for people who do not do proper research.

I called him for a quotation following a leaflet through the door. I checked his references personally. I called and spoke to several referees and I drove out and checked the work for several driveways. It all seemed very legit, and he seemed like a nice chap. It was not a "cheap price", it was inline with the price that other traders were charging for the same work. It wasn't a cash transaction either, which also pointed to it being a bonafide business.

It wasn't until he disappeared off the planet that we noticed something was amiss. Like the numbers (mobile and landline) we had called previously were not valid anymore. As soon as that happened we looked elsewhere. It wasn't uintil his brother rang this morning out of the blue with a strong accent to drop off "materials" on our drive that we realised the extent of it. He hadn't even finalised what patio slab we would use, so how did he know what to buy.

I am not by any means tarnishing bonafide contractors. We have had plenty of tradesmen do work for us in the past and will have our garden completed by a bonafide contractor.

The Sweeper

Hmmm. How far are you from your local garda station? I'd call them and explain what's happening so that when the dude rocks up with the materials and you call the gards, you'll know already whether they're going to turn up.

Whatever you do, don't accept the delivery. If you've signed NOTHING and exchanged no money, you have ZERO obligation to your original contractor. Lock your front gates, park your car in his way, and get talking to the coppers - do NOT let him dump materials on your property.

Sysiphus

Hi Minesajackdaniels - we rang the cops and they were very understanding about it. At the moment we have the front gates tight with a chain and padlock and a car reversed up to it.

No sign of them yet.

I have read a few online articles since and it seems that there are rogue traders about. They set a price and then in the middle of the project turn around and ask for 2 or 3 times the price to complete it. You are stuck with a garden/driveway in rag order and have to hand over the money just to get some sort of a finish on it. But the job is so badly completed that you end up having to get it done again. The leaflets that they ciculate to the doors have a false address and the phone numbers are only working for a few days - enough time for them to get the quotations in. So, when you go to contact them later when the drive starts to subside you have no come back.

We used pickapro for our new landscaper and found it very good.

Sonnenblumen

Sysiphus wrote: »

I called him for a quotation following a leaflet through the door. I checked his references personally. I called and spoke to several referees and I drove out and checked the work for several driveways. It all seemed very legit, and he seemed like a nice chap. It was not a "cheap price", it was inline with the price that other traders were charging for the same work. It wasn't a cash transaction either, which also pointed to it being a bonafide business.

It wasn't until he disappeared off the planet that we noticed something was amiss. Like the numbers (mobile and landline) we had called previously were not valid anymore. As soon as that happened we looked elsewhere. It wasn't uintil his brother rang this morning out of the blue with a strong accent to drop off "materials" on our drive that we realised the extent of it. He hadn't even finalised what patio slab we would use, so how did he know what to buy.

I am not by any means tarnishing bonafide contractors. We have had plenty of tradesmen do work for us in the past and will have our garden completed by a bonafide contractor.

My earlier post was not intended at directly criticising you but more of a warning to how casual people can be when selecting a landscaper. Your experience is simple proof of how elaborate some people will go to 'con' would be buyers. All this could be avoided by using a professional eg an ALCI (Association of Landscape Contractors of Ireland) which are listed in Golden pages and also online (www.alci.ie). In the unlikely event of any disputes the Association provides mediation services. But unlikely to be required as members are vetted, insured and work is completed to a high standard. And not always at a higher cost to the buyer, but at least you have the assurance of dealing with a professional who is also bound by ALCI membership to provide a professional service to buyer/client.

I suppose I should add that not all professional landscapers are members of ALCI, but in any event, the details on a written quotation will also provide some starting points to check out bona fides.

The Sweeper

Sysiphus, good luck with it and let us know how you get on. Please don't let yourself be bullied by these types - I know they can be very intimidating and it can be very unpleasant, but stand your ground.