So… I just got stung $4k and a bad roof.
My Story.
I been looking at getting my roof restored as I've been in my property for 10+ years. It's a 50yr old home in the SE suburbs of Melbourne. Been looking around for over a year and got a quotes from 3k - 12k. Mainly quotes were from hipages because I thought it was a reputable site for companies to chase business with legitimate reviews.
There was a business that contacted me. They're a husband/wife business and they were lovely. They have 150+ reviews (all positive) spanning across 4 years. He inspected, seemed knowledgeable, and friendly. We went ahead without any hassles for about 5k cash.
It took about 2 weeks due to the lovely intermittent Spring weather, but he came to house roughly 5 days (but not full days). Midway through, I noticed that there were some issues from the ground. The pointing just looked quite rough and he didn't paint the tile ends very well, especially in some areas near the gutters. He told me, "your tiles are old and rough", "that's just the way it is"… Blah blah. I wasn't entirely happy as they had a brochure that was handed to me on day one which obviously looked like perfection. When the job was done, he asked for the money on that very same day. I reluctantly gave him more cash because I trusted him, but I held onto 20% because I wanted to make sure everything was fine before handing the rest over. Also, I wasn't particularly happy with the colour, but that's not his fault. So just went with it.
That evening when the sun wasn't blaring down, I got a ladder, peaked above and noticed a bunch of stuff wasn't done or done properly. Long story short, he stuffed me. I took photos, send them over to his wife and we went back/forth to work out the rectifications process. I made sure it was mostly emailed in terms of what needed to be done before he returned. Eventually, I went on the roof and saw an all might mess of a job. It was atrocious. I took more photos, sent them around to his paint supplier, and reputable roof resto companies. Also had on-site inspections. They all exclaimed, "This is one of the worst I have seen!".
The cost to repair his damage will be more than what he's quoted me. Some roof restoration businesses now say they won't touch it because it's too far gone, too much work, or repairs to strip his work away will just cause more damage.
I have been collecting evidence and IMO, it's an open/shut case of (gross?) negligence on his behalf. I also now have irrefutable proof that he has lied based on his work (or lack thereof based on our agreement/quote), his emails, and my video surveillance. TBH, I've been quite stressed about it in the past week, but coming to terms with it now. It is what it is and probably unavoidable from the beginning, but I've definitely learned alot from it.
I have been very professional with him and his wife and still am. His wife is the sole owner looking at the company's ABN search. He still wants to come back to fix the issues.
I have politely requested a refund of what I've paid so far. No payment will mean I'll escalate this matter.
- What should I do?
- If this does escalate, what would you do within the bounds of what is legal/appropriate?
- Has anyone been through mediation/VCAT?
NB: I kind of have a plan of action in mind and want to get this out to spread awareness but possibly without naming/shaming. Partly because a) they might be on here and b) because I'm somewhat unfamiliar on what can come and bite me back in the a$$. I won't be as active on here to regularly answer questions as even that takes a toll. Have a friendly chat, discuss anything around it, take the pi$$ out of my situation…
But most importantly, be nice and provide any advice if you can. I'll take it. Cheers!
"There was a business that contacted me. They're a husband/wife business and they were lovely. "
Sorry but after alarm bells that loud what comfort do you think random opinions and hindsight will offer you?
Get a lawyer. Learn from this. This was a nose on your face situation.
Edit> USERNAME checks out and 'perhaps' comes home to roost
EDIT2 >"I kind of have a plan of action in mind and want to get this out to spread awareness but possibly without naming/shaming"
After all this melodrama and your claims, there's to be no naming and shaming?
Love to hear the other version, now.