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Reporting An Unreliable Tradesman

By: Tracy Whitelaw - Updated: 28 May 2020 | comments*Discuss
 
Reporting An Unreliable Tradesman

It can be financially and emotional crippling when you realise that your hard-earned cash has been wasted on a rogue tradesman. As the number of 'have-a-go' tradesmen continue to rise in the UK, there are a number of reliable firms popping up that offer advice and help on choosing a reputable tradesman when you need work conducted on your home. If you're unfortunate enough to be one of the people who do end up involved with a rogue trader though, you need to know where to report your grievances in order to ensure nobody else is conned by them.

Talk to the Tradesman First

If things go wrong when you're having work carried out by a tradesman, the first step to try and resolve any issues is to speak to the tradesman. Always give them the chance to put it right and make any complaints known to them initially. Many tradesmen will take this opportunity to try and rectify the situation, as they won't want their reputation being harmed. If you feel that the tradesman isn't listening to your concerns, put them down in writing and give him a deadline. Send the complaint letter to the tradesman's head office, assuming there is one, but remember to always keep a copy of what you sent and when. If you find that there's no resolution through this means, the next step is to report your tradesman.

Citizen's Advice Bureau and Trading Standards

One of the most common places to report an unreliable tradesman is at your local Citizen's Advice Bureau. They will be able to give you advice on your legal status with regards to the work and also whether you may be able to make a claim against your tradesman. They may also be able to offer you some kind of conflict resolution or mediation, so they're definitely worth visiting and can give you advice for free on most occasions. Another possibility is to report your tradesman to Trading Standards. Trading Standards are specifically interested in protecting the rights of consumers against businesses and in ensuring that businesses are within the law and delivering what they promise. You can contact your local branch of Trading Standards and they will give you advice on the next step regarding your unreliable tradesman. They can often provide you with contact details for trade associations or advise on what the best course of action is for you to resolve your dispute with your tradesman. They may even investigate it themselves and keep you updated on the situation.

Reporting to a Trade Association

If your unreliable tradesman is part of a trade association, then you should be covered by their code of conduct. If speaking directly to the tradesman doesn't work, contact their governing body and ask for advice. They will want to uphold the standards of their association so will be keen to investigate anyone they believe to be unreliable. Normally, a trade association will speak to the tradesman on your behalf as well as offer you some kind of arbitration service to try and come to a resolution. They can also get the tradesman back to work if they've left the job unexpectedly. This is one of the reasons that it's important to check your tradesman's credentials before agreeing to any work being carried out - if your tradesman doesn't have a trade association backing him, you're putting yourself in financial danger.

Online Sources and Unreliable Tradesmen

Another option when it comes to reporting unreliable tradesmen is to use the multitude of online resources to warn others about their poor service. Websites such as TradeCheck or associations like TrustMark welcome information about poor tradesmen as they will make sure they spread this knowledge so others can avoid them. A new service from search engine AskAlex has also been introduced where individuals can run an immediate check on businesses to ensure they're reputable. The service is set up in conjunction with Dun & Bradstreet and will cost a mere 7.50GBP to obtain. It will give consumers a star rating for a business, full contact details, any criminal history, profit figures and an overall judgement of the business. This method should be used to avoid rogue tradesman initially, but can also help in your reporting of any unreliable tradesmen. If you do suffer problems with your tradesman, make sure you report them as early as possible - helping other avoid them can at least give you some peace of mind.

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Dean Brightwell, from Coventry and works in the Midlands area. A con man. Scammed me more than 5k, false promises, accusations, ripped out the bathroom and bedroom floor boards,, walls left bare, not plastered or bircked up etc. The house has been lying vacant and trashed, worse than when I brought it and I am living in horriblr conditions due to him. House has been a complete tip and refuses to acknowledge or give any response. I have sent notices, working through the bank and next step is claims court and contacting the Trading standards and newspaper outlets even. Don't be fooled by his pleasant speech and false words. My kids and wife are unwell yet he still continuously scammed us, without any scruples. AVOIDE THIS MAN. This has been ongoing for months, I complied to his every demand and lost out, big time.
Legal Aid - 28-May-20 @ 2:25 PM
Securico cctv systems (NB - NOT SECURICOR) Great at booking stage! Then - we were told by email they would come between 10-11 am, and would call us 15 mins before, but they arrived at 9 am with no notice at all! They put up cameras where THEY wanted, not us, and they were totally useless poss as options with nothing covered that we wanted. The guys were rude and when I complained one of the engineers said “Sorry luv”! They refused to move them and left nails, cable clips and bits of wire all over the garden for the dogs to tread on or pick up! There was a total mess where they didn’t bother to clean up, and they blasted a brick to smithereens! This is on a new build house! They also said they knew nothing about a doorbell but this was a lie! When I complained the company were full of apologies and sent more engineers in the afternoon, to make good the mess and place the cameras where we wanted and they refused to move them and when I told them to remove the one at the side which was looking at next doors’ window and path, the got argumentative - in exasperation I said you mats as well remove the lot! One of the guys was apologetic and said we can have them where we want them but the argumentative one went outside, ripped the cameras down and left holes in the outside wall and spread a dollop of plaster over the hole inside - uneven, piled up and splattered on the wall. A 2 year old would have made a better job with their hands! The outside has a great big ugly black plasterstuck on it! Please see Facebook for photos! 26 May - the company want to send a builder who does their building work to put this right - I said no as they will obviously say a bit of polyfilla will do the job - rather than costing the £400 (approx) we have been told by a builder that the job will cost! I contacted citizens advice and sent them a letter by email stating that they have not taken reasonable care and they have totally ignored my letter! I am now taking legal action! BEWARE! 28 May - securico will no longer speak to me - they have not rescinded today my email dated 15 May and I have made several calls to them which they do not reply to! They have stopped responding to emails or calls. I tried to speak to the MD today and the call handler in customer support told me he is out of the office, so I asked to speak to the lady dealing with the complaint and the call handler said he would put me through then came back and said she is in a meeting with the MD! I am now taking them to court!
Janutd - 28-May-20 @ 11:59 AM
Carl Joseph bather of cjbather Ltd and Lewis bather Ltd is a cowboy builder not capable of laying concrete correctly he does not construct/build walls with any kind of competence He doesn’t tie them in properly resulting in structural building failure he also does not use a correct mortar mixture to bond building materials together resulting in walls and roofs failing & literally slipping apart , He is an incompetent machine driver he managed to drop a wheelbarrow full of faulty mortar from the 3rd scaffolding lift almost hitting someone, He is totally incapable of fitting coping stones to parapets resulting in them falling off roofs with potentially fatal consequences constantly coming up with excuses for the appalling work quality. It’s been the wrong type of sun that made things hot, the building stone was too smooth, it’s all the architects fault , it’s the structural engineers fault , it’s the customer’s fault , Eventually trying to intimidate customers by making false allegations to the police that disgruntled customers are scratching his cars and slashing their Tyres because customers have to sue him for his incompetence
Vaz - 26-May-20 @ 8:32 PM
I am an oncology patient so can no longer work. I paid £500 for a shed to store my art materials as I am an artist . I hired a man from gumtree calls himself “the honest handyman” or swaps it to the “reliable handyman” there is a photo that looks nothing like him of someone holding a jet wash, not him as he is bald. He goes by the name of STEVE GEE . and claims he had 33yrs of experience. My shed is distroyed he drilled holes through a metal shed ???? He was aggressive demanding money , I gave him nothing. He also ruined my garden furniture by standing on it. Please please avoid this creature, my savings are gone and all I have is a mess to pay someone to dump. I have just got through chemotherapy and was looking forward to continue my artwork in the sun.
Rasher - 24-May-20 @ 11:10 AM
Natural order landscapes,edinburgh leith area. Claims to have 30 yrs experience on gardening,landscaping and fence building. Took money for materials and agreed a daily cash set fee. Dragged out a VERY poor standard of work, in 3 days half a fence up (barely) wobbly,fence posts 11.8 ft apart???? screws from beams to postsbroken off ends of posts so not secure or fully attatched, fence all squint and one post was easily lifted out of ground by hand!! So much for being cemented in was only half a foot in ground! Didnt fancy my chances on decking was told to do one and drop of rest of my materials! Claimed didnt charge me for them as was gonna get it off his own back ( yeah right) so out of a good amount of money dont be fooled people check,check and check again before parting with cash.
Liz - 12-May-20 @ 6:19 PM
John Irlam Domestic Appliances Oldham. Looking on google reviews he’s charged everyone else £40 call out charge and charged me £60 today, didn’t fix my washer dryer either this guy has no clue what he’s doing he didn’t even know washer dryers without condensers exist and tried to rearrange my washer dryer saying the manufacturers have made it wrong! and was funny about bank transfer demanded cash, BEWARE DONT USE HIM!
Harrie - 2-May-20 @ 10:24 AM
Ordered a 6 yard skip from lytham skip hire Lancashire. They delivered a 4 yard skip I measured it and calculated the size it was under 4 yards. When we rang them an complained the woman told us it was the new size and if we wanted a bigger one we would have to pay extra. We told then to take it away. Please avoid these charlatans at all costs.
Ollie c - 21-Apr-20 @ 1:03 PM
Dean Brightwell from Coventry.Read other reviews on this guy!!! Also known as RCD, but this company was dissolved in 2017.Excuses for not turning up, includinga made up funeral. Demanded the second payment and lied about needing to pay for materials, held us over a barrel. Didn’t respect house, left discarded drinks bottles on the oak furniture. We had to finish off stripping the walls in the end because it took so long! Ignores calls, but sends random barrages of texts accusing us of not being understanding.Wired up 2 pendant lights incorrectly, after plastering the ceiling, professional electrician had to remove flooring above the living room to remove and replace the wiring that Dean did.We had to have a plumber to fix the radiator he damaged. Only laid half the flooring, which then had to be ripped up and replaced by a professional carpenter. Damaged flooring had been laid, and done incorrectly.He’s a conman who takes your money, does a bit of work so you think you are making progress, then makes diabolical excuses not to continue.
Glad to see the back - 19-Apr-20 @ 9:43 AM
Joseph Dewing is NOT a landscaper!! He’s a labourer posing himself as a landscaper! He works with his sister under a stolen company name called Complete Landscapes! He’s laid slabs for my new patio with no ground prep. All the slabs on 35sqm are coming off!! Steps on retaining wall left unfinished and he’s now done a runner with my money! Tried to ring him and he won’t call pick up calls and only texts back saying that he’s self isolating for the past 3 weeks!!! My garden is disintegrating right before our eyes and it’s no longer safe for my children to play outside!!
FT - 2-Apr-20 @ 2:46 PM
Dean brightwell, from Coventry so unprofessional and kept asking for money but didnt finish any of the jobs he was asked to. Then he did a runner and im left in so much debt with a unfinished apartment. Works for his own company that he has listed as his own private business so can't even complain to anyone higher up. Alarm bells started ringing when he would do half a job then asl for more money for something else and carry on doing that. What a scammer!
Fa - 24-Mar-20 @ 11:26 PM
Dean brightwell, so unprofessional and kept asking for money but didnt finish any of the jobs he was asked to. Then he did a runner and im left in so much debt with a unfinished apartment. Works for his own company that he has listed as his own private business so can't even complain to anyone higher up. Alarm bells started ringing when he would do half a job then asl for more money for something else and carry on doing that. What a scammer!
Fa - 24-Mar-20 @ 11:24 PM
Ian newby of Trevelyan in Bracknell is a convicted. Pedo.
Pred - 17-Mar-20 @ 6:19 PM
Ben Nunes (Ben Nunesvaz) is an incompetent cowboy and a conman. I wouldn't trust him with a set of Lego bricks, let alone a building project. Standard of work is atrocious: he can't even get measurements correct so builds in the wrong place and the wrong size, with internal walls not correctly supported. He inflates the price as he goes, demanding money up front, then more money to finish the job he's already been paid for ! He has several "shell" companies including 'Precision Construction and Property Management ' and 'LTK Construction '. Swindles his way across Wiltshire, Berkshire, Surrey and Hampshire.
SJW - 13-Mar-20 @ 1:14 AM
AMP Electrcal Manchester very bad work left the job half done stay well clear .
Phil - 9-Mar-20 @ 12:40 PM
Dave Arnold, DDA Landscapes stole money whilst working on my house
R - 8-Mar-20 @ 8:53 PM
A builder called Levi, all the information we have ! He’s admitted he’s a gypsy so travels around a lot. My parents used him to repair their roof as it leaked. Levi does a lot of work in a road where pensioners live My husband went into my parents roof and discovered they had ‘bodged’ the job so when they came back it’llbe a bigger job!! This is in Dymchurch at the moment. The excuse he gives why he can’t come and sort it is that he’s working in London.This has been going on since December!! My father is nearly 80 and he’s up on the roof every day sweeping water off. Every night he’s in the loft emptying buckets of water
Chas - 1-Mar-20 @ 10:44 AM
Ben Nunes / Benjamin Nunes / Ben Nunesvaz / Benjamin Nunesvaz Trading as:- Precision Construction HB Ltd (dissolved in 2019 after 2 years trading) Precision Developments and Property Management Ltd (Active, created Jan 2019) LTK Construction Ltd (Active, created Jan 2020) Demands payment in advance and payment for building supplies which don't arrive. Works a 3 or 4 day week to string the job out (when he doesn't decide to go to Spain for a week without telling you !) Work is of a poor standard. Blew the electrics out - twice.Left us without lights for over a week - only resolved when I said I was getting an electrician in...he got an electrician in, then I start getting demands for final payment in Ben's name at my address because he hasn't paid the guy. Also destroyed part of my garden fence and burnt it in one of my expensive planters because they were cold. After five weeks I'm now living in a partly demolished house waiting for the extension foundations to be finished. Highly recommended if you want an ulcer, stress-related medical issues and have £30,000 which you'd rather not set light to. AVOID !
Rogue Builder Alert - 20-Feb-20 @ 3:37 PM
Atlantic home solutions cardiff. Replaced my terraced roof 2 yrs ago. Gave me a 15yr guarantee.Two weeks ago woke up to big wet patch on bedroom ceiling , water is leaking in roof . Phoned the roofer , he came out had a look said he would sort it, then very evasive I had to chase and phone him , he never picks up , until I use different phone, he says he's really busy and can I pay someone else to sort it and he will reimburse me when it's done. Got another roofer In got roof fixed but have messaged him lots and spoke to him but no money .
Aidy - 18-Feb-20 @ 7:41 AM
Dean Brightwell, working around warckshire and West Midlands avoid using this man. He took£1200 of money and never done the job. Alarm bells started ringing when he kept asking for more money without completing any of the jobs agreed. Refused to give me a refund!
Sa - 10-Feb-20 @ 6:24 PM
Hired Craig Fitzgerald (C. F. Electrical) of Mexborough, to do a full electrical install.He messed about for weeks, was full of excuses. He took £2,800 as payment for parts and labour.When we challenged him about the level of work he had done he waited a couple of hours and then left the job. A replacement electrician confirmed his work was substandard and we had no choice but to replace everything that Mr Fitzgerald had done.Despite court action and bailiffs, Mr Fitzgerald refuses to return my money.
Angie158 - 9-Feb-20 @ 9:17 AM
Warning: 'Cowboys James and Jeff of Benedicts builders and decorators are posing as 'English Builders at work, determined to undercut ANY Foreign competitors'. They did, took my cash upfront, seeing I cannot move with a fractured spine, osteoporosis and having recently suffered a stroke. I have Austism and learning disabilty. So ashamed. Thought I was being independent, showing initive and ability to deal with people. It is clear I am unable and allowed myself to get into a vulnerable, potentially dangerous situation as I was defenseless and paralyse fromwaiste down. Terribly distressing to be left in this statehaving to wait on my carer to return and the front door open to intruders. are actively targeting single, elderly, vulnerable and physically disabled Regardless of cost, a new wave of convincing bogus builders posing as an 'ex-squaddie'skinhead and 'family man' accomplice vowed to "beat any price" on labour for "any work, cash-in-hand". The now distraught and ashamed wheelchair user suffered a recent stroke and fractured back once again to an unexpected attack from local criminals who pressured him in to giving them 530 for materials. - [ ] A 54 year old man who desperately needed help for his safe movement throughout the property. This included painting and making sure utitilies safe and removing rubble from his property. They took the money and scarpered, leaving a dangerous mess behind and outside on the road. Bendedicts Builders were initially enthusiastic and assuring competenet and competitive. Giving them the benefit of the doublt and 200 saving I hired them instead of recommended Polish builders of local repute, as I thought I'd support local citizens. I was wrong, wrong, wrong. I should have hired the more reliable Poles and "foreigners" in their words who they were intent on undercutting in order to facilitate the scam. Dont trust anyone. To add insult to injury, they helped themselves to all my garden tools, spades, forks, cutters, kitchen appliances and removed the keysafe outside the front door which is there for carers to get in and out and for emergency access. I had to change the lock for an extra 120 so in a day I was done out of 650 in cash. Dont pay cash in hand. Have a carer present throughout. Call the police as soon as you feel threatened or vulnerable which I failed to do. I never thought this would happen to me. I could happen to anyone. It happened to me yesterday.
Douglas - 7-Feb-20 @ 10:12 AM
Michael Woolner and Adam Bourne and John Coleridge. Operating under the company ‘BSW construction company Ltd’around Peterborough and Ely when we hired them. They stopped turning up to work, had 4major health issues between them during the course of 3 months as excuses to delay works/lack of comms. They left us with dangerous wiring exposed while my children were running around, crap finishes, nothing square, electrics that trip the rest of the house. Ultimately we are having to redo everything they touched at huge personal expense to us.
Frances1524 - 3-Feb-20 @ 10:24 AM
Sajid/Sajad Hussain, SS Builders, 5B Coldecote Grove, B9 5JA (also 55St. Agathas Road, B8 2TU).A incompetent and unqualified Cowboy builder.He nor his workers are competent nor qualified to carry out any gas, electric or tiling jobs let alone do any building work to any professional standard.Also, rips people off and does not follow building plans and avoids building regulations where he can get away with it.Ran off my job as I challenged him to many issues and is a compulsive liar.He has 2 business partner who he calls his employees, both illegal residents in the UK, who harass and intimidate people to give money before work is done. At all costs avoid this cowboy or you will regret it.
cowboy - 13-Jan-20 @ 9:55 AM
ALL OF THE BELOW IS ENTIRELY MY OPINION AND MY VIEW ON HOW THINGS HAPPENED. My wife for some bizarre reason employed the so called expert services of a roofer from Facebook of all places to install a fast dry ridge system and recoat our flat roof with a one coat fibreglass mix and put 2 lengths ofPVC fascia boards around the rear of the flat roof. for the princely sum of two and a half grand! The ridge is 12 metres long and the flat roof is 3 metres in width and 5 metres long, approx. I didn't like the look of as soon I met him, he looked like a tramps reject, he had a van that was chock-a-block with crap piled on top of crap. His labourer is a decent lad and I actually feel sorry for him as he may be under the impression that he has been taught properly by a professional.for whatever amount of time that he has been with him. I asked him if had any qualifications and he replied that when he started you didn't need any back in 89-90 and he said "I've been doing it for 30 years and don't worry". and my wife insisted to me, to "Just let him do his job and stop harassing people for no reason". How wrong she was... He installed (LOL) the fast dry ridge system in a way that goes against every bit of common sense I can think of and of the manufacturers instructions and supplied kit I'm not a roofer myself but when I see a roofer putting down the breathable membrane roll first and neglecting to put any metal support brackets onto the ridge and rafters I started to wonder is that correct? He went and put non treated timber battens on top, of the membrane roll and then laythe ridge tiles on top and fixed in the plastic covers and screws as an afterthought. Let me also delight you about the work carried out on the chimney. He removed the metal pot and started chipping at the old mortar with a chisel and the debris went into the metal flume and stack, at this point I suggested why did't he just aim the chisel outwards and away from the hole and not towards it? I got a blank look Also to put a tray or thick blanket on a string once the hole was big enough to fit into to avoid any more debris travelling down to the gas fire below, Another blank look. He then took a metal tray off the chimney which sits under the mortar and just chucked it without thinking he may need it as a template for a new one. This so called roofer then decided to re mortar the top of the chimney by replacingthe metal plate with a slate/fibre tile and didn't bother to put a thick length of wire into the mortar (gently pull back and forth when mortar is semi dry in order to slowly pull out the wire) around the metal pot to form a run off channel for water to trickle down onto what should have been a pliable DPC lead tray to prolong the life of the mortar. I only know all this as I called for a qualified roofer to come and inspect his work and he gave me his report that the entire ridge system is 'Floating' i.e the only thing holdi
pee'd off - 10-Jan-20 @ 2:26 PM
Antony Moore (also known as Webby). Newmarket area. Took £3700 up front, took most of my roof off including bits that should have stayed on. Put cheap membrane and batting on. Left me without slates for 8 weeks. Never bothered telling me he wasn't coming back. Over this period, Nov-Dec'19, tons of rain. Otherroofers estimate £1500 worth of work done, maximum. Costing me money to keep scaffold up, and new roofers having to correct bad workmanship before they can get slates on.
Basta - 6-Jan-20 @ 8:05 PM
Lee Watling, Total Build, Gainsborough Ave, Whiteleas, South Sheilds and his partner Kolin Kesson. Please do not trust these men with money upfront as we did. They were using sites like my builder to get money upfront jobs and ripping people off.
Jane - 5-Jan-20 @ 11:37 AM
Keep away from Thomas fishwick aka fishwick developments aka signature construction from Bishop Auckland Darlington Region. Scammed us out of cash for damp proofing terrible job won't fix it. Filed a claim form at court but won't give me his address. He is on Facebook looking as smug as ever. Watch this space he is a real liar and scanner.
Summer - 4-Jan-20 @ 6:27 PM
Do not use Elite roofing or a Martin as he takes your money and does not complete the works on time and does not pay back any money even after making promises. He fails on work times he agrees to and demands payment up front then does not pay back after failing to do the works
S - 27-Dec-19 @ 9:46 PM
Priority Building. Newcastle upon Tyne. Took my deposit to buy materials but failed twice to show up for job. Refuses refund or to deliver materials my money paid for.Never replies to messages and never answers our calls.
Li - 16-Dec-19 @ 9:28 PM
Platinum Emergency Services - avoid at all cost! We had a what appears to be a simple issue with the heating controls however the engineer came and spent 2 hours to diagnose the issue and came back with an array of issues and propose re-wiring the whole system and charges us £580 for the time. We eventually went with another company and they manage to fix and resolve the issue within an hour for a fraction of the cost.
D - 13-Dec-19 @ 9:58 AM
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