Airtasker screwed me :'(

I got this guy from Airtasker to cut down a plum tree and stump grind it plus 2 other small plants in the front garden of an IP and he hits the main gas line coming into the property (stump was close to the gas meter). The guy panics and runs off before police and fire attend to shut down the street and have the repair fixed. I try calling and send text messages to the guy but he's gone AWOL.

A few weeks later the gas supplier sends the tenants a bill of $815.10 for the repairs. They pass it to me so I email Airtasker who say 'no problem we have insurance that should cover it'. Sweet I think but then the insurance company email me and says this:

Thank you for your patience as we reviewed the matter.

Following the assessment and investigation of the matter, we regret to advise that the claim has been denied on the basis that the task was not on the covered activities list (General and Community Gardening/Lawn Mowing - excluding excavation, landscaping, tree loping / tree surgery activities / stump grinding this task will include the use of lawn mowers where applicable).

For information regarding Airtasker Insurance (including the covered activities), we refer you to the following link; www.airtasker.com/insurance.

Where insurance coverage does not apply, the Worker, who is an independent service provider, is still responsible for their actions and you may wish to consider pursuing the matter directly with them through the appropriate avenues. If you wish to proceed with this course of action, please contact Airtasker Support who can assist with providing you with the Worker’s contact information registered on the platform.

So what's the best course of action? Do i suck it up and pay $815.10 because of this guy's mishap or do I try contact the guy through Airtasker or just put my head in the sand and ignore the phone calls from the gas company asking for payment? Any advice appreciated.

 

Airtasker didn't screw you. You screwed yourself by selecting the cheapest uninsured random you could find. $815 is a cheap lesson, could have been a lot worse.

 

That's terrible. I wonder if your own insurance will cover it?
I'd want the airtasker to pay the excess but I reckon you might have trouble getting him to pay.

 

Contact your Fair Trading Authority.

This is BS.

 

Another tip. Never ever pay an airtasker till you are completely satisfied with the work. My brother in law learnt that out the hard way.

And sometimes you may hire incompetent people.

 

Bzzzt wrong. The guy told me he's insured. You'd probably say the same to someone who stays at an Airbnb place because they're too cheap to stay in a hotel. Or someone who uses Uber instead of a taxi.

Great point, I'll contact them and see if they'll help out.

Cheers bro I'll do that if insurance won't pony up.

 

I do hope he was insured but his actions weren't particularly professional and don't fill me with confidence....

 

Are you sure he was insured? How do you know?

You might just have to sue this guy who will get his insurer involved if he has one.

 

did you have to pay for the tree cutting service?I would imagine it was more than $800? If so, pay the gas bill and consider the tree cutting free. Definitely pay it because it will cost you more time and money to pursue the guy. I would still be trying to get compo out of Airtasker as they should not have let that type of job be posted/accepted if their insurance doesn't cover it. I'd threaten to call ACA lol.

 

In our chat he assured me he was insured and that justified his high asking price ($450) to do the job. You have a point though, maybe I should request to see every trades person's insurance policy and read the fine print to make sure I'm covered.

Na I'm not gonna pay it. I've emailed Airtasker to see if they can resolve it or else I'll go on Reddit and tell the world how they like to screw the small guys to protect their massive profits.

 

Accidents do happen

As a gardener "I mow lawns", mostly.....

Very few people actually have the correct insurance

Any tree limb over 3m high requires additional insurance

My public liability is $20mill
(I wouldn't be without it, I've worked too hard, too long, I have too much to lose)

 

Definitely pay the gas bill though because the gas company will put a default on your credit file if u don't pay it. Recoup the money from airtasker

 

A competent property manager?

 

Any trade I bring on has to provide a CoC. In the same way any potential client could ask for a CoC from myself.

 

I had a bad experience with airtasker once too. Got a guy to do some webdev work. Initial success, so gave him another job, and then another. After establishing trust, and having no reason to suspect anything, he asked me to pay him directly, no problem the job size isn't too big, under $300, but the guy just ghosted me. Very strange experience, certainly lost a bit of faith in humanity.

The general feeling I get with airtasker is these weasley millenials with delicate hands who will mop your floor or walk your dog for $25+ / hr and know all the damn labour laws. Ugh...

Great experience with gumtree though, every labourer I've ever hired worked so hard. One dude came with a cold. His job was to dig trenches that day. Felt sorry for him, paid him half a day and sent him home.

 

It's really difficult to find reliable trades people, pay them what they are worth and keep them. Don't go for cheap - I've been down that track and it's frustrating every time

 

I can't think of the last time a 'cheap' job turned into a good job for me, it's hard enough finding qualified trades to do their jobs properly, let alone the cheap ones.
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@nambis What a painful situation! I think it's a little bit misleading of Air Tasker, but they have fair legal grounds. Your course of action, if possible, is to track down that tradesperson and take up legal action against them.

 

From the brief look I've had and the prices on air tasker it is very unlikely there is anyone qualified in anything higher than plumbing a bongo

 

I had to settle for a packer for my bongo. As it turned out, it was @datto so I paid him double what he was asking.