Issue with Handyman

Discussion in 'Legal Issues' started by Oliver, 8th Jul, 2018.

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  1. Oliver

    Oliver Well-Known Member

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    Hi PC members,

    I'm having some issues with an handyman and your feedback may help!

    We asked him for a quote to do some repairs on 1 of our IP.
    He came back with a quote / estimate of $3500. We told him it was a bit expensive and he replied it was very conservative and that was to make sure it won't go over budget.
    Given our situation and time constraint, we decided to go ahead with his services.

    During the couple of days he worked on our property we asked him if he could fix up a few extra things:
    - add 3 door stoppers
    - change 1 screw on a door
    Thinking the actual quote was already conservative and at max it shouldn't exceed 1 or 2 hours for the extra.

    Yesterday, he came back with the invoice and I was shocked to see he added an extra half a day for 2 handymans!!! (invoice came at $4500)

    Furthermore, on top of being very expensive, the job was done poorly.
    Our PM inspected for us the property and told us a few items wasn't done properly or were missing such as silicone in the kitchen already peeling, not all the damaged light switch were replaced. Smoke alarm not made according to the new QLD Law as requested. And most importantly, we requested to have a Garage door re-painted or very well cleaned if it was possible/enough. They cleaned it badly and we can still see some grafitis on it.

    Just this garage door was estimated by another handyman for $500 in order to repaint it.

    While confronting the handyman about this he told us that he could come back to fix the silicone, smoke alarm but would not be able to do anything else for the garage door and that he would never be able to paint it/clean it properly and suggested to remove 45 minutes of the final invoice! While painting the garage door was estimated as 1/3 of our requested repairs! And also that he could fix the remaining light switch but would quote us for this!! Even if it was included in his initial quote / estimate.

    We are now waiting to get some legal advice with Fair Trading and told him to wait to complete the job and he frightened us to get back to the property and removed all his work.

    Does anyone ever had a situation like this? What can you do when job is done badly / not completed as per the requested quote and way more expensive?

    Many thanks!
     
    Last edited: 8th Jul, 2018
  2. Joynz

    Joynz Well-Known Member

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    Is the property in Melbourne? Was the $3,500 quoted including GST?

    It’s a bit complicated as some of the items might have been uncertain - for example the graffiti removal.

    Sometimes it can be hard to get all graffiti off and that may not be apparent until the cleaning is attempted. There are some professional companies in Melbourne that specialise in this. Also Councils often have a removal pack you can buy or use.

    Installing 3 door stops (assuming standard skirting type) would take less than an hour so the charge for the extra work, seems unreasonable. However, did you supply the door stops? If not, you have to pay for the cost of the door stop, the cost of driving to Bunnings to get them etc.

    I would only pay once the work is done correctly. And work out a reasonable amount for the doorstop installation - get the handyman to specify how he worked out the extra cost and go from there.
     
    Last edited: 8th Jul, 2018
  3. Oliver

    Oliver Well-Known Member

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    no it's in queensland
     
  4. Terry_w

    Terry_w Lawyer, Tax Adviser and Mortgage broker in Sydney Business Member

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    Common issue.
    You seemed to have agreed to him doing the work but didn't specify a price limit for the extra.

    Try to negotiate a discount and pay up or resist and let him sue you and then try to fight it in court
     
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  5. Oliver

    Oliver Well-Known Member

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    Thanks for your feedback! The issue is that apparently the original quote was only an estimate and therefore it apparently took more time to do what was in our original list.
    I found it really weird because we estimated very conservatively all the items (such as installing already provided 4 curtains on the hanging bar for 4 hours!!) and would find 3.5 days of work maximum while this guys ended up charged us twice as much.
    It really sounds like they are trying to rip us off because we are in NSW and cannot do the repairs easily.
     
  6. Marg4000

    Marg4000 Well-Known Member

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    Did you get a written quote detailing the work to be done?
    Marg
     
  7. Oliver

    Oliver Well-Known Member

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    Our repair list was very detailed but his quote was very broad and didn't list everything he did.

    I wouldn't mind to discuss it in court or even pay the expensive invoice if a legal representant told me I have to and he is on his right. However I don't want to pay for work he hasn't done and being ripped off.

    Issue is that the handyman doesn't seem like he wants to sue us but would probably try to damage the property if he could. (He frightened us to remove all his work which would damage the property as he cannot remove some of his work without breaking stuff)
     
  8. bob shovel

    bob shovel Well-Known Member

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    How much money have you withheld? .... Or have you paid it all? ?:eek:
     
  9. Oliver

    Oliver Well-Known Member

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    So far we only paid for the deposit, 40% of the original quote.
     
  10. Kassy

    Kassy Well-Known Member

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    Did you source the handyman through your property manager? What do they suggest to do?
     
  11. Marg4000

    Marg4000 Well-Known Member

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    Then check if the issue falls within the guidelines for the Small Claims Tribunal.
    Only drawback is that you may have to attend a hearing in Brisbane.
    Marg
     
  12. Terry_w

    Terry_w Lawyer, Tax Adviser and Mortgage broker in Sydney Business Member

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    So what did you agree to pay?
     
  13. Joynz

    Joynz Well-Known Member

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    That’s a high deposit.

    Can you post the scope of works here?

    (P.S - did you know your profile says you are located in Melbourne not NSW).
     
  14. Oliver

    Oliver Well-Known Member

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    We agreed to pay $3500 if the garage door was fully painted or cleaned properly and would have been okay with a couple extra $$$ for the door stoppers.

    However handyman suggesting to remove only $50 for the garage door which is a joke.

    The scope was to:
    - fix a few splash back and put some silicon (materials already bought)
    - fix/replace damaged door knobs and light switch.
    - install curtains on the hanging rodes (material already bought, rodes already fixed to the wall) so really easy job.
    - replace garage locks
    - paint garage doors
    - fix flooring vinyl (a few planks to cut and glue < 5)
    - install smoke alarmed according to new QLD legislation (from 2022).
    - install a range hood and a few PowerPoint's (range hood already bought)

    The handyman came on site to inspect the property prior to give us a quote.
    I believe the 5 days of handyman on top of the electrician job was already generous and the handyman agreed but without painting the garage doors I can't believe he charged us 6 days for this (again just for the handyman part!)
     
    Last edited: 8th Jul, 2018
  15. Kesse

    Kesse Well-Known Member

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    Is the handyman a licenced builder? If not the max an unlicensed handyman can charge in QLD is $3,300 inc .
     
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  16. Oliver

    Oliver Well-Known Member

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    I didn't know that and I can say he's not a licensed builder. However his quote contains electrician work and handyman work so I guess only the handyman Section count?
     
  17. Joynz

    Joynz Well-Known Member

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    I’m a bit confused:
    Was the handyman expected to replace the PowerPoints, install smoke alarm and range hood?
    Or was he subcontracting this to an electrician?
    Or were you hiring the electrician directly?
     
    Last edited: 8th Jul, 2018
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  18. Oliver

    Oliver Well-Known Member

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    The handyman company has arranged to do everything. I believe he has hire/subcontracted an electrician for the electric part.
     
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  19. Kesse

    Kesse Well-Known Member

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  20. Joynz

    Joynz Well-Known Member

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    Which handyman company did you use? Sounds like it wasn’t just a small business?

    In this sort of situation you often pay extra if the handyman / company is organising other trades.

    Also if they aren’t really a handyman business but are aimed more at renovations, you might have been quoted high because they didn’t really want the job.
     
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