Issue with Handyman

It's an handyman company but they claim they can help with electrical work.
So the invoice contains electrical work which I'm fine with and on top of that 6 days of handyman which is 1 day extra compare to the quote, especially if work has not been done properly.

 

The list of tasks you mentioned definitely isn’t 5 or 6 days worth of work especially if the electrical work is being charged separately.

What repairs were needed on the splashback?

 

Just to glue 1 splash back that was already pre cut and put some silicon around.

 

Depending on the splashback material, sometimes the backing board has to be replaced (e.g. from plaster to cement sheet).

However, if the backing was suitable and ‘glue’ was the only thing required, then it’s sounding like daylight robbery!

 

I believe it is! And when we agreed on the estimate we told him it was a very expensive and he agreed and told us it would come less - just a big number to make sure it wouldnt exceed it. That we were not comfortable with but really needed the job to be done quickly.

 

It all comes back to what you agreed. If both parties agreed that it was not to exceed X then that is the agreement unless the scope changed. Have you asked them why it isn't invoiced as agreed?

 

Why would you do that?

 

I does not sound like you are being ripped off. The estimate was 3500, then you added work, the final invoice is 4500. I would pay the tradesperson for the work. It seems to me he may actually be undercharging you.

 

Sounds like little more than a day's work for one man to me. Old mate was touching you before he even started.

Tools

 

$1000 extra for installing three door stoppers!

These are the things that stop the door handle hitting the wall and take me between 10 to 20 minutes to install depending if they comprise one or two pieces, including taking the wrapper off and predrilling the holes!

 

I thought it was three hefty bouncers - one at each entry.

 

I'd need to look at the estimate and invoice. I doubt it is $1000 extra for three door stoppers. The original work was "estimated" at 3500, 4500 is hardly a massive leap, the work probably took longer than anticipated. If the concern was being ripped off, then another tradie should have been engaged to start with. I doubt we have all the facts.

 

That's exactly right he told us the job took him more time than expected which is difficult to understand as 5 days for my todolist (+6 hours of an electrician) was I believe more than enough to complete the job especially if some long task such as painting the garage door actually took him only 45minutes!

Again the initial quote was supposed to be more than enough to complete the job. He came on site to check the property and the list with me.

 

If the quote was 'conservative', it'd be low rather than high.

 

What I'm going to do I think is suggest to pay him for the work he actually did + materials and not for the job he didn't do or didn't do properly.
I will also give a call to fair trading to get their feedback.

 

Didn’t you mention he didn’t paint the door and that he said $3,500 was the most the works would cost?

I would be asking for an itemised account and a clear explanation of what exactly took longer and why. If he discovered some issue that needed to be fixed, then fair enough but it’s hard to see what those items could be. And he didn’t even complete the job.

The items you mention are all minor and should not have taken so long.

 

Are you self managing or do you have a managing agent?

 

I have a PM but did manage this handyman myself to accelerate the process.
And yes the invoice wasn't suppose to exceed $3500 with a painted garage. But on the quote he only wrote estimate and explained us he took him this time to do everything but then told us it only took 45minutes to clean the garage door.
Then I'm wondering how long does it took him to complete each tasks?
Me too I can spend 1 day to install a silicon joint or move a chair... I still think this is a kind of a joke.

 

What exactly were the jobs they were required to do?

 

You haven't paid him 100% yet

Hammer him with what he did and didn't do.

Re assess the cost and come to an agreement. You have the cash in your hands which is to your advantage. If it took longer you should expect it to cost more. ... providing it genuinely took longer and he wasn't milking it.

It may come down to a few hundred dollars. So it's how far you want to drag it out going to fair trading and fighting it