Worth taking tradie(s) to Fair Trading?

Discussion in 'Repairs & Maintenance' started by bread_boy, 30th Nov, 2018.

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  1. bread_boy

    bread_boy Well-Known Member

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    Hi All,

    Apologise if this has been answered on a previous thread; will try to keep this short as possible.

    Needed a new aircon install for lounge/dining area for an IP in Sydney last month.
    Had an existing unit in a back bedroom which was OTT (7.1kw) for the room but perfect for the area in need.
    Problem is the unit was no longer blowing out cool air.

    Tradie says it's just a gas leak and recommends repair, re-gas and relocation of said unit (guaranteed for 12 months) would be cheaper than new unit supply+install.
    Turns out we didn't save much but I was just happy the job was completed so paid the guy (receipts provided).

    Fortnight later the heat comes on, tenant goes to switch on the aircon for dinner and as you all can guess.. no cool air. Rang the tradie to return to site for repair but he's been giving us the run-around for the last 3 weeks (committing to dates but failing to attend, re-scheduling without firm dates) and now won't answer his phone.

    Our last resort is the contact Fair Trading but is it even worth it?
    Unsure what outcome they can achieve and could it lead to retribution from the tradie e.g. vandalism of asset.

    Eager to know has anyone here experienced something similar and what was the action taken?
    Thanks in advance for sharing!

    P.S. Could also report the tradie for charging GST whilst not being registered.
     
  2. Marg4000

    Marg4000 Well-Known Member

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    How’s your paperwork? Written quote and receipt?

    If so, by all means contact Fair Trading. One phone call will give you the information you need.
    Marg
     
  3. bread_boy

    bread_boy Well-Known Member

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    Yes, proper receipt with GST & ABN details but does not have '12 month guarantee' on the invoice as this was verbal.
    However I still believe I would be protected under ACL.

    Spoke to Fair Trading yesterday and they gave me a template for letter of demand; recommended we send that prior to opening a case/complaint.

    I asked what recourse they have and basically it ranges from a warning/caution all the way to blackmarking their license to operate (though not exactly sure what that means).
     
  4. willair

    willair Well-Known Member Premium Member

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    Sometimes it's just best to walk away and put it down in your book on experience..

    Just buy a new a/c unit from any well known outlet ,and use their installers ,that way you have the back-up from the time the heat-pump is about to turn the gas on and charge the new unit..

    Otherwise as you will find out with all the stress worry time dealing with government departments is like ******* into a high speed fan and your standing in front of it..Plus the ""ATO"" picks up the tab..imho..
     
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  5. bread_boy

    bread_boy Well-Known Member

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    Yeah totally get the logic in that.

    I actually don't think it's the money though; more a personal crusade to ensure the tradie does not think he can shaft people and get away with it.

    Have no doubt it's probably a futile exercise though. Even if we do achieve the end game and the authorities force him to fix it, not sure the risk is worth the bullseye on my back, especially since he could be playing with the property's power and associated wiring.

    That's on top of the vandalism that is more than likely to occur on a random Friday night following that Friday afternoon at the pub :eek:
     
  6. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    You've got the ABN & an invoice, no harm in confirming the status of his GST registration on ABN lookup and then putting the ATO onto him. Could be any one of his customers.
     
  7. bread_boy

    bread_boy Well-Known Member

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    Yeah already looked him up and not registered.
    Would be pretty obvious it was me since he's done a runner.

    Not sure how many others he's rorted or how many receipts he writes so still mulling it over.
     
  8. Lindsay_W

    Lindsay_W Well-Known Member

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    Might be hard to track him down, time and costs involved worth it? Maybe to prevent others falling for similar, it's a personal choice I think.

    Just a word on air cons being 're-gassed' - I have a friend who has been working in air con for years, told me there is no point re-gassing split systems, they either work or they leak and the cost to repair most times not worth it, if it's a new system under warranty then obviously worth fixing but if out of warranty parts alone can cost as much as a new unit.
    Usually when a re-gas is done it's fine for a little while then goes back to not producing cold air.
    He might be wrong, I'm not an air-con installer so I just take his word for it, parts quoted to fix my smaller 2.5Kw split system was $435 (no guarantee would last longer than 12 months) and a new unit with 3 year warranty was $650.
     
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  9. bread_boy

    bread_boy Well-Known Member

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    This is the only reason why I am even still considering it.

    Thanks for tip and makes total sense. Wish I knew this 3 months ago :oops:
    I guess even if his re-gas worked for 6-12 months I wouldn't be too salty but the fact it took less than a fortnight to die has really made the blood boil.

    My original plan was just to install a new 5.0kw in the lounge (replacing an old no name unit that's never worked) and try to repair the 7.0kw in the back room for about $X. At least that way I would've had 2 big units.

    Instead he convinced me to repair/move the 7.0kw to the lounge and replace the back room with a smaller 2.5kw which ended up costing about $200 more due to repairs, gas, etc.
    This annoyed me since I ended up paying more for 1 small new unit and a repaired old unit but at least the job was done. Like I said wouldn't be too bothered if the repaired unit actually worked for a while.

    But now, I need to replace the 7.0kw with another 5.0kw+ :mad:.
    Definitely lesson learnt though - always buy new and replace when it comes to aircon!
     
    Last edited: 30th Nov, 2018
  10. Lindsay_W

    Lindsay_W Well-Known Member

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    Yep chalk it up as lesson learnt but I completely understand why you're annoyed, unfortunately we rely on the 'professional' opinion from people in their particular industry to make our decisions, if they only have their best interests in mind it's easy for them to get away with giving the wrong advice to either make their job easier or charge more money for less work on their part.
     
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