Tradesmen (sorry if in wrong section)
 

If you need a tradesman (plumber/plasterer/joiner/electrician) what is it that you have as rules to go about it?
I'm asking because I've recently had a flood. Two and a bit months ago-and the stress of sorting it out, because of tradesmen letting me down and doing shoddy jobs and generally being unprofessional, has caused me far more stress than the practicalities.
For a month I had no hot running water and no boiler (which didn't matter so much in the middle of August but was still a problem), no bathroom floor and no lighting in the house apart from lamps/torches etc.

This is bad enough, but the first guy appointed to fix it booked in three times each time didn't turn up.
When I finally stopped being understanding and got upset-he told me he was a busy man and had to let people down all the time, it's to be expected.

The second one just didn't know what to do and caused a bit of a mess then quoted me an amount of money I thought was far too much (bear in mind I don't know what I am doing!) and was somewhat relieved or at least seemed it, when I said I would get somebody else.
The third one was a boiler repair man and that only, and he did fix the boiler, good experience there.
The third one was a guy I've known twenty years, a friend, which puts another slant on the whole situation obviously, and he 'fixed' the lighting then went to leave after I had paid, and the lights switched off again. Same thing again after he had done something else, they worked, went off again as he was packing his things together.
Me being an ABSOLUTE idiot, told him to keep hold of the payment, and return to do the rest of the job.
Guess what, he didn't turn up to his next appointed booking, or the one after.Left me out of pocket and out of friendship-I was much more upset about the latter!

I don't really know what I am asking here other than I suppose, has anybody got any rules they go by when appointing somebody to do work on their house, and also as far as I'm knowing at this moment and most of my life, people who do these sorts of jobs (I am sure they may be some of them on here!) want to do a good job, and don't want bad reviews and don't want to do a bad job for their customers. Has anybody had any experiences similar?
As for the guy I paid kind of in advance, I know this was the wrong thing to do , I even knew as I was doing it!But I trusted him as a friend. In the end I had no idea what was going on and ended up speaking to his wife, advising her that I needed him to get in touch and come and finish the job, or refund me half of the money!
He was willing to throw a twenty year friendship away (we meet every xmas and speak frequently online, we've lived together in the past and went to the same secondary school) for the sake of a couple of hundred quid. That confuses me, but that's a different subject altogether.
Has anybody else had nightmares with people doing handiwork for them?
I am actually very stressed out, I would even say it's got me down-I've got no lights in my house still after 2 months which isn't ideal as I am in the middle of selling my house! lol

Re: Tradesmen (sorry if in wrong section)
 

The easiest way of finding a good tradesman whatever its for is to come on Accyweb and ask for recommendations as members have used most tradesman at one time or another and can tell you who they are and how well they did the job

Re: Tradesmen (sorry if in wrong section)
 

Haha good idea. I wasn't on here at the time though!It was a lodger who flooded my house, so the first tradesman was brought in by him-I demanded that he sort it out obviously.
The second one, who made a mess-was recommended by my Mother who is a property developer-and for her he had never caused any problems.
The fourth one who ripped me off, as I said was a friend of many years.His reviews are good two, apart from the last one (Mine/My Mothers).Am I allowed to put her? Please remove if not.

Electrician in Morley, Leeds (UK) - 27 Electrical Services

Re: Tradesmen (sorry if in wrong section)
 

First rule if you find a good tradesman is hang on to them - don't lose their details as you might need them again in a hurry. If you want them again you might have to wait as if they are good they may be in demand but if it's a real emergency they might fit you in or send someone else they know is good to help out.

Second, if you know a good tradesman ask them if they have knowledge of good people in other trades - or people to avoid! news travels fast.

Third, we have found local pubs a good source of information. Ask if anyone in the line of work you need drinks in there, if there is, talk to them and get a feel for the person, if it's not the right trade again they may know of people to recommend.

Fourth, ask your neighbours if they have found any good people.

All this gained from renovating three different houses over the years in different place but still not easy to know you have found the right person in the first place!

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Thanks for reply Susie...Although the third point surprised me, my Father has always emphasised to never ever ever trust any worker if you meet them in a pub!Lol not saying you're wrong, he's just as likely to be (well I didn't meet any of the above in the pub did I).
Neighbours I couldn't use in this case :/ the reason I am moving is partially to do with the neighbours. I live next door to a prostitute who is fine 50% of the time. When sober. When she isn't, she's abusive and volatile. The area is mostly rented.
Word of mouth is a good thing usually. I think I have just been very unlucky. One thing the second guy (the one who made a mess of things) did was to switch all the electricity off without telling me he was going to, first. I was working on the PC and lost my letter, also he took the lightbulb out in the kitchen and left it propped against the work surface. As soon as I returned from work that night, I walked straight into it and it broke. Schoolboy error but still adds to my bad experiences-I've just had to go to Wickes to buy another bulb and they're not cheap.
Just unlucky I think I've been this time :/

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I suspect that your free range pet rats may have deterred some workmen from returning.

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I doubt it Margaret-the rats are in an outhouse type room that was locked the whole time they were here-none of the workers even saw them.

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Oh great turning the leccy off and then leaving a light bulb rolling round in the dark for you to discover the hard way! Better luck next time.

One reason we do well in pubs is that my other half is very good at talking to people like that and getting to know them for a few weeks and storing them away for future reference - in his head I mean! helps that we usually have regular pubs we go to and see the same faces week after week.

And we've been lucky to have good neighbours!

Re: Tradesmen (sorry if in wrong section)
 

Tut tut, Susie! Joan Bakewell wants a word with you! :D ;)

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Sadly I'm off the drink at the moment cos of illness and I don't find our local very inviting at the moment. I miss my Friday nights but t'other half still goes so I get all the news that isn't fit to print... Plus I've got a good stock of malts here if I get the urge while he's out! Need to make a bit more use of that CAMRA membership though.

Re: Tradesmen (sorry if in wrong section)
 

Well, I hope you're well again soon, because there's still a lot of great pubs (and I mean PROPER pubs) out there to get through, as you'll know, being a CAMRA member.

Sorry to hijack your thread, Sugarmouse. I think the subject of recommended real pubs might warrant a thread of its own. ;)

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Yep I'm doing my best. When you mentioned the Baltic Fleet recently it struck me we should have gone in that when we went to the Pool a few years ago for a break.

I was having treatment in Preston a few months ago and we went for a meal at the Continental down by the river. That was my student local in the sixties, unrecognisable now but still a great pub with good beer and food.

Re: Tradesmen (sorry if in wrong section)
 

Well worth a visit next time you're there, health permitting! :)

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It's not a problem, but next time you 'hijack' a thread I want you to make sure you warn everybody by writing in capitals
'THIS IS A THREADJACK!EVERYBODY RAISE YOUR HANDS AND DROP THE TOPIC!!!!' :D:D (I don't care about threadjacks, I do it all the time :) )
I run past the Conti almost every day. Good selection of wine but never rated their food service and I HATE their beer festivals! Lol :)

Re: Tradesmen (sorry if in wrong section)
 

I hate 'em too. Nerds earnestly discussing specific gravities and the like. I just like going into good pubs and having a decent pint or five. ;)

Ooops, sorry...stick 'em up, this is a threadjack! :D

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Your a bad bad man steve:eek::drunk::thepint::cheers::stop:

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Growing old disgracefully, Dave. :D

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After five weeks of radiotherapy anything was a real treat!

You obviously go to the wrong ones! When we lived in Salisbury the beerex was in the arts centre which was an old church, great venue, passed out on the tombstones outside more than once!

We've just had the first one in Morecambe, in the old Winter Gardens, had to give it a miss but was a great success from what I hear.

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Yeah, that sounds more like it! ;)

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Ugh I'll bet it was, hope you're on the mend!?

I just don't like them. I prefer music festivals where there's something more to focus on!Also even in the nicest of venues I've always bumped into louts at beer festivals.
There's a few in Preston.

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Hey 'Mouse......I assume you have a masseur come round prior to your evening dancing activities in order to get the muscles fit and relaxed. I've heard stories that there are some right cowboys involved in this business. So if you need a massage from one of the old school....someone you can trust....then give me a shout (at least when I'm back in Accy)...100% satisfaction guaranteed or money back.

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Don't tempt me!Situation I am in with my house has left me as tense as a nun at a penguin shoot :/

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No problem, darling...whenever you're ready.

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Now that Tealeaf - sounds like a real tradesman... hooray back on thread!

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is that cos katie blew ya out lol:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

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Thanks for that... as well as can be expected - and other cliches, but not so bad at the moment. That was six months ago.

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If you look at post#38 in the Lap Dance Club thread, Tealeaf didn't want ICandy to be opened in Accrington.:confused:
" No surprise, then, that we now have a planned lap dancing club. The funny thing is that where these things started off in the UK - in London - they're now dying out. Rather passé, I'm afraid - a little bit like tattoo parlours, tanning salons, curry joints and similar rubbish associated with the dross of a squalid urban environment. So I would respectfully suggest that if HBC has any sense, permission for this 'sex encounter' club should be immediately thrown out"

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Apart from the fact yeh don't like these places, give us a good reason?:confused:

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Are you asking me or Tealeaf? I was quoting him.

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Was asking you Margaret, penny never dropped.:o

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Right come on you lot who did it???? :confused:

Somebody has to own up sooner or later so might as well be now! :eek:










Who hit Tealeaf over the head to cause some damage and make this softie appear???!! :hesoff:

Tealeaf its alright love I know your feeling a little strange at the minuite but I am sure it will soon pass and you will be back to normal soon ;):p

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It may have been my fault for describing him as handsome and cultured in another thread.

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Margaret I think it may have been some stronger force than that to make him go like this....................;)

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This confuses my fragile mind.

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Tealeaf chatted you up and offered massage.

His opinion of the establishments you work in has now been made known to you by my post.

He is either being devious or has changed his mind.

You will need to accept his offer to find out
...but you are likely to be better off not knowing.;)

Re: Tradesmen (sorry if in wrong section)
 

Right so that's what he posted in the Lap Dance Club thread.. I hear you.
Maybe he hates the places because he likes the women who work in them :D .....

Devious in what way lol-I turn up for a massage and he locks me under his stairs or something ...

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I don't know him well enough to understand his intentions.

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Well i'd say that in yer position.:D

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I don't know why I never came back to this thread before but now I have I noted that I never specified my kitchen has one of those daft long flourescent light things. If it was just a normal lightbulb I wouldn't have cared half as much!
Anyway, I have demanded half the money back from the guy who never returned to complete the job and I got quite nasty with him-which was horrible because of how long we've been friends with one another. I'm invited to his wedding (or I was!) in a couple of months time lol I doubt that will happen still.
I've finally got my lights back on after three months by 'borrowing' an electrician who does my parent's business properties. He charged me half the amount that the aforementioned idiot did, and fixed it. And a friend has put my bedroom floor back together. Ugh, nightmare!I can now empathise with those folk on the 'Cowboy builders' type programmes! :rolleyes:

Re: Tradesmen (sorry if in wrong section)
 

If i was you i'd write that guy off, Give his wedding a miss, Having to buy a gift yeh would be really rubbing yer own nose in it.;)

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Well new thread here but, after his ignoring me for three days after saying he would be here in a few hours, I got his wife's details from facebook and messaged her. I told her what had happened and she said she would speak to him. Also, before I knew what he was going to do I had put his details to my Mother, who runs a property development business, and she guaranteed him lots of work.She booked him in the following Tuesday, in the meantime and he didn't turn up!Leaving her tenant having booked a day off work, waiting in all day!
He deleted me from his facebook contacts and I received a message 'Stop messaging my Mrs you will have your money on Friday'.
Well I didn't get the money last Friday (surprise surprise!) And now they have both blocked me.
My Mother has left an unsavoury review on his website and he has messaged me saying 'You should be glad I am not taking this further, could damage my whole business'.This, I have my head in my hands now-WHY on earth should he be thinking like that? She's telling the truth!He DID do this?! She's left a review telling people what he did why on earth should he be thinking of 'taking it further'.
Anyway I have advised him that if I have my £100 back THIS Friday, I will have the review deleted or amended.
People are horrible as a rule, they really are.
One thing that is rather amusing me as well as making me sad, is that whilst here, he tried to get me to fornicate with him. Not heavily coming on to me, but implying it, joking but joke covering seriousness-if you know what I mean.
I laughed it off and said 'You're getting married soon don't be silly!' And he said 'Well I've never slept with anybody behind her back but I've done other things.)
The calculating side of me wants to inform his wife of this....

Re: Tradesmen (sorry if in wrong section)
 

THREAD WANDER ALERT.

It's the 'or something' I would be worried about.

Heth....I think his drink may have been spiked with something that has left him feeling 'comfortably numb' ( a la Pink Floyd).