Complaint

[rocketmanbkk]

Friends

I did a non plumb job - garden tidy- back in June.

At the end of August custard called me & complained I'd over charged & work was no good. The cost was £80.

He threatened with trading standards, Hmrc & physical

I popped to see him & as I knew the garden was overgrown again, he wanted it put right, I said not fit free as its 2 months after I left!!!

He kept harassing me so I gave him a chq refund for £30

3 weeks later I get a call again, he wants my address & he's going to send my chq (uncashed) to Hmrc as he paid me cash.

Further threats.

I got a tad fed up this time, told him to Eff himself, hung up & blocked his number. Very unusual for me to do that but he pushed me too far. I don't like the threats as I'm not that way inclined although I won't bend over.

So, could now have Hmrc onto me as well as trading standards and I could lose it all & be sent to prison.

I tell you I bent over backwards trying to appease this chap, for £50 less 5 visits to his house, fuel, tax, insurance etc. Etc.

Anyway, rant over, sorry

I've failed to rectify & sort this one out. I refuse to refund him anymore as the job was worth £100. He reckons it was £20 worth inc. taking green waste to refuse site that costs £11.96 in their fees as I have a van.

Ok, that's all.

 

[gasmanrob]

Id have snapped the first time I Admire your patience

 

[rpm]

Put the job in your paid column and the refund column of accounts then there is nothing to worry about.

 

[rpm]

Forgot to say it's got FA to do with trading standards.

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Id have snapped the first time I Admire your patience

It's all in.

Cheers

 

[Rickster123]

Any paper trail involved? Invoices receipts?

 

[rocketmanbkk]

I knew he was trouble when I first visited

His house is a complete whole.

I told him he had psychological issues before I swore & terminated.

 

[Phil]

What does this guy want, the shirt off your back?

You must feel like ripping his head off!!

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Any paper trail involved? Invoices receipts?

No invoice issued, I gave him a partial refund via chq as he wouldn't sign anything to confirm a cash refund so I didn't trust him.

 

[rocketmanbkk]

What does this guy want, the shirt off your back?

You must feel like ripping his head off!!

I can't do anymore than I've done.

All I can do is give a full refund and do the work again

I'm not prepared to do either.

I'd be happy to go to court with him though, no issues with that.

 

[Rickster123]

Ignore him. He'll go away. Offer nothing more.

 

[rocketmanbkk]

I've blocked his number,

I won't ring him or contact him again

If I get any visits or letters I'll deal with them then

He has annoyed me very much

Telling me the job was worth £20 has told me he's a complete numpty!

 

[jonnyswamp]

So you cut/strimmed/cleared a garden, got rid of the waste and charged a oner
3 months later customer complains because its grown back
Unless you agreed to use some industrial strength weedkiller to stop any sort of growth for 6 months, all any one will do is laugh at him if he complains, you shouldn't have given him a penny
You've admitted some sort of liability and I suspect he'll be back for more
Contact police and get a harrassment claim in against him before he goes any further

 

[rocketmanbkk]

I actually did the job for £80

I reckon it should've been a ton.

I refunded to try to keep him happy as he said he had a fence fix job!!

Yes, I is a fool!!

Glutten for punishment

Bad judgement on this one, I did feel a bit sorry for him, never again for anyone

 

[jonnyswamp]

I know what you mean about feeling sorry for them, it's always been my achilles heel
Can't always bring myself to charge the old folks full rate, especially some I've known since I was a kid, strangely though, these are the ones that usually insist on paying the full amount
Layabouts and weirdos I try to avoid

 

[rocketmanbkk]

I try to charge properly, don't do anything for free now, I used to.

I think after gardening has ended this season, which I do a lot, I'll try to get plumbing and maybe try to find someone to employ me even temporary for small money.

I need to do something as time is going by.

 

[plumbdoctor]

I'm confused what have h r m c got to do with it ? He paid you cash and you will declare it what's the problem ? Why do customers tend to think being paid in cash is an avoidance ? I know lots of sole traders that will only take cash as they have had to many rubber cheques and don't have a card machine, bloke sounds like a right bell end

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Yes, paid cash, it's declared in my income column

I agree, had a lovely lady pay me a chq few weeks ago, always pay chq, this one was from Leeds acc, strange I thought, bounced, cost me £25 fee.

Had to tell her, she paid up but I said cash better in future.

Lovely lady of 96yo.

The trouble is people think you get cash & never declare it, some people don't. I've not got a mountain of cash!

 

[rocketmanbkk]

I'm confused what have h r m c got to do with it ? He paid you cash and you will declare it what's the problem ? Why do customers tend to think being paid in cash is an avoidance ? I know lots of sole traders that will only take cash as they have had to many rubber cheques and don't have a card machine, bloke sounds like a right bell end

The idiot thinks I'm cash rich & avoiding tax. He tries to be clever but has just wound me up!

 

[plumbdoctor]

bet that's the last bush your trim, stick to plumbing

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Yeah, wish I could,

March - Oct gardens

Nov - March/April plumb & other

Just want to build knowledge & confidence with plumb.

 

[Ray Stafford]

Here's a trick I have used a few times in the past. I haven't had to do it for a few years now (since we went trade only), so I can't guarantee that trading standards still work the same way.

If we got someone being unreasonable and threatening to report us, I would call trading standards myself, and explain that I was a trader involved in a dispute with a member of the public, and looking to them for guidance. This doesn't happen to them very often, and automatically puts you in their good books.

All they will do is quote the law (which I usually knew anyway, but its always useful to have it confirmed) but I would then ask them for a name and a reference number, in case I needed to come back to them for further advice. Thank them nicely, and hang up.

Then phone back the customer and say, ever-so-politely:

"Since it is apparent that we are not going to agree on this, I have taken the precaution of speaking to trading standards. They have opened case-file reference number 12345, and the matter is being dealt with by Mr Smith. His number is 01234 567890, extension 123. Perhaps you would like to give him a call?"

None of those matters ever went any further.

 

[rpm]

Here's a trick I have used a few times in the past. I haven't had to do it for a few years now (since we went trade only), so I can't guarantee that trading standards still work the same way.

If we got someone being unreasonable and threatening to report us, I would call trading standards myself, and explain that I was a trader involved in a dispute with a member of the public, and looking to them for guidance. This doesn't happen to them very often, and automatically puts you in their good books.

All they will do is quote the law (which I usually knew anyway, but its always useful to have it confirmed) but I would then ask them for a name and a reference number, in case I needed to come back to them for further advice. Thank them nicely, and hang up.

Then phone back the customer and say, ever-so-politely:

"Since it is apparent that we are not going to agree on this, I have taken the precaution of speaking to trading standards. They have opened case-file reference number 12345, and the matter is being dealt with by Mr Smith. His number is 01234 567890, extension 123. Perhaps you would like to give him a call?"

None of those matters ever went any further.

Wicked.

 

[Keefy]

Be funny back to him by asking why he thought getting a plumber to do his garden was a good idea in the first place. You can imagine his friends' reaction should he ever say to them; "That bloody plumber I got to do the garden the other month... "

 

[hammers4spanner]

I'm confused what have h r m c got to do with it ? He paid you cash and you will declare it what's the problem ? Why do customers tend to think being paid in cash is an avoidance ? I know lots of sole traders that will only take cash as they have had to many rubber cheques and don't have a card machine, bloke sounds like a right bell end

tescos take loads of cash ,
they must be avoiding all the time

 

[AWheating]

You mean for £80 you could not stop Mother Nature from growing stuff in his garden. You have ripped him off, for that money I would have spoken to her and turned his grass into gold 🙂

 

[Masood]

tescos take loads of cash ,
they must be avoiding all the time

Now that you mention it...

 

[Masood]

Here's a trick I have used a few times in the past. I haven't had to do it for a few years now (since we went trade only), so I can't guarantee that trading standards still work the same way.

If we got someone being unreasonable and threatening to report us, I would call trading standards myself, and explain that I was a trader involved in a dispute with a member of the public, and looking to them for guidance. This doesn't happen to them very often, and automatically puts you in their good books.

All they will do is quote the law (which I usually knew anyway, but its always useful to have it confirmed) but I would then ask them for a name and a reference number, in case I needed to come back to them for further advice. Thank them nicely, and hang up.

Then phone back the customer and say, ever-so-politely:

"Since it is apparent that we are not going to agree on this, I have taken the precaution of speaking to trading standards. They have opened case-file reference number 12345, and the matter is being dealt with by Mr Smith. His number is 01234 567890, extension 123. Perhaps you would like to give him a call?"

None of those matters ever went any further.

Do you have a fluffy white cat that you stroke menacingly whilst sitting at your desk Ray? That is pure evil genius! <doffs cap in admiration>

 

[Best]

Always fight back at someone like that. Obviously he is a nut, but I am guessing he is not all that stupid and knows you are soft and thinks he can walk over you.
Turn the tables, - send him a recorded delivery letter, with a very firm & polite notification that "I regret to inform you I am now considering these absurd & false allegations made against myself, together with threats that have no bearing on my unblemished record. I have now contacted Trading Standards and they will confirm the actual law to you if you contact them. I am shocked that you have retrospectively decided 3 months after I cut your garden that I should have not been paid any money for it and that I should AGAIN come back and cut it all again! Sadly I cannot be responsible for the fact that your garden tends to get overgrown because YOU have failed for reasons known only to you to either trim your garden, or pay someone else to do so in the following 3 months."

 

[REDSAW]

good sprinkling of bush killer all over garden stop him moaning.lol

 

[Best]

good sprinkling of bush killer all over garden stop him moaning.lol

No! No! - You never do that with someone who is complaining about their garden being overgrown. Especially if they are a lazy b*****!
Just buy a large bag of fertiliser of a farmer and throw it all over his garden. That stuff the farmers use is just the job for a nice tall thick foliage. Needs a tractor in to cut it every week.

 

[REDSAW]

little clump of jap knot weed bunged overr fence then.lol