Page 1 of Just been taken for over a grand

I'm sure that to some this will fall into the category of 'who gives a f*** you attention whore', but the positive attitude of certain members over the last couple of days has inspired me post anyway (well, that and the Pinot), if only as a cautionary tale.

We've just taken out a loan to do up certain parts of our '70s nightmare home and our wild garden, but things have gone terribly wrong from the off.

My wife had contracted a company to come as turn over our garden, which was most unruly (not good for two people with bad backs). They were supposed out dig out, level, put a membrane down and then lay aggregate. After some terribly slapdash work, which basically involved them mowing the lawn, sticking a thin 'membrane' down and shovelling barely enough stone to cover said membrane, they left our garden alone for several days.

When they came back I wasn't there, but they basically gave the Mrs a sob story about how things were tight financially and that they had other jobs on and were counting on the money from this one to finish, so that they could buy more material to do ours. Well she, being a lovely, sweet and caring person (although somewhat naïve perhaps), handed over a grand.

They didn't come back for a few days, but when they did it was to demand more money from us. By this point I was not a happy chap, so I confronted them this morning. I had a 30 minute conversation (well, argument) with a guy whose IQ couldn't have approached 8, and left for work feeling decidedly powerless. I asked someone to check throughout the day, which they did, and at 10am, 12pm and 3pm there was no one at our property. When I got home at about 5.30, they were there (odd that) asking for the money.

The job was still shocking, so I refused to pay. Then the truth came out—he started going on about 'travellers' and that if I didn't' pay he'd phone 'the boys' etc. He also boasted about how he'd had four men on the job—he's gone down the road and paid a couple of alcoholics to come and do the work! Well I initially stuck to my guns, but my Mrs was petrified and I just wanted rid of the f***ers. I eventually gave them £100 to f*** off and leave us alone, which in hindsight was stupid as if they wanted trouble they`d give it to us anyway, and I'd basically have just paid them for it.

All we can hope now is that they f*** off and leave us alone, having just ripped us off big time. I reckon the materials cost them £500 max (and that's being very, very generous), so they've had £600 for doing virtually nothing. We're both very stressed, worried about reprisals from pikey scum, and feel more than a little foolish for being taken by them. The main bloke actually seemed genuine at first.

So there you go, just be very sure to vet the people you employ to do work, be it a small or big job. I'm off to finish drowning my sorrows, hoping that they don't firebomb our house as we sleep.

It`s this kind of scum who ripped off mt dearly departed, arthrictic nan for loads of cash. Needless to say I shall be writing to the Evening Post and suggesting that they remove their advert from their website. I just wish I`d known that was where the Mrs got their number...

phone the police... one word `Litotes`



`I am going to live forever, or die trying`...

mate.. thats a f***in sickener..

you know.. watchdog would love this story.. so would your local newspaper..

if you want legal help.. I have a solicitor friend just round the corner from you..

Did phone `em, they came over and said there was very little they could do as it was a civil matter. The only thing they did was to put us on some sort of prioritised 999 thing for 24 hours, in case they come back. I just wish they`d got here (literally) a minute earlier, as they would still have been here.

It`s not even like they were handy or anything. I didn`t feel threatened even by the three of them - it`s what they might do while I`m out, or to the Mrs, or what their mental mates are like. I`ve had enough dealings with the tax-dodging scum to know that they can be very nasty, but I certainly don`t want to go down that route.

Quote:
mate.. thats a f***in sickener..

you know.. watchdog would love this story.. so would your local newspaper..

if you want legal help.. I have a solicitor friend just round the corner from you..

Cheers mate. The worst thing is that I feel I should have done more to protect the Mrs. She was petrified today; I even had to leave work early to come home. She also feels crap `cause she found them, but like I said, it`s because she`s too trusting. I know a lot of people will say that`s a character flaw, but thing is we should all be trying to emulate her, not sinking to their level.

Still, I held my temper, which was a good thing.

:( Aww mate. The gypsy builder/gardener scam happens too often and it`s f***ing horrible. I`m sure they`ve got what they wanted and won`t cause any more trouble.

Have you reported them to Trading Standards?

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This item was edited on Tuesday, 23rd August 2005, 21:56

Sorry to hear that mate , theres some scum out there who will ripp off old ladys for there life savings ..... How do these people sleep at night >:(

Coops

With one eye open if they`ve any sense.

Sorry to hear about it :( .
It`s a case of get to the back of the queue for this kind of thing. You`re certainly not the first and you won`t be the last (saying that as we are looking to get some work carried out around the house and wondering who you`re going to end up with!).
As said in the previous posts, I`d get in contact with the newspaper that carried the ad and Trading Standards as it may help prevent this down the line somewhere, but they`ll probably just change their name on the advert etc. >:(
My niece had a similar (but not so bad experience) with a drive way and a guy I work with was nearly caught out but he got out of it before they started with the help of a neighbour who was a policeman.
I suppose one thing to look for in the advert is the contact number, is it only a mobile and/or a landline.

All the best.

LB2
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Have you tried switching it on........?

Well it was a landline. I have to say that if I had dealt with it then I would have spotted them for what they were, but I can hardly blame the Mrs for not having lead a chequered life...