Aarrgghh! Crooked Tradies - So sick of them

[Big Tone]

yeah, thats right, its just "tradies" that scam and rip people off, not anybody else...............not REA's, not doctors, not property managers, not politicians, nah.............


All I can say is.........You cant live with us, and you sure as S%#T cant live with out us.........mwahaha,mmwahaa


Big Tone

 

[Dazz]

I love hearing the opinions of the other side of the argument.

Sort of makes everything grind to a screaming halt.....and shows a fantastic insight into how parties so easily get into conflict and end up spending 100K on lawyers costs in court trying to prove their side of the argument is right.

I wonder if this will turn into another "law of attraction" thread. I'll look in again when the post count gets above 300 to see what progress the SS team has made.

 

[andrew_de_a]

Not all tradies act in the way you are describing Skater. In fact a pretty small percentage, most are honest. I would like to ask which area you are sourcing the trdaies from? That might have something to do with it.

As a contractor working in Sydney for a long time in the building industry its funny to read so many opinions on here from people that havnt got a clue what they are talking about.

The ATO have trouble catching large white collar criminals, they wouldnt care if you reported a small one man tradie business dodging a couple hundred bucks in GST. They dont have the resources for that stuff and sort of turn a blind eye to it. (and i have a friend in the ATO audit department to verify this. He tells me most of it is bluff to keep people in line with very,very few being audited). Get with reality guys.

lol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[gcad]

When it comes to getting tradies to do work, get your 3 quotes and go for the in-between price or the highest price. If you go for the lowest price contractor and the job takes a bit longer than expected (and it always does), they'll get frustrated that they're not profiting and try to find ways to charge more. Which is understandable but indefensible.

 

[rabbaj]

Not all tradies act in the way you are describing Skater. In fact a pretty small percentage, most are honest. I would like to ask which area you are sourcing the trdaies from? That might have something to do with it.

You must be kiddin me mate.. right ?

I have had major works done on some of my properties in (very prestigious) inner melbourne and the 14 odd tradies I have dealt with have been all the same except 1.

No courtesy with dirty boots straight throughout the house (each time they have been providing quotes etc), never ask if I want those boots on my new carpets, mannerless and quite crude

Majority of those wanted cash (with no receipts to be provided) which I refused to entertain.

1 of them told me (after I offered him a very cold beer on a very hot day) that he has been on work cover for the last 3 years and isnt supposed to be doing any work specially heavy lifting (did one of the fences for our prop )

I reckon the industry is full of cockroaches...

 

[Big Tone]

When it comes to getting tradies to do work, get your 3 quotes and go for the in-between price or the highest price. If you go for the lowest price contractor and the job takes a bit longer than expected (and it always does), they'll get frustrated that they're not profiting and try to find ways to charge more. Which is understandable but indefensible.

Not necessarily...............!

 

[Big Tone]

You must be kiddin me mate.. right ?

I have had major works done on some of my properties in (very prestigious) inner melbourne and the 14 odd tradies I have dealt with have been all the same except 1.

No courtesy with dirty boots straight throughout the house (each time they have been providing quotes etc), never ask if I want those boots on my new carpets, mannerless and quite crude

Majority of those wanted cash (with no receipts to be provided) which I refused to entertain.

1 of them told me (after I offered him a very cold beer on a very hot day) that he has been on work cover for the last 3 years and isnt supposed to be doing any work specially heavy lifting (did one of the fences for our prop )

I reckon the industry is full of cockroaches...

Firstly, if a "tradie" takes off his work boots (especially at your request) to work in your house and they hurt themselves eg, drop something on thier feet, even stub a toe, workers comp will not cover them and therefore you, yes you will be responsible for their injuries.........and therefore there med. bills, rehab etc etc.

Now this does not excuse them for wearing dirty boots into your house and yes they could place down drop sheets, wear "over booties" etc.

Now seeing the trade industry is full cockroaches , please share with us what industry you are in?

Not wanting to hijack this thread with another one that has huge response, but maybe , just maybe, you should change your attitude and mindset!

Big Tone

 

[skater]

Myself as a tradie i find that most small jobs people are always just wanting to pay cash soo as they get the job done for cheaper. Sometimes paying in cash you will save some money but not all tradies like to accept cash but are forced to soo as we get some work in these times. That is another reason why some of these tradies are probably trying to cut corners.
Im not making excuses for them. because they are blatently trying to get money at the end when the jobs done.

I'm glad you're not making excuses for them, LOL!

Just to clear something up. I don't really care what they want to do with their own bookwork. I don't need to know. That is between them and the ATO. As someone else has so rightly pointed out, if they want to be crooked and are a little smart about it, they would use more than one invoice book and the customer need not know what is happening. I'm not condoning that behaviour either, BTW.

The thing that I am so absolutely disgusted about is getting quotes. Accepting them and THEN they try to tell me that the price they gave me was a cash price. If I have all the information at the start, then I can make an informed choice, but what these guys have been doing is more like blackmail. You accept a price only to find out later that you have to pay extra if you want the documentation.

 

[atti]

i've just had a **** experience, these guys wants cash only 800$ for my kitchen which i've already done all the hard labour work, they only have to extent hot/cold water by 2 meters, put in sewerpipe from sink to mains sewer which i already spent day diging out everything needed and connecting gas/oven to a T piece.

2 hours work max and they want 800$ cash lol...

- digging done, i offered to cut sewer clay pipe with my angle grinder so they just put new sleve on done.
- cutting holes in double brick wall, done
- everything setup READY to be connected done

connect and weld peices together 800$ just for being there.
i provided all parts and connecting peices already lol...

this will be my first 2x kitchen reno and will be my last, i will need to invest my energy and time elsewhere and let people do all the hardwork, they woulda probaly charge me 200$ extra for digging + parts anywayz...

 

[Big Tone]

I love hearing the opinions of the other side of the argument.

Sort of makes everything grind to a screaming halt.....and shows a fantastic insight into how parties so easily get into conflict and end up spending 100K on lawyers costs in court trying to prove their side of the argument is right.

I wonder if this will turn into another "law of attraction" thread. I'll look in again when the post count gets above 300 to see what progress the SS team has made.

Sooooo....................whats your point ?

 

[Ana]

I have to say that we haven't had this problem come up too many times. Knock on wood. My partner is also a tradie so I guess that helps and he is one of the ones that always gives tax invoices. It actually helps us if he declares more income, because we are able to borrow more $ so we can purchase more investment properties to renovate and turn over.

I agree with everyone's sentiments, if someone is giving you a quote, they should be letting you know whether that quote is for a cash price.

I have to admit though that I have used the 'Cash' incentive to my advantage in the past a couple of times. When we had a couple of tradies up north pull out of our job at the last moment, I needed someone to fill in at the last minute the next day so I offered a to pay cash for that job to get them in there. But this is not normal practice and shouldn't have to be.

And those tradies that did not turn up... I honestly think that they are the ones that missed out. We have such great teams of people that we use time and time again, from one reno to the next and look after them. We pay them reasonable rates and on time and even have a bbq at the end of each reno to celebrate with eveyone that helped us on that job. In exchange they work hard on our renos, turn up on time and clean up after themselves.

If the tradies you have are not pulling their weight get rid of them. If you need to find good people ask for recommendations. I am always happy to recommend people that have been great and chances are that once you find a couple of good people they will know other good people that you can use too.

Wishing you every success,

Ana Stankovic

 

[craigb]

as a builder i am so sick and tired of this too! looking for an honest bricklayer this time it will be my THIRD so sick of this.

 

[Chomp]

gcad

When it comes to getting tradies to do work, get your 3 quotes and go for the in-between price or the highest price. If you go for the lowest price contractor and the job takes a bit longer than expected (and it always does), they'll get frustrated that they're not profiting and try to find ways to charge more. Which is understandable but indefensible.


What if all three prices you get are high?

Chomp

 

[Tools]

as a builder i am so sick and tired of this too! looking for an honest bricklayer this time it will be my THIRD so sick of this.

Just got an invoice from a bricky....$900 per thousand- no problem,additional charges to fit flashing,two small lintels and even for fixing brick ties! I am sure he only put that on his invoice for a laugh !

Tools

 

[gecho1]

and it will get worse

I am a tradie myself and always offer quotes inc GST and offer invoices with full details.
Some time ago when the credit crises began to rear it's head, someone mentioned that now they will finally be able to get better prices on tradies who were"Making too much money".
As i pointed out back then, all you get is an influx of "Cockroaches" now quoting for jobs and undercutting eachother in order to win work. Once they win the work, they then cut corners to make the job pay. Thi includes ripping off you the customer.

A lot of tradies have been hit hard by the crisis, and are venturing into an area they have absolutely no knowledge in- Public Relations.
There has been an influx of these grubs entering the "direct to public" market, and giving a lot of the honest tradies a very bad name.
Yet the general pblic continue to use these guys because they are "CHEAP"!

How to combat this problem?

When you get a written quote, ask for their "Trade Contractors" card. Most states and territories now require you to be registered.

Ensure that all the details are correct on the quote, ABN, GST etc should all be on there.

Now here is the clincher-
If you find a good tradie- a simple testimonial will go a looooong way.
They can use it to let others now they pride themselves on their workmanship, and other customers know they are getting a good tradie.

Ask your tradies for references- If they can not furnish one, then decide whether or not you will use them.

Do not lose hope, there are a huge amount of terrific tradesmen and women out there. The good, honest ones are generally more expensive, as they know they can't reduce their prices to win the jobs, as the prices were VERY reasonable to begin with.

cheers

Adrien Mamet

www.mametconstructions.com.au

 

[Big Tone]

Now here is the clincher-
If you find a good tradie-

Pay them what they ask instead of trying to screw them..........

 

[fernfurn]

Girlfriend hired a chap who was recommended to refurbish their bathroom. Only found out after he was hired - he had taken a year to do the other person's bathroom. Girlfriend having a cow after 8 weeks, he broke the leg off a vanity, broke a mirror they were going to re-use, used a $45 tupperware bowl to mix grout - she found it out in the bushes. Put grout all over their existing slate tiles they wanted to keep and now they cant get it clean. Put in a claim for extra work because he had taken too long. Friend and hubby nearly in divorce over it as he is an academic and didnt do a thing to organise it all but reckoned she should have found out more before hiring this guy, who turns out to be just a tiler.

 

[Learnings]

" You get what you pay for "

 

[wylie]

used a $45 tupperware bowl to mix grout - she found it out in the bushes.

Hubby used a tupperware container to sit paintbrushes in turps. I ripped him a new one .

 

[craigb]

Hubby used a tupperware container to sit paintbrushes in turps. I ripped him a new one .

sorry i don't understand , what else do you do with them ??lol