Just had some plumbing done by a tradesman.

oscash

oscash

Senior Member
Location
Sydney - Australia
I looked up a local advertising agency to book in a plumber. He answered my ad promptly and said he would be at my home within the hour. I had a leaking pipe
under my bathroom hand basin. He checked out the pipe and said he could repair it and I accepted his quote. He was there for about 3/4 of an hour and said in the near future I should get a new set of taps as these ones are very rusty, I told him I would think about it and let him know. The next day he sent a message to say he was at the plumber's co-op, and they were having a big sale, and he could get me the taps at a good discount. I asked him the price and I said it was a good deal and to get them for me. He said he could come around in a couple of days to fit them.

He was very quick installing the taps and showed me the old ones and they were very rusty. I paid him off and was happy with the result. Within 2 days I received an
SMS asking if I was happy with the job, and he wanted to say, his mother had died, and he was short of $1,250 for her funeral and if I or any of my friends could lend him the money and he would return it the following week and would send a photo of his driver's license. I was shocked and replied I didn't know of anyone who could help him out. I didn't tell my son as he would have gone over and punched his lights out. He was very nice and said he was 26 and not married. Just goes to show you can't trust anyone these days.
 

fuzzybuddy said:
I've had to use plumbers. I just spent $450 to get my furnace fixed on a Sunday. With $450, he was getting no damn tip.
oscash, was your plumber a "licensed" plumber or a handy man?
If he was a licensed plumber, you could report him to the licensing board. I'd save his email.
Click to expand...
You used a "plumber " to have your furnace repaired ? Where I live, working on a furnace, either gas fired or oil fired, requires a gas fitter's license, not a plumber's license. JimB.
 
oscash said:
I looked up a local advertising agency to book in a plumber. He answered my ad promptly and said he would be at my home within the hour. I had a leaking pipe
under my bathroom hand basin. He checked out the pipe and said he could repair it and I accepted his quote. He was there for about 3/4 of an hour and said in the near future I should get a new set of taps as these ones are very rusty, I told him I would think about it and let him know. The next day he sent a message to say he was at the plumber's co-op, and they were having a big sale, and he could get me the taps at a good discount. I asked him the price and I said it was a good deal and to get them for me. He said he could come around in a couple of days to fit them.

He was very quick installing the taps and showed me the old ones and they were very rusty. I paid him off and was happy with the result. Within 2 days I received an
SMS asking if I was happy with the job, and he wanted to say, his mother had died, and he was short of $1,250 for her funeral and if I or any of my friends could lend him the money and he would return it the following week and would send a photo of his driver's license. I was shocked and replied I didn't know of anyone who could help him out. I didn't tell my son as he would have gone over and punched his lights out. He was very nice and said he was 26 and not married. Just goes to show you can't trust anyone these days.
Click to expand...
This is probably going to the extreme but you should file a police report. There's a chance he's a preditor targeting seniors, he gets in the home by way of his business and has opportunity to scope things out. No telling how many times his mother has died and he's milked someone out of money.
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I've had to use plumbers. I just spent $450 to get my furnace fixed on a Sunday. With $450, he was getting no damn tip.
oscash, was your plumber a "licensed" plumber or a handy man?
If he was a licensed plumber, you could report him to the licensing board. I'd save his email.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that ^

@oscash - If he left you a business card, the company name and contractors license # are on it. And a phone #.

In the future, always ask a handyman if he has a license or works under someone else's license (either one is fine). If he doesn't, you should consider hiring someone else.
 
C50 said:
This is probably going to the extreme but you should file a police report. There's a chance he's a preditor targeting seniors, he gets in the home by way of his business and has opportunity to scope things out. No telling how many times his mother has died and he's milked someone out of money.
Click to expand...
Did you notice where this took place ? In Australia, not the USA. So, what exactly would the OP put in a Police report ? She/he thinks the repairman is guilty of being a what? You fill in the blank C50. Jimb.
 
Murrmurr said:
Yep, you're right. Can you suggest someone she can call?

(serious question, btw; I'm not messing with you)
Click to expand...
Serious reply. Every Australian State has regulations about the licensing and regulation of skilled trades people. In addition, most Australian cities have municipal trades licenses issued to individuals and or the companies that employ them. The OP needs to contact either the State or city where she lives, asking about the person she mentioned in her OP, to establish if the individual is in fact properly licensed/registered to carry on business. Hopefully she has, at the very least, a full name for this person ? Or a method of contact that she used in the first place to get connected to him. A second line of investigation would be a look up on social media using the person's name or phone number, if she knows it.

A word to the greater SF group.....DO not hesitate to GET information from anyone who is going to enter your home. Full name, business name and phone number.....WHICH is found on their business card. Be polite, obviously, but don't be stupid, either.

In my jurisdiction, the Canadian Province of Ontario..Door to door sales agents are PROHIBITED by law. The only exception is official political party reps, during the 40 days of an election campaign . Anyone else who knocks on doors is going to be reported to Police as being suspicious.

Jimb.
 
jimintoronto said:
Did you notice where this took place ? In Australia, not the USA. So, what exactly would the OP put in a Police report ? She/he thinks the repairman is guilty of being a what? You fill in the blank C50. Jimb.
Click to expand...
Doesn't Australia have laws and those that enforce them? Business regulations and those that oversee? Local constable? Town mayor? The plumbers boss?

I'm not saying a law has been broken, but it was certainly unethical and questionable behavior. Oscash may be the first and only approached, or the tenth, or the twentieth, but someone needs to say something so the plumbers actions can be looked at.
 
Thanks everyone for your concerns. I haven't heard from him since. I would rather let 'sleeping dogs lie' don't know whom I could be dealing with. I still have his phone number because if he did approach me again, I would take it further. I got his number from a very reputable company here in Sydney, Aust.
 

Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top