abusive customer

[Tony73]

as Dave said, go to site.

 

[kilty55]

as above and bill them for works already done would be my choice,i wouldnt continue for muppets like that

 

[AliGage]

Agreed, primarily get your tools off site and back in your van.

 

[Brian the Tile]

go get your tools and your gear from the job ,tell the customer of the house you cannot and will not work this way and you are sorry the way things have worked out ,beyond your control,if he would like you to do the job direct all is good,just tell him the truth

 

[cynic]

Nothing worse than doing work and not getting money,as everyone has said dont let it go,you are in the right and owed.

 

[charlie1]

Tomorrow I will see what's happening! If I don't get paid I won't let it go! This guy is an idiot bully who thinks he can speak to people anyway he thinks, would like to see his reaction when I see him face to face!

 

[swanman]

Theres a saying in Cornwall


KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON :lol:

 

[charlie1]

Spoken to the janny, he hung up when realised it was me!
Spoken to the boss, he said he's unsure what's happening as he was not in last week (bull) but he said he would let me know when tiles arrive (still apparently happy for me to do job)! Here what I suspect....
They have someone else in doing job and prob even using my tools so going up there 1st thing tomorrow morning to investigate!

If I find they are doing job themselves with my tools and materials etc I will go mental! Now, I k.ow you can't just go in ans start smashing up tiles but as I've not yet been put off job , what if I decide to lift my tiles on the basis that I'm not happy with them? Where would I stand with that?

 

[AliGage]

I think the key thing here is getting your tools back. There's a clear break down between you and the "employer?". The only thing you can be certain of is the tools belong to you. I wouldn't leave them there a minute longer.

If they've got someone else to fix the tiles and not told you you they've arrived i don't think there's a lot you can do there either. Unless you've been contracted to do it. I always do residential work so i'm finding it difficult to advise you. But when i present a quote to a customer, it's presented in writing and if accepted i give the customer two copies and ask him/her to sign one of them. As far as i'm then concerned that signature is agreement that I will do the job. I then take deposits etc to ensure i have their commitment with me.

If i had gone through this and then my customer broke that "contract" they'd recieve a bill for lose of earnings. At the very least, what i'd do in your case is go and collect my tools and then send them a bill for what i believe i'm owed. After what you've experienced with this job i think i'd write it off to experience. Send them a bill for sevices rendered. If they fail to pay go down the small claims route.

But definately, definately go and get your tools. Take some pictures of the work you've carried out so far as well if you haven't already done so.

 

[charlie1]

Thanks again all and you detailed reply alister! Went this morning and got my tools (no one on site), notning has been touched as tiles still not arrived. I called tile supplier and they said tiles have not been despatched as payment has not been made! Someone has made a real
( . )( . ) out of this one!

 

[charlie1]

Here a pic of work I've done, all these tiles I had to hack the adhesive off then reset!

 

[AliGage]

I'd be sticking an invoice in for the work you've done as well mate. Why haven't they paid for the tiles to complete the job?

 

[charlie1]

Mystery to me, its very large company, this should have been done ages ago! I'm going to give it till the end of the week then take it from there, we shall see what transpires? I've got my tools back so that's one good point!

 

[Muse2k8]

This is why a good contract works well. If it was me he would still be paying for the FULL work and finding a new tiler too 😉

 

[charlie1]

Just recieved tx from janny letting me know tiles have arrived and asking when I can do it! ... Busy just now so will need to wait a wee while!

 

[chrisprendy]

want to bet it now becomes URGENT ,he will claim he has been waiting on you bla bla bla customer going mad bla bla,got to be done right away etc,the ball may now be back in your court but as already stated BE CARFEFUL as to payments to date etc ,good look either way m8

 

[AliGage]

All sounds very fishy to me, i'd be bugging out.

 

[charlie1]

I know what you mean alister but I was given reassurance that payment would be made after completion by big boss man!

The way I'm trying too see it is, do job then get one of 2 things ... Money owed or lesson learned! I will keep you all posted and maybe we will all learn a lesson!

 

[AliGage]

I hope they pay you at the end.

Good luck, look forward to seeing the finished pictures.

 

[charlie1]

Ok, tiles have arrived on site, they are not the same, they are 2mm larger than the original ones! The guy in question assured me they where identical in colour and size hence why I relayed 10 m2 of the original tiles. I have used 5mm grout line with these but even at that u can't see how I can continue with this, think they will all need to come back up...can I have opinions please?

 

[Brian the Tile]

my opinion on it ,you got your tools back ,its not worth the hasstle tell em to get someone else or pay you all the money up front then your in the driving seat

 

[TT Tiling]

you need paying first mate for the work done ,get that first then tell them to stick it ,face to face and forgot the whole things , your feel good again

 

[Dan]

Yes payment before even discussing what to do next. Then give him the options. Re-tile the lot, or get some other guy in.

 

[charlie1]

I requested payment for materials up front + confirmation email from company in question as I simply lost trust in them, they declined so now I need to bill them for work done!

 

[kilty55]

bill recorded delivery for me for starters good luck charlie

 

[bugs183]

The whole thing sounds like 'one of those jobs', they start off bad and just get worse.
I'd pull off site, as the materials they have supplied are not fit for purpose.
Send a bill to the boss and explain why you have left, tell him what you would need to do to resolve the problem, which is payment for work done, then payment for the total up lift of the tiles and then fixing of a new batch of the correct quantity from one batch.
Then just see what happens, my guess is that you may have to take a hit on this one matey.
In which case at least you've not given them any more time.

 

[cam_low]

I would have mentioned a long time ago that its more than likely if your are ripping tiles up to clean and stick back down your batch and shade numbers wont match. This is something I always stick with and it saves having to clean tiles. I also have learned face to face works best, sack your texting, phoning etc, caller ID is a ***** and people can just hang up on you once they know its you on witheld.

Take your money and run, or take control of the situation, you are the tiler, you know how it goes, I do the same with old walls, they need skimmed or they need pulled down and reboarded with the correct material. Its so much quicker and leads to a better finish.

GOOD LUCK !

 

[charlie1]

I would have mentioned a long time ago that its more than likely if your are ripping tiles up to clean and stick back down your batch and shade numbers wont match. This is something I always stick with and it saves having to clean tiles. I also have learned face to face works best, sack your texting, phoning etc, caller ID is a ***** and people can just hang up on you once they know its you on witheld.

Take your money and run, or take control of the situation, you are the tiler, you know how it goes, I do the same with old walls, they need skimmed or they need pulled down and reboarded with the correct material. Its so much quicker and leads to a better finish.

GOOD LUCK !

I know what you mean about the texting as have had jobs cancelled via text!

Invoice has been sent recorded delivery so I now wait on payment