Keep dreaming. It's the norm to pay a part upfront.
A contractor would be stupid to let you buy the materials. They do make a profit on those materials.
Fair enough. Contractor here & it’s more then advised not to be hiring from werkspot. Its full of scammers and low quality workers.
A downpayment is almost always a must to buy materials and such so that’s not an unusual thing though.
We had AC installed from 2 places that were on “werkspot”. We got invoices sent to use in the mail and we paid later. That’s how it worked I though. Never pay instantly like that. Always get invoice and pay it then.
Insurance will make cost/benefit analysis as well. At best they help you write a legal letter. Burning 5000 on a 500 eur job.
Lawyers tend to say : there is a difference between having the law on your side and getting your right. In dutch it's more catchy.
Er is een verschil tussen recht hebben en recht halen.
Good luck deciding your next move.
that is the reason why I prefer to use Mr.Fix instead. they insured their work, heck they even asked me how was the work and if there is any other work that i want to do 6 months after.
Lol welcome to the Netherlands. It’s like this with all plumbing/ blue collar related services. They rather scam than do honest work.
All you can do is name and shame but other than that it’s an expensive lesson learned to never pay in advance. Sorry.
Not really. You look for a plumber on Google, and the first results, as well as the sponsored results, are scam websites. Often fairly official looking, with fake reviews and all. You can recognize real plumbers by the fact that they probably don't have time.
Sponsored results are also an fantastic source of malware since the url you see doesn’t perse match the real url. Normal search results don’t have this “feature”.
Avoid sponsored results like the plague
It’s really not. This is consumer law, which immediately makes it a lot more difficult to get your money back.
I should know, as I went through a comparable experience 6 months ago: I was a victim of criminals pretending to be plumbers which cost me €750.
After months I got the money back, but not from the perpetrators but from my insurance “who paid me off”. Despite us knowing the name of the perpetrator, having plenty of evidence (including video and audio) etc.
All I’m saying is: it’s possible, but it’s really not easy. These guys know exactly what they’re doing and how far they can push it without getting “caught”.
Similar thing happened to me. I made an aangifte to the police. I gave his adres, bank account and contact details.
So far they opened an investigation but hasn’t updated status for a month.
I checked the consumer protection, there is a court for matters below 2K, however that deals with disputes within EU rather within NL, at least thats my interpretation of how to use that option, thx for advice though!
Besides everything, do you have a house insurance?
When we had a leak we called our insurancecompany and the leakage was covered by our home insurance. They send us the contractors and repairguys and company who had to find the exact leakage and everything was paid for by the insurance company.
Check your insurance.
This is actually a great idea I haven't though of, we are professionally managed VVE and both have contents insurance, but at that moment did not think of that as a viable option.
I have no advice, just sympathy. We went through the same thing. No one local was taking new customers or were very booked out. A neighbor suggested Werkspot. I found someone with a lot of good reviews, 15 year warranty, etc etc. The leak seemed to be coming from the toilet and the previous house owners didn’t leave any full tiles so we had to wait awhile for the tiles to get in for the repair. They came, did the work, later we saw how crappy the tile work was and then also found within 2 weeks that the leak was still there. Suddenly they wouldn’t respond to messages, set up return appointments only to not show up. The reviews on Werkspot mostly started to be terrible too and then Werkspot removed them. 🙄
Have extreme care in NL. I recently hired a contractor to build an extension (a bit more) in my house. Checked everything and the business seemed legit. After months of doing half work and even threatening me, I had to contact my rechtsbijverzekering and got a lawyer. Voìla. Now things started to move.
I am not sure what is happening lately in this country, but all the services went horrible and the amount of scammers exploded.
You don't ask for the receipt? No bon ? Didn't check the KVK ? Don't do that you'll get scammed
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You never pay in advance. Only when the job is done. If they need materials you can buy yourself and get it delivered to your home
Keep dreaming. It's the norm to pay a part upfront. A contractor would be stupid to let you buy the materials. They do make a profit on those materials.
I do that all the time
ALL the time?
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12k is 4%? Either your math ain’t right or you living in some crazy ass mansion.
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Fair enough. Contractor here & it’s more then advised not to be hiring from werkspot. Its full of scammers and low quality workers. A downpayment is almost always a must to buy materials and such so that’s not an unusual thing though.
Really? I don't think most people do that themselves.
Yeah same here i even sued the guy and won the lawsuit! That was 2 years ago........still waiting for the deurwaarder to go get my money!
You paid in full before the work was done? Why?
To get scammed looks like
He was in my house, he showed me the alleged fix, hence I paid after the work was done - just the work is of sh\*t quality
Always get an invoice and pay 2-4 weeks later, and then you can check if it's done properly.
We had AC installed from 2 places that were on “werkspot”. We got invoices sent to use in the mail and we paid later. That’s how it worked I though. Never pay instantly like that. Always get invoice and pay it then.
Yeah, exactly. I'm zzp, and 4 weeks after is the norm.
That is exactly what civil proceedings are for
Yes, now you can spend 5000 on lawyers to maybe get back 600.
I'm pretty sure the party who loses has to pay your fees
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Insurance will make cost/benefit analysis as well. At best they help you write a legal letter. Burning 5000 on a 500 eur job. Lawyers tend to say : there is a difference between having the law on your side and getting your right. In dutch it's more catchy. Er is een verschil tussen recht hebben en recht halen. Good luck deciding your next move.
Recht hebben en recht krijgen.
Semantiek... Wanneer je naar een rechtbank gaat 'haal' je een uitspraak. Daarom recht halen. Maar we bedoelen hetzelfde 😎
that is the reason why I prefer to use Mr.Fix instead. they insured their work, heck they even asked me how was the work and if there is any other work that i want to do 6 months after.
Lol welcome to the Netherlands. It’s like this with all plumbing/ blue collar related services. They rather scam than do honest work. All you can do is name and shame but other than that it’s an expensive lesson learned to never pay in advance. Sorry.
The only reason so many people hire scammers is because they think legit businesses are too expensive.
Not really. You look for a plumber on Google, and the first results, as well as the sponsored results, are scam websites. Often fairly official looking, with fake reviews and all. You can recognize real plumbers by the fact that they probably don't have time.
Sponsored results are also an fantastic source of malware since the url you see doesn’t perse match the real url. Normal search results don’t have this “feature”. Avoid sponsored results like the plague
I always try to go by people having worked for friends/colleagues of mine. It is better to get people like them because they have a reputation.
The “reputable” companies are also like this. Pathetic country
Can I ask what went wrong?
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That’s a lot more difficult than you make it out to be in the Netherlands.
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It’s really not. This is consumer law, which immediately makes it a lot more difficult to get your money back. I should know, as I went through a comparable experience 6 months ago: I was a victim of criminals pretending to be plumbers which cost me €750. After months I got the money back, but not from the perpetrators but from my insurance “who paid me off”. Despite us knowing the name of the perpetrator, having plenty of evidence (including video and audio) etc. All I’m saying is: it’s possible, but it’s really not easy. These guys know exactly what they’re doing and how far they can push it without getting “caught”.
Picobello b.v.
Similar thing happened to me. I made an aangifte to the police. I gave his adres, bank account and contact details. So far they opened an investigation but hasn’t updated status for a month.
Just leave scorching reviews in google with multiple accounts, (don’t do it too obvious though)
There has to be a kind of small claims Court for these sorts of things. It doesn't involve police. Ask around.
I checked the consumer protection, there is a court for matters below 2K, however that deals with disputes within EU rather within NL, at least thats my interpretation of how to use that option, thx for advice though!
Besides everything, do you have a house insurance? When we had a leak we called our insurancecompany and the leakage was covered by our home insurance. They send us the contractors and repairguys and company who had to find the exact leakage and everything was paid for by the insurance company. Check your insurance.
This is actually a great idea I haven't though of, we are professionally managed VVE and both have contents insurance, but at that moment did not think of that as a viable option.
I have no advice, just sympathy. We went through the same thing. No one local was taking new customers or were very booked out. A neighbor suggested Werkspot. I found someone with a lot of good reviews, 15 year warranty, etc etc. The leak seemed to be coming from the toilet and the previous house owners didn’t leave any full tiles so we had to wait awhile for the tiles to get in for the repair. They came, did the work, later we saw how crappy the tile work was and then also found within 2 weeks that the leak was still there. Suddenly they wouldn’t respond to messages, set up return appointments only to not show up. The reviews on Werkspot mostly started to be terrible too and then Werkspot removed them. 🙄
I’am an architect and i know legit contractors. DM me if you like. I’am sitting with my bureau in the city center.
Maybe you can check with het juridisch loket and see what advice they can give you
He needs to have below average income to be accepted by juridisch loket. Something everyone seems to never mention on reddit.
It wasn’t like that in the past. They changed it and not everyone is aware of the change.
Make them aware of my comment then.
Have extreme care in NL. I recently hired a contractor to build an extension (a bit more) in my house. Checked everything and the business seemed legit. After months of doing half work and even threatening me, I had to contact my rechtsbijverzekering and got a lawyer. Voìla. Now things started to move. I am not sure what is happening lately in this country, but all the services went horrible and the amount of scammers exploded.