Bare Faced Liars

Beware this is a very long ranting post!

Well my floor fitters turned up this morning shortly before 8.30am. The conversation went something like this…

Them: “Did you get our note?”

Me: “No, Did you come on Saturday?”

Them: “Yes” He then opens the letterbox and as if by magic a folded note was there!

Me: “Oh what time?”

Them: “10.30am”

Me: “I was in all day”

They are such bare faced liars… that note was put there this morning! How do I know this? Because when I took Alfie out for his walk at 3pm after being in all day the first thing I did when I came back was check the letter box to see if by any slight chance they had turned up during my 15 minute dog walk and there was no note! Plus I got two take away menus pushed through the door really late Saturday and it would have knocked any note out… even better is the fact I get a newspaper delivered on a SUNDAY!!!!

Just a final point how do they explain the fact they didn’t turn up at the other house they where suppose to be doing on Saturday! Is there perhaps a note stuck in his letter box as well!

Absolutely friggin liars they are…. I am far from amused! I’d preferred the more honest answer such as “We where hung over from Friday night and couldn’t be bothered” that’s my guess at what the real excuse would have been!

So the floor fitters did there job in about 40 minutes and disappeared off again, I had a look the floor covering is really nice, good choice BUT… there is always a BUT! They have cut round a piece of old wooden skirting board under the tiles which should have been removed and it looks bloody stupid, it looks ugly and you can tell it’s not suppose to be like that. Now it’s not there fault, the fault lies with Neil (the site foreman it’s easier to just name him that keep writing site foreman!) again who pointed out to me last Wednesday when he was checking the decorators work that he would get a joiner out to come and remove it before the floor fitters come in, obviously like most other things he forgot!

No sooner have the floor fitters gone a joiner arrives and see’s the wood that’s not been removed, he tells me he will get Neil to come down and check it before he fits the shower doors. He leaves in my garden boxes which obviously contain expensive shower doors and a shower rail.

Just past 9.30am I leave a message on the mobile number I have for the liaison officer who is called Carole. In the meantime I resume the waiting game. I chat to mum on the phone and then find I have a message on my phone from Carole who tells me that she is on her way to the site office and will pop in to see me. She didn’t show…

At 11am I phone Neil who still has not shown up baring in mind the joiner was suppose to tell him to come and he sounds uncomfortable talking to me because his boss is with him as he repeats to me several times, part of me is tempted to say put your boss on so I can complain about YOU! He promised me he’s coming down to see me as soon as he’s finished and won’t be much longer. I make it clear that I am not happy about waiting in again all day and I am not pleased about the floor fitters not turning up on Saturday. He tells me “No I am extremely annoyed about the floor fitters and I am making a complaint to there boss about them”, which tells me he clearly knows they didn’t show! (He changes his story later…)

So I am waiting and waiting (violins please) and by 1.30pm still no Neil, no Carole and no joiner has returned and I am getting very annoyed! Another hour passes and I decide enough is enough and I get Dad to take me over to the housing office so I can enquire about where I stand. The guy there was helpful but of course most complaints are done in writing and take 14 days or so to even be acknowledged, but I will still log an official complaint in writing in the next day or two. I am given a number for some manager who is responsible for the work that is done by the contractors for the upgrades, still knowing this won’t really get me anywhere today I get Dad to come with me to the site office to see Neil.

I catch him and surprisingly he’s just on the way to see me how convenient especially since he was just walking back into the site office car park and not actually leaving it. We discuss at length in the car park my issues and he’s adamant the floor fitters tell him they turned up on Saturday bearing in mind this morning he was aware they hadn’t and that he was going to complain to there boss. I explain how I don’t really care anymore but that I have my own suspicions that they didn’t come and that there note was conveniently placed in the letter box this morning. Obviously it’s my word against there’s…

There’s more… (if you have not fell asleep congratulations for keeping up!)

I then asked him what excuse the plumber used on Friday afternoon for disappearing on me when he went for his tools. He hesitated at first and then shrugged his shoulders quickly saying “Ahhh yea he couldn’t do the work because the electrics for the shower are in the wrong place!” WTF… they have been there two weeks, Neil has been in the bathroom about fives times and no one has noticed they where wrong! Apparently it’s not just my property… There is no explanation as to why the plumber just disappeared and didn’t actually bother to inform me! Of course that’s just far too much to expect!

With that Neil then tells me he’ll come round now and see the floor. Dad takes me back home and Neil follows only to then take a call on his mobile and stand outside talking to someone for 10 minutes, all the time me and Dad are stood there in the bathroom waiting for him. Eventually he shows his face and gets down on the floor and says he can get the wood painted that should have been removed or take it off and patch up the floor. I linger, I don’t want that. Why should I be left with a piece of wooden skirting board which obviously shouldn’t be there and looks a mess and even worse a patch up job of the floor because of there error. Let’s face it if this was your bathroom and you where paying for the work you wouldn’t accept a patch up job would you! So why should I just because the council are covering the expense! I tell him I want the wood removed because it looks stupid but that I don’t want the floor patched up. He then says how about we remove half the floor covering and replace that. Dad seems to think that would be okay so I agree with it… this means I’ll have a join in the floor covering just before the shower doors. I am not best pleased about this, but put it another way if I can see the join and it looks messy or I think there is a risk water will seep under then I am not accepting it and they will have to do the full floor again!

Finally regarding the electrics, apparently the main cable has been position wrong and needs to be moved. This involves removing two tiles to reposition and feed the cable through the wall and then to replace the tiles! My question is why has it not been picked up before with the amount of plumbers and electricians that have been in and out over two weeks, of course I didn’t expect a decent response other that “It’s been done at other properties as well!” why am I just not surprised!

Neil also tells me that the floor fitters say they arrived at 10.30am on Saturday knocked really loudly and then called there boss because there was no answer. There boss the one I saw on Friday said just wait for her in the van as she has a dog and might have gone for a walk… they waited and knocked again apparently but still got no answer and then put this magical invisible note through. I was not in the mood to argue with him and since Alfie was in the other room in his bed and was quiet I decided a little demonstration was in order…

I went over to the front door, went outside and closed it behind me. I then knocked on the door very loudly. Instantly Alfie started barking like crazy… point proven I think! Alfie can smell someone when they walk past, hell he’s so intelligent he can sense when his granddad’s car pulls up in the car park! Slightest noise from the gate and he’s up barking telling me someone coming! So I somehow doubt they knocked on the door loudly or otherwise… even more so this morning they used the intercom / bell so why didn’t they use it on Saturday if they came as they claim to have done!

Finally Neil can’t apologise enough but I made it clear I am not pleased about having to stay in again tomorrow for work that has still not been done. Dad has offered to come over and sit in so I can go to town. I’ve told Dad it doesn’t matter town can wait for now. I can’t go Wednesday because I was planning on taking my parents out for dinner since it’s there wedding anniversary on Saturday and it was kind of a thank you for looking after Alfie and letting me use there shower for almost three weeks lunch date.

Neil now says the electrician will come first thing in the morning and fit the shower alter the electrics they are due on site at 9am. The floor people should be here by around 10.30am to replace and repair the floor and finally the joiner has agreed to come tomorrow afternoon! The joiner has been this afternoon and it took him less than five minutes to remove that piece of wooden skirting board, if only it had been done last week we wouldn’t have had the hassle of the floor needing to be repaired and patched up! I wish to god I’d sawed it off myself over the weekend but I never give it a thought!

So three things are scheduled for tomorrow, place your bets please! Odds are as follows:-

5/1 for nothing being done

10/1 for one thing being done

20/1 for one thing done and excuses for the other things

500/1 for all three planned things done!