The Voice - Consumer's Voice

Where's my builder?

Please help me follow up with this builder. In 2022 I gave him 3 jobs, roofing for my farm house, landscaping design and doing a staircase and decking for the house. The roofing has been completed but with some gaps to completely close the house. ⁠I gave him a supply and fit job to do a deck, staircase and exterior door to access the outside space. He did some work in December 2022 and disappeared.

After extensive follow-up he came back in July 2023 and a bit of work on the staircase and the door and then disappeared again. After several follow ups he requested me to purchase further materials, which I did (I have now spent more than the contracted amount) but he has still not completed the work. Last week, he agreed he should finish the house. He requested for some more material but has not done the work as promised. I gave him a deposit to do a landscape design and never even got a draft. Richard, please help me follow up so he can complete my work.

I know for a fact that there are some excellent builders. I also know for a fact that there are others who are unreliable, incompetent and even a few who are dangerous.

Let's be charitable and assume this one is just one of the unreliable ones. However, unreliability is no excuse. It doesn't matter what difficulties he was having, he had an obligation to keep you updated and then to do the work you've paid him for. It's not complicated, is it?

I contacted the guy and he responded very quickly. He promised that he'll visit you and complete the work within the next couple of days. Please let me know what happens?

How can I spot a scam?

We all remember Ecoplexus from last year. Some of us remember Eurextrade from more than 10 years ago. Both of these scams took tens of millions from their victims. This year we had the Miracle Farm scam which luckily quickly collapsed. All involved scammers recruiting people we know to steal money from us. That's part of the tragedy of these scams, they make normally good people into criminals. The bad news for the people who "knowingly join" these scams is that Section 9 of the Consumer Protection Act says that they are as guilty as those who promote them.

Unfortunately, the scammers haven't gone away. They are still actively recruiting people into newer scams. So how can you tell if something is a scam? Here are some ways to help you decide.

Firstly, ask the person who invited you to join, why they did so? Did they do it because they're a kind person who wanted to share their "opportunity" with you? If they say Yes, then you know it's a scam.

Next, ask them if the scheme is a registered company. If they say it is, ask for proof. Then check if it's true. If you don't know how to check, ask us.

Ask them how their scheme creates profits. People marketing a real investment scheme will talk about share or commodity prices, dividends or the income a company can expect from selling products and services. People marketing a scam can't do that. They'll talk about cryptocurrency or forex trading, Bitcoin mining or they'll say it's a motshelo or 'gifting' scheme. If you ask them how profits are generated they won't be able to answer you.

People promoting a genuine investment will welcome questions but scammers will very be defensive and ask you why you're asking so many questions. "Just trust me", they'll say. Anyone who says this is trying to scam you.

Above all, scammers will make incredible claims about how much money you can make. They'll tell you that small 'investments' can earn huge profits. They'll also ask you to invest more and more money, encouraging you to 'upgrade' to higher levels with promises of even greater profits. That's a sure sign of a scam.

Finally, remember this simple truth. Anyone who invites you to join their money-making scheme wants to make money from you, not with you.