You will loose your money

Review for Les and S (S stands for his son Shannon )

I hired this for a renovation of a garage to convert into a bedsitter for my ageing mother . In hind site there were red flags (Sadly I was in a rush because of my moms health), the first they never took complete measurements and the quote had labor and material bundled . Because of the vagueness of the quote I provided a scope of work diagram project and I paid the deposit , things started out well-ish , the team would arrive late every day (10am) , leave early (3pm) and littered (Bones were left on the ground and my dogs almost chocked on them) I hoped to receiving professional, timely service. Unfortunately, my experience was far from satisfactory.

Key Issues: Mistakes: 1stThey built the dividing wall with the wrong measurements, they blamed me for that issue, even though I had discussed in detail with Les. 2nd: They made a bigger hole than needed for a window and used up other bricks to resolve the issue (bricks I had paid for) No refund for materials bought: I had mentioned my mom wanted to specific bath, but the materials were quoted for, a day before starting said I should buy the bath and tiles if I wanted something specific and they would credit / refund . They never refunded or credited me. Poor workmanship: They did work to grind the aluminum doors so that there would be clearance for the tiles, the door is scratching the tiles, the plaster is cracking and the holes they made for the windows needed rework to set the windows. Aggressive behavior: When confronting Shannon and Les on the issue, Shannon (who never came to site once) became aggressive with me. Issue after ending the project: After the 2 major mistakes I ended the renovation, I reasonably expected a partial refund (Less than 40%). I will put the details on a Facebook page called Don't Use Les & S because such little work and materials had been delivered it was not worth the 100K deposit Over charging: When I decided to end the project with them they sent me an invoice , charging me the full amount because of "future lost wages" , they inflated their costs and claimed to have supp**** materials that were not on site , thus confessing to theft. They claim their daily rate is R4000 for labor plus an additional charge for a brick layer at R5000 for the day.

Unregistered Builder: I later discovered that the builder was not registered with the NHBRC, raising concerns about the quality and compliance of the work. Resolution Attempts: I made several good-faith efforts to communicate with the company and resolve the matter amicably, including requesting a refund. Unfortunately, my concerns were ignored, leaving me with no choice but to pursue legal action through the magistrate's court.

Conclusion: Based on my experience, I would not recommend Les and his son. Their lack of professionalism, failure to complete the project, and refusal to engage in resolution efforts reflect poorly on their business practices.

I will be taking them to the magistrate court, plus logging issues with the building ombudsman (NHBRC). They can take money money but I will do my best to make sure they don't keep it, I will make sure they are fined for working as an unregistered builder and I will ensure I make people looking to use them will find these reviews and avoid them.