Keep away! Will abscone with your money!

Unfortunately this company seems to have been financially mismanaged, causing them to forfeit on paying salaries and not being able to buy stock that the client has already paid for.

Even áfter I paid more than the requested 50%, they wanted the balance before completing the job.

I contracted them to install artificial turf. There was a long delay to start the project due to other contractors not completing their jobs on time. Once I gave Madagra the go ahead to start the installation it took another few weeks before they could fit me in. But the installation date kept getting postponed.

Eventually one day the workers showed up, but no skip, crusher dust, compactor, turf or silica sand had been delivered yet. I refused to let them start working until the stock was in site.

Another date was set, and I was promised that the skip was to be delivered on the Wednesday, prep work done on the Thursday and installation and finish completed on the Friday by 5pm.

No skip was delivered on Wednesday. This should already have been a warning to me. It was only ordered and delivered on Friday. (This caused complications for another contractor, since the grass and soil that was removed had to be dumped where he needed to do paving.)

On Thursday 3 workers arrived at around 10am, with 2 shovels between them. They had to use my equipment. By around 2pm they were still waiting for the crusher dust, which was eventually only delivered on Friday morning. Late Friday morning the compactor was delivered. The cement edge was cast, but they did not have enough cement.

(No turf, which was supposed to be on site when they started working, had yet been delivered.)

Late Friday night I received an email from Shaun, requesting the balance of the invoice, before 10am Saturday morning, so that they could install the turf. Obviously I refused to pay any more money, and, eith abated breath, waited to see what was going to happen on Saturday.

On Saturday the workers came to complete the last cement work, and I was officially told by the driver that they could not install the turf, which was stíll not on site, since the cement had to dry. (Apparently the cement would not have been an issue if I'd paid the rest of the invoice?)

Confidentially I was told that Shaun, the owner, had still not ordered the turf (because he did not have the cash to pay for it), and that he had left for the weekend for Yzerfontein. The workers had, at that stage, also not been paid. Neither the foreman or driver had even received their salaries for the previous month either.

Since the Thursday Shaun did not answer his phone, and all attempts, save 1, to contact him was unsuccessful. The 1 time he answered was on the Friday morning, when my project manager called, and, in no uncertain terms, told him to come and sort out this mess. Because by then it was clear that this job was not going to be completed by 5pm.

By the next Tuesday afternoon there had been no workers or turf on site. A call to the turf suppliers confirmed that Madagra had not bought turf from them for a few months.

So now I had no grass, an area covered with crusher dust, and Shaun was still not answering his phone.

At that stage, after explaining my dilemma, the supplier sent his agent to the site, and I ordered the turf, arranging to pay them directly. I paid them on Wednesday morning and the turf was delivered by 10am.

I had arranged with the workers that subcontracted for Madagra to complete the installation, for which I paid them directly.

After trying for 7 days to talk to Shaun, he suddenly starts calling late Tuesday afternoon, with promises that the driver is on his way to pick up the turf, and that it will be installed 1st thing Wednesday morning. But I had verified with the supplier that no order was placed....

Of course, late Tuesday I get another call, claiming the driver did not arrive at the supplier in time, but that he will fetch the turf 1st thing Wednesday morning....

It was crystal clear at that stage that I could not take Shaun's word, hence the decision to complete the job on my own.

Shaun's sudden communications happened after I complained to the local estate agent, who had referred him to me. Apparently she called him, and that's when he tried to salvage his reputation.

In effect I had paid Madagra R26 000 for 74m2 of crusher dust and site prep, 1 skip and 2 day's of labour (which was actually only 1 day, since the workers had to wait hours for equipment and stock).

All efforts to get some form of refund from Madagra has been refused, and I was even accused of being unprofessional (??) by using their workers to complete the installation! 'Their' workers being the subcontractors, but at least they got some money for the work on Wednesday.

I have subsequently reported the case to the Consumer Council, but he has not replied to the complaint against him.