Matho Electrical- R3.5k repair to a steel sliding gate track

24 Jan 25, my sliding 3mtr, sliding steel gate track was replaced at a cost of R3.5k, 4 hours of manual labour (13h00-17h00). My own welder was unable to do the repairs, as he was busy on another site, & he had an additional 2x customers from different locations waiting on him, so he recommended & referred one of his colleagues within my area to assist me, & he indicated to me the job in question was +-R1.5k,(labour & materials inclusive) contractors have accounts at hardware stores, they given discounts on their purchases) this job was not very labour intensive & would take approximately -+3 hours to complete, which I agreed to, due to the guarantee/workmanship, & he would arrange for his colleague to contact me immediately to do the job, same day, as the sliding gate kept sliding open & closed halfway on its own. Matho Electrical contacted me, informed me, his colleague explained to him the job spec's, he can pass by, take measurements & complete the job before 18h00, same day. Matho Electrical came through took measurements of the existing steel gate track, indicated the track & concrete flooring had to be removed and replaced, he needed to go to the hardware store to purchase all materials, & collect 2x of his workers, that were working on another site, to do the job on my property, immediately, as his friend won't give him customers, in future. On completion, Matho Electrical, requested payment of R3.5k, I was quite shocked & told him, I agreed with my welder to R1.5k, all inclusive. Matho Electrical, refused, this accept offer, indicating he was not aware of this price agreement as my welder never shared this information with him, I eventually paid him R1.5, & told him I would pay the remainder by weekend latest. Later during the evening I tried contacting my own welder, he was unreachable his cell went to voicemail..I eventually asked Matho Electrical to give me a breakdown of materials used & labour costs per day, of job done on my property. Matho Electrical, breakdown costs on whatsup chat: Materials steel costs: R1200, Concrete mix R250.00 per bag. Welding accessories, no mention of what accessories or prices, no mention of steel cutting discs. Labour costs: manpower: 3x men removing old concrete, they dug & removed 6 foot concrete flooring, alot of welding was done on the new gate track & labour on this job is equivalent to an 8 hour job. I asked for a copy of the supplier invoice, which he refused to share. He indicated R3.5k is the standard going rate for steel gate track replacement, it's 8 hours requiring manpower of 3x men. Next morning we , made direct contact with supplier, their quotation prices to public: Total cost of material: R850.00 including delivery(1x6m steel bar & 1x6m steel pipe, 1x40,kg concrete mix, 1x small steel cutting disc & 1x small box welding rods) Account holders, are given a discount, for all material purchased & delivered. At the suppliers premises we engaged with 3x different contractors, asking them about the pricing of steel gate track replacement, includ materials, labourers, hours, total price, their prices ranged from R1.3k-R1.7k, 2 x men, 4 hours to replace & install. I shared this quote with Matho Electrical, he was extremely unhappy, when he received quote, I asked him where did he use the R250.00 concrete mix, as I only saw 2x40kg bags of concrete mix, 1x 40kg bag concrete mix was used & the other 1x 40kg bag concrete mix was loaded on his vehicle. His team dumped the old concrete rubble into the empty 1 empty 40kg bag, the bag was 1/4% full, an estimate of -+7kgs, My neighbours from the area can vouch that there were only 2x men, that worked on the outside of my property, as the sliding gate was wide open, revealing the entrance to my property. 26 Jan, 14h30, Matho Electrical, threated to remove the steel gate track rack & dig out the concrete flooring & refund my R1.5k, I gave him, the go ahead, informing him to make sure, when he done with his demolition, he should leave the steel gate track & concrete flooring in the same condition, when he inspected it, he said he will not be liable or accountable, for any damages, he can cause to my property, as he wants the outstanding balance, we paid another R500.00. This morning again, Matho Electrical called demanding to the balance, I informed him, your extension cord blew 2x wall switches, inside the house, repair the wall switch, than you can get paid, he indicated, I'm must additional for the wall switched.