RK
Russell K
Active since Mar 2018
19
Reviews
0
Industries
Reviews
19 reviews4 months ago
I wish someone had warned me that dealing with GHM Electronics could be perilous and a waste of time ane money.
Dealing with this contractor was characterised by dishonesty and incompetence. I had previously posted a positive review about this electrician, but have been forced to revise this entirely. Greg was dishonest about being competent to install electric fences (the fence he had erected at my premises in Krugersdorp had to be torn down within six months due to extensive rust), Greg was dishonest about why he would not provide me with a quote before he started the job (two other contractors quoted for it without hesitation), Greg was dishonest about the cost of the materials for the 20m section of the fence that was replaced, claiming that they cost R30 000 (when the two other contractors quoted less than R10 000 to do the entire job including materials), Greg was dishonest about having to make the supports for the wires (they are available for off-the-shelf purchase, as the contractor that replaced the fence did), Greg tried to charge me R100 000 to erect the short section of fence that is so outrageous it is beyond belief. The full bill would have been R115 000 but he waived the VAT if I paid in cash – not very wise, Greg. When I saw the fence was rusting, I had the fence assessed by Hendrik Engelbrecht, CEO of the National Electric Fence Association. In his report he detailed why a certificate of compliance should most definitely not be issued, concluding with the lines: "It is my opinion that the person who installed this electric fence is not properly trained to do the work in accordance with the latest SANS 10222-3 and is in breach of Government Gazette no. 34154 section 12(1). By the installer's noncompliance, he has made himself guilty of contravening the regulations”. Foolishly, Greg tried to pressurize me into paying his bill by consulting a ‘legal adviser’ – a struck-off attorney who had himself shown dishonesty – he had been found guilty of misappropriating trust funds. I say foolishly because the legal adviser was so obstructive, rude and childish in his e-mails that, after making two offers to meet with Greg and a real attorney were ignored and the legal adviser chose to ignore the law by handing over the certificate of compliance in his possession, I decided against paying any amount in addition to my deposit. Ultimately, it became evident that the legal adviser had done me a great favour by his actions, and had compromised his own client by doing so. I could not have had a more useful ally than the legal adviser! I find that richly amusing. Had I known how dishonest Greg would be, I would have avoided him like the plague – the plague of SARS for example (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, caused by the SARS-CoV-1 virus).
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6 months ago
I highly recommend Clevia Green Irrigations.
Julious installed an irrigation system at my house in Krugersdorp in October 2025. I found his work to be of excellent quality, he was reasonably priced, punctual and returned to rectify minor problems without any additional charge. I highly recommend Clevia Green Irrigations.
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19 months ago
Think twice before doing business with Xavic Trading
I took Xavic Tracing (a one-man operator) to court to be refunded the unused part of the substantial (R30 000) deposit I gave him to do building work at my house in Krugersdorp in 2024. Vic spent my deposit on himself!!! and therefore could not afford to hire the machinery required to do the job. He did some of the work in due course but in time he simply abandoned the job but assured me he would refund me but it became increasingly difficult to get my money back. Eventually he did not respond to my attempts to communicate with him. Vic was forced by the court to pay back what remained of my deposit (including costs). This is one contractor that I cannot recommend under any circumstances, and had I known what an offensive experience it would be, I would have avoided Xavic Trading like the plague.
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27 months ago
Bad service from Chem Dry Northcliff/Parklands franchised
Bad service from Chem Dry Northcliff/Parklands franchise. I hired Chem Dry to clean the carpets and the mattresses of the beds in my house. I dealt with the owner/manager called 'Owen' at the Northcliff /Parklands franchise. During the cleaning process I found one of the employees washing the brushes from underneath a cleaning machine in my hand basin where I wash my face and brush my teeth! They also caused a scratch in an expensive van Acht oiled door inside my house - the scratch was 30cm long and so deep that applying more oil made it even more noticeable. A furniture restorer had to be contracted to remove the door, place it outside the house, sand it fully on the one side, replace it and I had to oil it three times over the following three days. An offer was made to reimburse me/buy a new door, missing the point completely that I have no confidence that the franchise is capable of doing a proper job and in my opinion, has caused reputational damage to Chem Dry South Africa. I will be avoiding the Northcliff/Parklands franchise of Chem Dry like the proverbial plague. I cannot recommend this franchise.
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28 months ago
Using Plant Emporium was an expensive mistake
During 2023, Plant Emporium was contracted to design and populate my suburban residential garden in Krugersdorp with shrubs and plants. It proved to be a mistake. Kaitlyn, the landscaper/owner-manager of the wholesale nursery, was experienced as unreliable and undependable. There were endless delays, endless disappointments and endless excuses. She was always in a great hurry - the excuse she used most frequently was that she was too busy to do all the work she had undertaken. Whose fault is that, I wonder? At no stage was there any supervision whatsoever of her workmen or a review of their work,. There were no apologies - only excuses. Once Kaitlyn had been paid it proved to be extremely difficult to get her to return to the site. I cannot recommend this service provider. During 2023, this service provider sold and planted many thousands of rands worth of small plants in a large (25 square meters) flower bed in my garden. She assured me that they were frost, drought and heat-tolerant, however, at the beginning of summer, all the plants were scorched by the heat and every one died. Every single one. When I told Kaitlyn I wanted to be compensated she told me that spring was warmer than expected (refusing to acknowledge that it gets hot in South Africa!), and refused to take any responsibility for having misled me. There were other nasty experiences where she had provided me with information that was not true. Dealing with her was a deeply offensive experience. If I had had any idea of how much time, money and energy I would have wasted on dealing with Kaitlyn of Plant Emporium, I would have found someone else. Matters deteriorated even further when the poor quality 'topsoil' she used to level my garden in spring sprouted ****s that within two months were knee high and so thick that the ground could not be seen. Kaitlyn did not return to the site but told me to use herbicide (it would have taken litres and litres of the stuff) and would have made it impossible for new grass to grow. I had to have the ****s and 'topsoil' removed at a cost of R10 000 and will be taking legal action against her if she does not refund me.
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45 months ago
JNA Electrical - electrician contractor. Think very carefully before you decide to use this contractor because you might regret it if you do.
This review exposes the incompetence of JNA Electrical – an electrician contractor in Mongomery Park, Johannesburg with a view to recommend prospective clients to think very carefully before deciding to use this service supplier. When I replaced the carport roof at my premises in Krugersdorp in 2021 the overhead motor of the motorized wooden door had to be reinstalled and the electrical supply to the battery of the motor had to be reconnected to the ‘plugs’ switch of the distribution board for the outbuildings in the garage behind the carport. Marius owner/manager of JNA Electrical, a ‘three-phase electrician’ registered with the Department of Labour did the work. Shortly thereafter the motor would not work and because Marius had shown me that it had worked when he had installed it, he assured me the battery must be the problem. I called out the security company that does the alarm systems and replaces all the batteries at my house. I was charged or a callout fee of R500 and for a new (fully charged) battery. Within two days the problem recurred and I told Marius about this but rather than be charged another callout fee, I decided to have him come back when I was ready to have him do more work at my house – he had worked at my premises previously. In the meantime I strung a cable from the distribution board in the garage to the motor to give power to the battery. After a few weeks, the circuit breaker kept cutting off the power and I had to call out Marius to determine the source of the problem. Marius established that the extension cable had been damaged and charged me a call out fee of R800 for making this assessment. When Marius returned to do more work at my house a year later, it became clear that the reason for the problem with the caport door motor battery was because Marius had connected the power supply for the battery to the switch labelled ‘geyser’ on the distribution board for the geyser in the laundry in the outbuildings. The geyser has not worked in 20 years and so it is always switched off at the distribution board. This is why the motor battery would not charge. I should not have had to pay a callout fee because the problem was due to Marius' incompetence. That was the first demonstration of obvious incompetence - STRIKE ONE. In September 2022 when that problem was addressed, the carport lights were reinstalled after the roof had been replaced. I discovered within days that the lights in the laundry would not work unless the carport lights were burning. And so every time I wanted light in the laundry I had to go to the distribution board and flick the ‘lights’ switch for all the lights in the outbuildings to work or alternatively leave on the carport lights for 24 hours a day. The lights in the carport can be turned on and off separately, so why Marius did not do the job properly is inexplicable. That was the second demonstration of obvious incompetence - STRIKE TWO. Two days after Marius had done electric work on the outbuildings, the motor of the electric gate to my premises ceased to work. The battery for the motor had been replaced with a ‘gel’ battery only two months previously and when I called out the armed response company that installed the battery, the technician discovered that Marius had connected the electric supply for the gate battery to that of the non-existent swimming pool pump – the switch marked ‘pump’ – the swimming pool was filled in with rubble months ago and the pool pump had been removed more than a year previously. There was nothing wrong with the new ‘gel’ battery but I had to pay the armed response company R500 for the callout. It was therefore entirely Marius’ fault again that there was a problem. That was the third obvious demonstration of incompetence - STRIKE THREE. There will not be a strike four. It goes without saying that I will not have Marius on my premises again and that I will have to pay another electrician to sort out the problems. Legally I am not obliged to give Marius the opportunity to address the problems because he has shown himself to be dangerously incompetent with electrical wiring and is not to be trusted in the execution of his work. I will be demanding that Marius refund me for the expenses that have been incurred as a result of his incompetence and shoddy workmanship. The refunds I want are for the R800 that I paid Marius for the callout described above, the fee I have paid for the callout of the armed response company - R500 and replacement of the battery for the carport motor (price to be checked), the R500 fee for the second callout of the armed response company for determining the cause of the gate motor not charging and the fee that the electrician will charge to go through all Marius’ work and to issue a certificate of competence. These costs will run into thousands of rands. Two years ago, Marius re-wired all the electrics in my newly renovated house and (for a fee) provided me with a certificate of compliance stating that the work had been done properly. The certificate of compliance might not be worth the paper it is written on. What worries me more than anything is that there might be problems with the electrical wiring inside my house which can cause a short and a fire. This is a chilling prospect. I will have to pay another electrician to examine all the electrical work in the house to ensure that the work has been done competently. Marius must refund me for this fee also. He has caused me a great deal of inconvenience, time wasted and annoyance. Marius’ incompetence is alarming as it can have extremely dangerous consequences. The costs that have resulted from Marius’ incompetence must be recovered and I shall be seeking legal advice to recover my money. Given that Marius is registered with the Department of Labour I had expected him to be competent and work safely. Had I known that he would show himself to be startlingly incompetent and demonstrate shoddy workmanship I would not have contracted him to do work at my premises. This has been a deeply offensive experience. Anyone looking for an electrician should think twice before hiring Marius of JNA Electrical or face wasting time, money, patience and much inconvenience.
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45 months ago
Waterflow Gutters - think twice about using this company.
In 2020 Francois, owner/ manager of Waterflow Gutters - a gutter contractor in Krugersdorp- installed 'seamless gutters' at my house. I did due diligence by visiting the sites where he claimed to have done previous jobs. He was paid R12 000 in full for his work. Francois left his workmen to do the job and did not supervise their work at any time. When asked to check if the work had been done properly he assured me that his workmen had been with him for many years and knew what they were doing. Francois gave me a 20 year warantee which proved not to be worth the paper it is written on. Evidence of bad workmanship and incompetence soon became clear: two gutters were loose – one could be pulled away from the roof with two fingers, another gutter was installed the wrong way around causing the rainwater to flow in the wrong direction, one drainpipe was installed where there should have been two resulting in water overflowing the gutter and another downpipe was installed so close to the hinges of a security door that the door could not be opened fully. I sent Francois pictures and a video of the problems – which he acknowledged having received, but despite repeated requests by telephone and text messages he failed to return to rectify the problems he had caused. Only when Francois was served with a letter of demand by the sheriff of the court threatening legal action was he prepared to return to rectify the problems. I cannot recommend Waterflow Gutters and suggest any prospective customer should think twice about using this company.
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63 months ago
Think twice about using this company - you might have a really bad experience if you don't.
ProProof / PROPROOF - read my reviews about two contracts regarding this company – the first for painting and the second for waterproofing – both with very poor outcomes. Please make an informed choice. FIRSTLY, THE REVIEW OF THE PAINTING – A VERY NASTY EXPERIENCE. This review was posted on 31st March 2021. In November 2019, a company calling itself ‘ProProof (also PROPROOF in capitals in two colours) Waterproofing and Maintenance’ quoted R14 940.00 to clean, prepare and paint the roof area of my residential property in Krugersdorp. James, the owner/ manager readily undertook the painting contract without any hesitation. The work was done in early 2020 and James was paid in cash. Now, one year later, a technical inspector from the prominent paint manufacturing company that supplied the paint has found that the job was done incompetently. There are blisters in many, many areas indicating that the roof was not prepared properly and that the paint will peel in time. Much of the preparation must be re-done using abrasives and a red oxide primer. Thereafter the roof must be re-painted with two coats of paint. James, has not taken any telephone calls, or responded to any WhatsApp, SMS or e-mail requests to contact me regarding this matter. One wonders how any contractor can take on a job such as the one James agreed to perform, show himself to be incompetent and then not respond to any form of communication as detailed. Had I known what an unpleasant experience I might have had - financially, time-wasted and irritation - I would have steered clear of this company and hope that this review will assist any prospective clients in making an informed choice regarding ProProof / PROPROOF (in two colours). The experience was disgraceful and I am left feeling disgusted. SECONDLY, THE REVIEW OF THE WATERPROOFING – AN EVEN WORSE EXPERIENCE. This review was posted on 12th April 2021 to make potential prospective clients aware of serious problems that might result from using this waterproofing contractor. In December 2019,this company quoted R4 230 to waterproof the new roof of a newly constructed garage of my residential property in Krugersdorp. James, the owner/ manager did the work in early 2020 and he was paid in full in cash. James’ workmanship was of such poor quality that after only one year the roof leaks so badly on three sides (the fourth is under another overhanging roof) that the galvanised iron roof and supporting metal beams are rusting, water trickles down the walls causing yellow stains and has resulted in the growth of mould on the backs of the shelving units that covered one wall (they have all had to be removed from the walls and the backs will have to be replaced) and the wall treated. Furthermore there is such damage to the new custom-made wooden garage door that at least one section has to be replaced. James claims that I told him to rush the job which is not only a false but preposterous assertion - no-one would be stupid enough to tell a contractor to do so as it is a recipe for disaster. James has acknowledged that he used hydrochloric acid to clean the galvanised iron roof to get finished quickly and that he was FULLY AWARE that he could be undermining his own work and the waterproofing failing. He would also have been cognisant that his actions could compromise the entire structure of the building. A contractor with pride in his work would have refused to do what James did. Even if I had told James to rush the job - which I did not – a competent waterproofing contractor would have known that there are products on the market that are specific galvanised iron cleaners such as ‘Plascon Galvanised Iron Cleaner’ that will remove contaminants from the galvanised surface without damaging or removing the zinc. The destruction James’ work has resulted in will cost a great deal more than his fee for waterproofing the roof. James has not responded to repeated telephone calls, WhatsApp and SMS messages or any of my numerous e-mails regarding this matter. Had I been forewarned about the pitfalls of using ProProof / PROPROOF (in two colours) I would have steered clear of this company. This has been a deeply offensive experience
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64 months ago
And yet another security firm that runs away - again
In early 2020 FFG Security was contracted to replace the poles of my electric fence that had been removed for a precast wall with plaster covering to be erected. True to the South African way of doing things, Bryan left his workmen to do the work unsupervised. Many of the poles were set up crooked and were held in place so close to the edge of the precast pillars that the plaster cracked from top to bottom. At the end of the day when Bryan came to see the bad job, he said that he had not had much experience with clad precast and yet in a dismissive manner told me that the contractor that erected the precast wall should fix the problems. Bryan was experienced as irresponsible, arrogant and offensive. When he left he said that if I were to contact him for any problem relating to the electric fence he would refuse to return. This is in keeping with the previous reviewer that stated that “Supplier…. and he is not responding to any calls/ sms/ whatsapp”. I had to get another contractor to address the problems. How disgraceful that a contractor can do such a poor job and then be arrogant about it. Avoid this contractor like the proverbial plague.
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65 months ago
For ceilings, avoid this company at all costs
In 2018, J le Roux Boukonstruksie trading as J le Roux Ceilings CC based in Krugersdorp was contracted to install thermal insulation throughout my house in Krugersdorp and sound insulation in two rooms, followed by ceilings throughout the house. He was paid in full (R50 thousand rands) less damages and destruction to my property (approx. R15 000). His workmen destroyed my front door (had to be replaced), ruined my floors etc. and even broke a toilet seat. In true South African style he was never on site but left his workermen to do the work - unsupervised. I soon discovered that he lied about the thermal insulation. Instead of installing Isotherm Green (for which I paid R12 000) he used what looks like carpet underfelt. Worse still is that he lied about the sound insulation (I paid for Cavity Batt costing about R4 000). He did not install any sound insulation at all! He was experienced as arrogant, offensive, hostile and totally unapologetic. Avoid this company like the proverbial plague.
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5 Star
2 (10.526315789473685%)
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0 (0%)
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1 Star
17 (89.47368421052632%)