Matthew S

Dishonest Businessman for no clear reason

I have used Attie in the past for small jobs around the house and I was very happy. He is very polite and respectful, and gets the job done. I then needed to have my house rewired and he gave me a quote. I paid half so that the job could be started. On the first 2 days his workers were walking on my beautiful pressed ceilings that are irreplaceable. I had to make a scene to get them to stop. I was told the whole job will take 2-3 days. It ended up taking about 7-8 days, but that's fine- the wiring in my house was very outdated and I can believe that there was a lot of work to be done. I then asked to please get back all the old wires to give to my helper whom is building their own house. Attie tells me that they can't give me back my wires since he's going to sell them and that's why he gave me such a good price on the quote. In my mind, this is something that should be discussed first- but I kept quiet because he gave me a good price on the quote. After many delays, his team eventually finishes wiring my house and then it comes time to pay the balance. He asks for payment and I say that once the certificates (COC) are delivered, he will get payment. All of a sudden he was no longer the polite man that he usually is, being quite stern with my sister and I to make the payment. We were pressured into making the payment without receiving our COC, and I made the payment thinking Attie has been so nice in the past- he will never do me wrong. It has been over a month of me constantly messaging him to please deliver my COC. After 2 weeks of messaging I called him dishonest and he got very upset with me saying that he's a "businessman" and "professional" and that I shouldn't say that. It's been over a month now and I still have no certificates. I even have someone whom wants to buy my house but we can't move forward without the COC. At the beginning of this week I told Attie this and pleaded with him to please deliver my COC. He promised me delivery every morning at 7:15, but every afternoon I phoned home and no certificates were delivered. After a month of lies and dishonesty I will get another electrician to do the certificates for me. I would suggest not even using his services, but if you do- only make payment once you're sure that you have everything that you need. Attie will become a different person once he has your money. I am extra upset and unhappy because I really trusted him and had faith in him. Once again, as is the case all over this country at the moment, as soon as you trust and be nice to anyone they will take full advantage of you. Thanks for the reality check👍🏽