Non-motoring > Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean	Legal Questions
Thread Author: zippy	Replies: 39

New Wed 4 Dec 24 11:01   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - zippy

Apparently a van turned up and offered to clean her drive for £1,000 she said that was too expensive. They went to her neighbour and did a job there and she said it looked good. So she went and asked for a better price and they charged £750 for an hours work. She paid by cheque. They were there for less than an hour. Don't want to get it stopped because they may turn up "threatening" and she lives alone. These people need shooting. Last edited by: zippy on Wed 4 Dec 24 at 11:04 Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 4 Dec 24 11:18   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - zippy

Mrs Z has just come back from her. They haven't even bothered cleaning up the pile of moss / silt washed down the drive to the front of the house. Apparently they did half a dozen houses in the cul-de-sac yesterday. A nice earner! Last edited by: zippy on Wed 4 Dec 24 at 11:19 Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 4 Dec 24 13:08   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - Falkirk Bairn

I would go to Trading Standards £750 for an hour! Extortion from an elderly citizen Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 4 Dec 24 17:49   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - zippy

Been round. Shoddy job. The drive is a sweeping block paved affair and needed a clean but was in otherwise good condition. They have blasted the bonding out from several blocks and now they are loose and a trip hazzard. Will get these fixed over the next few days. Reply to this message | Report message

New Wed 4 Dec 24 18:42   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - Robin O'Reliant

I had one call in the summer. An obvious p**** who offered to clean the front drive for £350 plus £250 to do the back. He was going to spray some magic liquid that would stop it getting dirty again for ten years. He was in the process of doing next doors and the mess looked awful. On refusing he came down to £300 for front and back, then £250. Still no joy so he called back later that day with an offer of seventy five, then later and because he was in the area and I seemed like a nice bloke he'd do it for fifty. When I still shook my head he asked what I could afford and I told him 50p but only if he did a good job. He gave a dirty look, said "Good bye" and walked off swearing under his breath. Last edited by: Robin O'Reliant on Wed 4 Dec 24 at 18:43 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 7 Dec 24 02:17   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - zippy

Despite being asked not to by MIL, I informed the police on 101 that these tricksters were in the area. I don't want others being conned. The second odd thing is that although we live only 6 back gardens away from MIL the trip by road is 1/2 a mile. The tricksters have attached an advert to the telegraph pole at the bottom of the hill outside our close (next door but one). It's a quality corrugated plastic sign and I wanted it removed but was worried on two counts: Firstly potential criminal damage to the advert and secondly theft of the sign and I noticed about 10 more driving around the area. Unlikely I know, but all you need is someone making a scene and the police need to act. The call handler on 101 confirmed this and advised not to touch the advert as it's on a private / unadopted road it's up to the road owner. About 8pm this evening a policeman and PCSO turned up and asked about the incident and to see the advert. I explained my concerns about removing it and took them to it and they said they will take it down. They came back up to my house (it's about a 5 minute walk from my house to the front of the house where the pole is because it's a "U" shaped route), and borrowed my stepladder and claw hammer. They removed the advert, put it in the boot of the police car and drove my ladder and tools back up to my house. Quality result that was rewarded by a couple of mince pies and cup of teas. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 7 Dec 24 02:39   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - zippy

Missed this: To be fair, the visiting policeman didn't think that removing the sign would be criminal damage or theft. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 7 Dec 24 09:54   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - Bobby

FIL had front lawn about 16 sq m. Also has two back lawns. Lots of maintenance. Someone chapped his door and offered to landscape the front to reduce the maintenance. Don’t know what it cost him, scared to ask, but literally just dumped a few tonnes of stones on top of it. FIL has no idea if they put down any membrane or anything. I doubt they did as I then had to regularly apply weedkiller to it. I was absolutely raging. We are down there every other day and he never mentioned it and it was me that was cutting the grass anyway. I immediately contacted a local guy who now cuts the back lawns for £25 every fortnight. FIL got a yellow card warning!! Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 7 Dec 24 12:35   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - Manatee

Did you mean 16 metres square rather than 16 square metres? I just refuse on principle to get into a discussion with itinerant hedge cutters, tarmackers, roofers etc. It's a certainty they will either bodge it or overcharge or both, based on how hard it can be to get anybody proper to do these things. Unfortunately they take anybody old and grey to be a mug. My mum informed my brother that she had arranged with some tinkers with some spare tarmac to lay it on her perfectly sound concrete drive the following day. The only reason they were coming back was so she could get the cash from the bank. My brother was there the following day to read them their horoscopes, at which point they became quite unpleasant. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 7 Dec 24 12:43   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - zippy

There are conmen all over. A mate, quite sensible, was taken for £25k for a roof - job. It's a roof with a valley in the middle and they left all of the old tiles in the valley, so water couldn't escape easily and this caused an unsafe load on the roof and it split, causing a deluge of tiles and water in to the house. Luckily no one was hurt. Of course they couldn't be tracked. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 7 Dec 24 12:53   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - Ted

Just had a resin drive with black block surround. It cost me nearly £6K but it looks very good and was professionally done with a sub-base of porous concrete. No problems and no complaints....until after ! It was done by a sort of relative, my former SiL's nephew. Bona Fide firm and the resin man was extremely experienced and on top of the job. But SWM and I thought one of the labourers wasn't too well equipped with common sense. He left some bricks out at the base of one of the brick gate posts on the basis that it might fall over. The boss agreed with me that it wouldn't as it was well keyed in to the double skin wall. He left splashes of mortar and concrete up the walls of the front bay window with some on the glass and tiled step and some even at the top of the door, which must have been 8ft off the ground. The boss said he'd send him back to clean it all up...fair enough, eventually he turned up on a Sunday, the day I was in Carlisle collecting the car. The problem was, it was raining, it was dark and he was all dressed up with his wife in the van going out for an evening. His pressure washer made no difference. At least the missing blocks had been replaced earlier in the week. Numerous text and calls to the boss have just met with promises but no action so it looks as though muggins here is going to have to do the clean up when I get a good day ! I should have kept some money back ! Incidentally, the blocks are not particularly black but grey concrete with a coat of something bordering black on top. Lots of grey showing through plus mortar stains. I had a spare block so I sprayed it with matt black acrylic paint and left it out to weather and it looks pretty good so that may be the answer. I have another job for the firm but I'm guessing someone else might be doing it ! Ted Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 7 Dec 24 19:03   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - Bobby

Ted, what size roughly is your drive? I have seen some resin driveways and I am tempted to go down that route but my drive way is a 3 car one, 2 cars nose to tail and one car sitting to the side. With a lawn in front. Would expect it to be pricey. I definitely would not entertain a block drive. Have spent too much of my summers power washing and scraping my dad’s! Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 7 Dec 24 23:00   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - Ted

Hi Bobs. I had the drive done from the footpath to the back corner of the house...about 35 ft X 8ft. add the front garden at about 230sq ft. So somewhere around 520 sq ft. It cost £5750. I could have gone as far as the garage which would be maybe another 50ftX10ft but we have a 6ft gate at the corner of the house so I had them lay a line of blocks there and left it at that. Beyond the gate is 3X2 flags which need fettling and re-grouting but I have someone in mind for that. Last year we had a quote from a very good firm for doing the drive in black tarmac with re block edging to the now "resinned" area of £5K, but we didn't go with that Decided to become SKIers...spend kids inheritance this time ! We also had, in the last month, a lovely brand, spanking new road surface of black bitmac. Didn't have to pay for that thank the lord. They rounded it off with a nice white line by the kerb across my drive and my neighbours. I didn't ask for that, not sure what it means but it may be " Invalid lives here, don't block access ". I misread your post as " having to park a 3rd car on it's side " Ted Reply to this message | Report message

New Sat 7 Dec 24 23:45   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - Bobby

Cheers Ted. I also like the idea of tarmac but the missus just won’t entertain it. She thinks it will make it look like a public car park. I believe if you get the right resin, or tarmac, it is very good at absorbing and draining surface water. But if you get a cowboy job without the right preparation, it can be a nightmare. We currently have red stones in our drive and my car has Michelin Crossclimate all season tyres which have a softer compound and as a result, I often drive out the driveway with a load of stones wedged in my tyres if my car has been sitting for a while. I have now got 4 strategically placed old car mats on the drive that i park on to prevent this! Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 8 Dec 24 17:47   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - Ted

The paving beyond the gate runs down to the edge of the garage concrete apron. It all been disturbed by the roots of two Poplars trying to get to the house ! They are gone now. Also parking a 20ft car trailer with the occasional Silver Shadow on it hasn't helped. I need them reset with a big enough gap to get some decent grouting in . A reason, amongst others, for the resin is that I feel too old to be crawling around weeding between the old paving slabs in the spring and summer ! The back needs regular weeding too so a good mortaring will stop all that. Any areas exposed will be treated to a dose of DERV, which seems to have dealt with the Mare's Tails. Good luck with your resin. Seems to be about £12 a sq ft if my rifmatic is ight...I don't think I got mate's rates. Ted Reply to this message | Report message

New Fri 13 Dec 24 23:04   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - Ted

Well, Tuesday was a bright day and had dried out over the weekend. So , not hearing from Zak, the path man, I decided to buckle down and do the clean-up. He had mentioned that they used cooking oil to clean cement stains. I had a cheap bottle but I thought " Oil ? so is derv." I had 2 gallons in the garage so I experimented on a couple of the ,so called, black edge blocks and they did turn a solid black colour. I left them at that. Next, I tackled the wall, luckily, the front of the house is done with Accrington red facing bricks with pebbledash above. There's the front door and a bay window in the bit I need cleaning. A wire brush had been tried with no luck so it was out with my little ex primary school chair, a one inch paintbrush , a cloth and a small pot to carry the derv. Oh, a small Thermos of tea as well ! I painted all the bricks up to window level, it didn't take too long. It didn't clean off the cement but it did darken it enough to blend it in with the brick colour. I did all the mortar between the bricks which was various colours resulting in a uniform grey. The bottom four rows of bricks had been painted some years ago with red International doorstep paint. I did this as they were a bit stained and to blend them in with the new step which I had done earlier in the year. I repainted them all. There was just one splash of white paint on the bricks which had been there for years. I used a blowlamp and wire brush today to remove that ! I tackled the blocks the following day, filling the pump spray with derv and spraying all the way round. It was very quick, not worried about derv on the resin and spraying up the 3 brick wall round the flower bed to hide all the splashes there. A bonus there is that the oil went between the wall and the blocks where seeds might lodge. I got carried away and sprayed the brick gateposts and both sided of the 3ftX20ft front wall Smells like a garage forecourt but looks really good now. I think the blocks will survive the weather but if not, another dose will take ten minutes... Next job is to clean the Victorian front wall terracotta capstones. Now, should I bill Zak for a hundred quid or is that a pointless exercise ? Ted. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 8 Dec 24 19:56   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - Fullchat

My experience of the of the community of tradespeople who engage in these type of jobs is that they can be particularly engaging and likeable until such time as their practices/standard of work are challenged and then you will see the real them. They can be particularly detestable bullying people and are well used to dodging the protections and norms we generally live by. Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 8 Dec 24 22:03   Mother In Law Ripped Off £750 for a drive clean - zippy

>> My experience of the of the community of tradespeople who engage in these type of >> jobs is that they can be particularly engaging and likeable until such time as their >> practices/standard of work are challenged and then you will see the real them. They can >> be particularly detestable bullying people and are well used to dodging the protections and norms >> we generally live by. >> A neighbour (4 bungalows up) of my MIL has just been done for £3,750 for a tile blown off in the storm. They said £500 initially but when they got on the roof they found other lose tiles! They wanted £5,000 but she didn't have it. It's a shame that Trading Standards and the Police don't have the resources to put a sting operation in place to catch these *******! Last edited by: zippy on Sun 8 Dec 24 at 22:04 Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 13 Jan 25 02:07   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - zippy

I was around MIL's earlier in the week. Her neighbours son was parking up at the same time and we exchanged pleasantries. He mentioned that the drive was done poorly and I noticed that a few tiles on his roof had also been cleaned since last time I was there - a classic ruse by the con-men - they clean a bit hoping the difference will make the home owner want the rest cleaned to match up and I pleasantly suggested that his father be careful. (His 90 year old father has been seen by Mrs Z in the town acting confused.) I mentioned that the people who had done his drive had done MILs and charged her £750 for a really poor job and that he might want to make sure his dad was OK and had no money in the house - because they might come back knowing there is a pot to raid. He got really angry and accused me of knowing too much about it and if I "didn't come clean" he would "call the police on me!" I told him I had already reported it to the police, was trying to help and left it at that. Earlier today, I got a phone call from a police officer asking me to call him to attend a voluntary interview. So I called and am going in on Wednesday. I have since looked up the son's details and he's a PHD member on the board of a Govt Quango and must be an absolute ******** for jumping to such an incorrect conclusion! Last edited by: zippy on Mon 13 Jan 25 at 02:09 Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 13 Jan 25 08:47   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - Manatee

Very strange, can't wait for the next instalment of that. Be careful. People make things up. Reply to this message | Report message       1

New Mon 13 Jan 25 09:46   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - smokie

The phrase "wasting police time" springs to mind... Last edited by: smokie on Mon 13 Jan 25 at 09:46 Reply to this message | Report message       1

New Mon 13 Jan 25 10:31   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - tyrednemotional

I suspect the conversation went something like "Oh, that Zippy, we know about him! We'll pull him in." ;-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 13 Jan 25 11:19   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - Ted

We'll pull him in." ;-) .......and check his tag's still working ! Ted Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 13 Jan 25 11:22   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - Bobby

Zippy, since you gave up work you seem to have been kept busy!!! Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 13 Jan 25 11:36   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - zippy

>> Zippy, since you gave up work you seem to have been kept busy!!! >> Unlucky is the phrase I would use... 1. Car engine died - new crankshaft required. 2. TV Died. 3. Replacement (old / spare TV died). 4. Replacement TV delivered to wrong house. 5. Bathroom leak 6. Laptop screen died - turns out this is under warranty so I will send it back when I actually get around to doing my tax return. 7. Car windscreen got a chip (minor). 8. Garden wall needs re-inforcing. 9. Private. 10. Private. 11. This. There must be some other things. Just using this place as a release valve really! Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 13 Jan 25 11:51   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - zippy

12. Floor in the master bedroom is collapsing - started mid last week I posted here about this happening in the rest of the house some time ago. (Master bedroom is too grand a term really - it's too small for my liking). I think a bad batch of flooring sheet timber was used. It's like walking on the mood. Previously we had to put scaffold boards down in the lounge / dining room until it got fixed. Not an insurance claim unfortunately and cost a fortune previously. This one will cost a 1/3 of a fortune to fix. Luckily with the kids rooms only used when they visit, we can use one of the spare rooms when we get round to getting a contractor in. Last edited by: zippy on Mon 13 Jan 25 at 11:54 Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 13 Jan 25 14:30   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - Robin O'Reliant

>> >> >> Earlier today, I got a phone call from a police officer asking me to call >> him to attend a voluntary interview. So I called and am going in on Wednesday. >> >> >> Personally, I would phone them and tell them to do one. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 13 Jan 25 14:42   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - zippy

>>Personally, I would phone them and tell them to do one. I have taken some advice and a voluntary interview isn't voluntary. If you don't go, if what they want to talk to me about is indictable then they can arrest at their own leisure - including breaking down front doors. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 13 Jan 25 16:05   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - Manatee

So they've threatened you already? Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 13 Jan 25 16:08   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - smokie

He's in their little black book remember? :-) Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 13 Jan 25 16:16   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - Bromptonaut

>> So they've threatened you already? It doesn't take much time on Google to find out that, if they need to speak to you, a voluntary interview is the easy/soft way to sort it. If the need you the next step won't be to close the investigation. Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 13 Jan 25 16:38   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - zippy

>> So they've threatened you already? >> Well they weren't polite. But no, this is advice from someone else. The "voluntary" doesn't mean you get a choice whether to go or not. It's about the timing of it. If you don't go, in certain circs, they can arrest, with all the discomfort that comes with it. I have made it clear that I expect the duty solicitor to be there. All this for trying to be helpful. It really gets my goat. Last edited by: zippy on Mon 13 Jan 25 at 16:42 Reply to this message | Report message

New Mon 13 Jan 25 17:28   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - CGNorwich

You really do seem to run into more than your fair share of confrontations with authorities Zippy. Reply to this message | Report message       1

New Sun 19 Jan 25 14:40   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - CGNorwich

So how did the interview go Zippy? Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 19 Jan 25 15:46   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - Bromptonaut

He's banged up along with Iffy..... Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Sun 19 Jan 25 at 15:46 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 19 Jan 25 20:27   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - zippy

>> He's banged up along with Iffy..... >> Goodness, that's a name from the past. What happened to him? Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 19 Jan 25 21:12   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - Bromptonaut

He left here ages ago. Can't recall the detail except there was a running gag about overstaying on M/way services. I'm on a cycling board which had an offshoot for News and Current affairs where a poster with a different name rang a bell.... Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 19 Jan 25 20:25   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - zippy

>> So how did the interview go Zippy? >> I'm still processing it to be honest. I really do have clothes in my wardrobe that are older than the duty solicitor and police officer! Shambles comes to mind - absolutely no research done by the police. Had about 30minutes with the DS before the interview. Not verbatim but it went something like this: PO = Police Officer. ME=Zippy. DS=Duty Solicitor PO: Asked was I involved in the fraud. ME: Of course not - don't you think my MIL would have said if her SIL stole from her! PO: Asked how I knew the amounts - ME: well MIL told me. Plus she ordered a copy of the cheque from the bank to help ID the company and showed it to me. (I have a copy, the duty solicitor has a copy. The PO didn't ask for a copy!) PO: How do you know the name of the company? ME: There was a flyer. There was a poster / vinyl board put up with their services and mobile number. The cheque was written out to the company name (I guess it's a trading name as it's not on Companies House.) PO: There is no evidence of any of this. ME: I took photos. PO: Where are the photos? ME: At police HQ - I called them on 101 on the 6th December 2024 at approximately 17:00 to report my MIL and neighbour were conned. The log number is xxxxxxxx. I emailed photos of the poster to them. They called me back at approximately. 18:00 (it's on my call log) to confirm details some details. DS: Have you spoken to either Zippy's MIL or her neighbour? PO: No DS: Seriously. Pause: for a chat with me. DS: It transpires that two police officers visited MIL and neighbour shortly after Zippy reported the incident and told them didn't think a crime had taken place because they agreed the fees before the work took place. I think they are wrong. PO: You were arrested for computer fraud in 1990s. ME: No. DS: Who I had told in the 30 minute session - it was alleged breach of the computer misuse act because he lawfully turned off his own computer as it would have been a crime to trade a Ltd co whilst insolvent. You cannot commit a crime by doing something that you have a legal obligation to do. PO: Interview has ended. We will be in contact. DS: I hope that will be to advise "No Further Action"? No response to that so need to wait and see. Last edited by: zippy on Sun 19 Jan 25 at 20:28 Reply to this message | Report message

New Sun 19 Jan 25 20:42   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - Voluntary Interview - Falkirk Bairn

Trading Standards might be a better choice to report the £750 for "an hour's shoddy work" Reply to this message | Report message

New Thu 30 Jan 25 19:00   No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Latest Instalment - zippy

MIL lost a few fence panels in the storm. Kindly BIL is putting in some concrete posts and new panels FOC. Someone called the police on him, apparently assuming he was involved with the last lot. Police turned up and questioned him. Luckily MIL was at home and cleared it up. Good job on the police for turning up so quickly! Last edited by: zippy on Thu 30 Jan 25 at 19:01 Reply to this message | Report message