A terminally-ill cancer patient claims a doorstep trader 'ripped' him off after forking out £2,000 to have his gutters and drains cleaned and his garden refurbished.
Lawrie Craig had a flyer dropped through his mailbox and after arriving back to his Newcastle home from a gruelling four-hour chemotherapy session, the trader turned up on his doorstep.
The 67-year-old agreed to pay £1,000 upfront to have his gutters and drains cleared out, before also opting to have his garden tidied for a further £1,000, Stoke-on-Trent live reports.
However, Lawrie was left disappointed by the quality of work - and is now demanding his £1,000 back.
He said: “He told me he could do a quick job for me and then be out of my way. I was in a state of confusion as I had just got back from chemo which I go to every two weeks.
“First of all, he said he could do my gutters for me and I was like 'alright'. I let him come in and then he said ‘I can do your garden for you’.
“The garden was very overgrown and a mess. He said he would do stonework on the walls for me too. He also said he would do the drains and get it over and done with really quickly. He said it would not cost too much.
“He told me to sit myself down because I wasn’t well. I explained to him the extent of my cancer. He said he would need some money upfront. I should have realised then but I wasn’t really with it so I said 'okay'.
“I could hear him working outside so I sat down and fell asleep. He said he had a bit to finish off with the drains but he could come back the next day and do the garden.
“He said he would dig up all the weeds, put on a really strong weed killer, put down a membrane, and cover it with bark which I thought was a good idea. He said he would put some special spray on the garden wall to stop the bricks from crumbling and getting worse.
“He was around and doing the work but I didn't stand over him and inspect it. He said he had one more gutter to do which needed to be fixed. At the time, I did say I was satisfied with the work but I didn’t look at it.”
Lawrie says he started inspecting the work that weekend.
He added: “Over the weekend, it rained and on Monday I was putting out the bin and noticed the bark he had put over the membrane in the back garden had been blown away by the rain.
“I noticed there was no membrane. I did another quick look and noticed the drains hadn’t been done - he hadn’t cleaned the gutter.
“I phoned him and left a message telling him he had ripped me off. He said he would be around by 12pm the next day which was rubbish.
“I got a call from him at 11.55am which I ignored. I thought he’s not going to put this membrane down because he’s just told me it’s already there. There was another call around 4pm that day and I haven’t heard anything since.
“I don’t want him anywhere near me. I was left £2,000 down for some work that hasn’t been done. He was totally unrepentant and in denial that he hadn’t done the job.
“He has done some work so I’d like some money back. He could have £500 for each day for not doing a proper job and give me a grand back.”
The doorstep trader declined to comment.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.
