Does MY HAMMER encourage cowboys???

[rocker]

Hmmmm just checked the NIC website for his business name and his proper name - nothing at the address given on myhammer, nothing under the postcode and nothing indeed in the city he trades from. Verrrry interesting.

EDIT: Or indeed ELECA or Napit.

 

[Des 56]

Just looked through the thread and had a lok at some jobs on my hammer
This one made me smile


Quote

House is low on earth and has been requested by a company to get an electrician in to check if next door has all the earth going to their house (semi detached house)




I might quote to pinch a bit of next doors,they surely dont need it all

 

[rocker]

Just looked through the thread and had a lok at some jobs on my hammer
This one made me smile


Quote

House is low on earth and has been requested by a company to get an electrician in to check if next door has all the earth going to their house (semi detached house)




I might quote to pinch a bit of next doors,they surely dont need it all

Ha Des you must live near to me, I saw that one on Saturday morning, how I laughed through the hangover!

'Darling, I'm running a bit low on earth, do you think you could pick me some up down the garden centre'.

 

[arjay]

Made the fatal mistake of thinking it might get me some work never won a job worh a light website operators, were oblivious to my complaimts ,unfortunately money talks and i joe public wants to keep it in his pocket so we cant win.

 

[lloyd1980]

unfortunatly guys this all goes back to, joe bloggs and mrs jones down the road, all domestic customers care about is the figure at the bottom of the estimate - they will always go for the cheapest one as everyone likes to think they have got ' a bargain '
cowboys on this stupid site play on this tendancy , the customer still expects a decent job and assumes they are getting the same re-wire for 800 that they would for paying 2000
you get what you pay for in life

pay peanuts and monkeys will work for you

MY HAMMER illustrates this point

I feel sorry for the people who end up with the shower wired in alarm cable

 

[Des 56]

MY HAMMER illustrates this point

I feel sorry for the people who end up with the shower wired in alarm cable

You saw my job then
I had a bit left on the coil so it seemed sensible to use it up
Just think of the benefits

Light to carry and manhandle
Small slots to lay it in (some stupid peope drill holes)
Minimum damage when chased in or clipped
The white colour goes with the tiles
Able to terminate in a light switch without crushing
Mind you I had to explain off the gkowing effect on the wire as a colour effect to indicate the shower was working( I suppose thats a justifiable excuse considering the other quotes were rip offs)
Can be used on all sizes and makes of shower
Cheap to buy, so the profit margin, along with other lower overheads like minimum tax donations means its a lucrative way of making a living

I also have an astute buisness sense
Other foolish people in this trade buy ready made certificates,now I ask you,why waste hard earned cash to pay for something that the customer doesn't understand or read
I'm overcome with work demand
You just have to be competetive thats all

 

[lloyd1980]

think theres a few of these everywhere

prob a few on this forum too its sad to say, lurking in the shadows, never posting, always reading and picking up tips and then ****ing things up for the customer in a good ol ' cash and dash '

 

[johnah]

Having read the quotes made on this topic I agree with the rogue trader part and how they possibly can be making a living out of the so low price jobs. But surely the main concern would be how low the agencies are asking "Electricians" to work on sites in London never mind in the "North" for less than the JIB and being paid CIS without any holiday pay etc.
900 for 7 days in 2010 compared to 1300 in 2005 for the same 70 hours [Olympics - Wembley] is a disgrace and proof of how far we have slipped.
You then throw in the con of the part P, a load of money making regulations and you can see why people are under cutting like mad and are willing to travel 70miles to earn a 100 pound for a days work. It's a lot better then working with bluffers on site for 9 1/2 hours for agencies who are making more money out of you than the 6% My hammer is. Even the JIB rate is laughable but exceptable if a firm pays all the benefits. [Not many left].
It is the "race to the bottom" for Electricians and all the construction sector until we all stand together in the country then nothing is going to change.

 

[lloyd1980]

JOHNAH

Nothing is ever going to change, even by standing together do you really feel it will make any difference?
what do sparks do? refuse a job when they have bills and wife and kids to pay for - purley to make a moral stand againsed agencies and the low pay?

look at the fuel blockades a few years ago - It ground the country to a halt, the government reduced fuel duty by 2p everyone backed down and then it got reinstated, now look at the cost of fuel!!!

the only way wages and rates will rise is when demand out strips supply, in that there are more jobs than people to do them, this wont happen for a long time yet due to the climate and confidence

the eastern europeans are not helping matters working / living on site for a bag of chips at the end of the week but this is what we face

we all just have to get our heads down suck it up and it will get better eventually.

just a matter of time

 

[jasperhound]

I am at my wits end with MyHammer.... They are, in my opinion, a total shambles and a cowboy outfit themselves. JUST POSTED THIS ON 'moneysavingexpert.com' FORUM: As a tradesupplier on the MyHammer platform, I have 2 concerns, one from a consumers point and one as a user of MyHammer. From a consumers perspective I am very concerned at how easy it is for any tom, dick or harry to quote on a customers job requirements. I continually see jobs being awarded to so called trades persons for figures I would lose money on, let alone break even. As a qualified NICEIC registered electrician there are stringent rules & regulations that have to be met including Part P & Building Regs notification for most jobs apart from minor works. Work in Kitchens & Bathrooms almost certainly require Building control notification and this can be a minimum of £200 for starters unless your Electrician/Installer is a member of a government approved body such as NICEIC, Electra, Napit etc. Safety is surely being compromised by allowing non qualified persons to quote on jobs involving electricity & water, in installing a shower for example. I have voiced my concerns to MyHammer, but they fail to respond. Be very vigilant if using MyHammer as there seems to be no safeguard in allowing the Cowboys of this world to thrive on this type of platform. *****To Trades people considering signing up to MyHammer***** Having signed up to a 3 month trial I have had nothing but headaches. If you have problems with MyHammer you may find that trying to get things resolved will cost you money in phone calls, time wasted in emails, loss of possible earnings through quotes being placed & questions asked, being deleted from your account as they continually place restrictions on it. Due to what I can see as total incompetence, they are failing to bring my account up to date. They are continually placing restrictions on my account due to what they claim is an unpaid Invoice that has been paid via transfer to their account, at their request, due to problems with their accounting system. Then, when they acknowledge its been paid they lift the restriction but within a day or two the restriction is back on again. This has now happened at least 8 times! I have sent over 10 emails, telephoned (0871) over a dozen times, & written to the CEO with no response to this issue. The operation is based in Germany & you speak to German girls when you phone who would not put me through to their accounts department nor let me speak to supervisors if indeed they exist. I have now hit a brick wall and when seeking advise from 'Consumer Direct' have been told that taking action against a German Company may be difficult to accomplish. Never have I dealt with such incompetency, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!! p.s. I have a further issue with them now that I won't go into, but, once again they have failed to respond to my emails.

 

[Colonel Hathi]

I have a problem with these people.
I signed up to a 3 month "Try Package".
The 3 months has expired and they are still sending notifications and invoices.
They claim that because I didn't cancel the trial period in writing, I have by default agreed to a 12 month contract!!!

I only quoted for one job during the trial (unsuccessfully) and have never used them since.

They cannot produce a copy of any contract - but say that I must have clicked on something in their website to agree to their general terms and conditions.

I have no intention of paying.
Has anybody else had this problem?
How did it work out in the end?

I have also had the same problem as other posters with completely unrealistic quotes being put up and with the very poor English of the call centre.
I actually asked to speak to a supervisor today but was told this is not possible as she does not speak English!!!

By the way the problem with tradesmen listed with just "City and Guilds" being listed as qualifications is again probably My Hammer's fault. I twice sent mine through (17th Edition, 2392, DISQ, 2377, Part P) but the site just states "C+G" three times. I tried to tackle this on the phone with them - but they are hopeless!

Thanks for any advice on dealing with the contract issue.

CH

 

[jasperhound]

I am now in the process of making a European Union Cross-Border Claim, the equivalent of a UK County Court Claim against this joke of an organization.
Its not the most straight forward of things to do but this company needs to be brought to account for its utter incompetence and appalling customer service.

I am considering writing to Watchdog and if more disgruntled customers do the same maybe our case will be taken up and MyHammer exposed on a national level.

 

[lloyd1980]

i am so pleased that Im not alone in hating MY HAMMER, and I wasnt unlucky enough to sign up, although I did consider it, I thought better of it when saqw the prices being quoted, although even though im not a member they still blanket my inbox with these stupid jobs, all 160 miles away in bilaricay or devon
Im really going to devon from chester to look at a broken switch

 

[arjay]

I am with you guys all the way i myself am involved in the same argument with them have threatened them with the press ,MP's trading standards but have stopped short of the missus no one deserves that !!!!

 

[jasperhound]

SENT THIS TO CHANNEL 5 TV TODAY AS (if you didn't know) MYHAMMER SPONSOR THEIR PROGRAMME... wait for it... COWBOY BUILDERS....HOW IRONIC IS THAT! :

I am concerned at how your TV program COWBOY BUILDERS is sponsored by MyHammer.
This site as with others of its like are a breeding ground for potential Cowboy Builders and the like due to the fact that anybody can quote on potential jobs posted by unsuspecting joe public.

Consumers, ( I suspect in these tough times trying to get a cheap deal) are awarding contracts to so called trades persons on quotes that are totally unrealistic and could only be achieved by serious compromises and cutting of corners which is frightening especially when dealing with electricity for example.
In my opinion, jobs are clearly being undertaken and completed by unskilled trades persons, possibly illegally, and I fear it won't be long before somebody is seriously harmed by employing a Cowboy through MyHammer.

Having seen the MyHammer sponsorship advert on your channel, I took on a 3 month trial with MyHammer which has resulted in an ongoing display of utter incompetence, ignorance and appalling customer service resulting in me starting proceedings to issue a European Union Cross-Border Claim, the equivalent of a UK County Court Claim against this company. I am not the only one to suffer as you will find if you search various forums. I have also voiced my concerns to MyHammer about unskilled people quoting for jobs but they fail to respond.

I would suggest that you visit trade forums to see for yourself what the professional, registered Trades People have to say about MyHammer.

Before associating yourself with certain sponsors would it not be worth delving deeper into their operations to at least protect your viewers from employing a possible Cowboy and appearing on your next series?, as well as professionals such as myself getting involved with MyHammer.... More like MY HEADACHE!