Left: Lynbrook couple Trisha and Darrell Kraehenbuehl, with twins Stephanie and Jocelyn, are devasted after being ripped off by a local concreting business.By Alison Noonan
A LYNBROOK couple has been left angry and humiliated after a “dodgy” concreter took their money and ran.
Darrell and Trisha Kraehenbuehl said their dreams of creating the perfect back yard for their new family had been shattered after a local concreting business demanded to be paid $9000 up front but left without finishing the job.
Mr Kraehenbuehl this week issued a warning to other home owners to do their homework and check the credentials of tradespeople before parting with large sums of money.
“We spent nearly six months looking for a concreter to install a retaining wall and do some concreting in our back yard,” he said. “We interviewed one and they seemed really genuine.
“(The concreter’s) daughter was having twins and so was my wife and we thought they understood our situation.
“It was our brand new house and we hadn’t had to do this before,” he said.
Mr Kraehenbuehl said he was hesitant to pay the full amount of the threeday job up front but felt bullied into it after being told that was “the way it works in this business”.
“We didn’t want to pay in full but we felt we had to,” he said. “The bobcat came in first and the retaining wall went in a few days later.
“But the bobcat driver buckled the retaining wall so it had to be pulled down and started again.
“They put a bit more gravel in and that was it. That was the last we saw of them.”
Eight weeks later, Mr Kraehenbuehl said his back yard was a mud pit blighted by half a retaining wall and dead plants and littered with rubble and building equipment.
“I tried calling them and all of their phone numbers have been disconnected,” he said. “They’ve done a runner with our money.
“They have only completed about $5000 worth of a $9000 job.
“They left all their equipment in the back yard so we thought they must have been coming back.
“Financially it has completely thrown us out of the water, not to mention the stress and pressure it put on my wife who was pregnant with twins at the time.
“We just feel horribly burnt by the whole thing,” he said.
Mr Kraehenbuehl said with the recent birth of his twins he was unable to fork out the money needed to finish the job, and any legal proceedings could take months to see a result.
“I am taking this further with Consumer Affairs but it will be another year that we have to wait in mud and our kids will have nowhere to play,” he said. “I wouldn’t wish this upon anyone else.
“We were always very prudent. We thought we did everything right and were staying on top of things, but then it happened to us.
“People need to know what questions to ask before they hire someone and be aware of their consumer rights.
“We have certainly done a lot of homework now to make sure we never get done again,” he said.
The News attempted to contact the concreting business but found its phone numbers had been disconnected.
A spokesperson for Consumer Affairs Victoria said it was unable to reveal if any complaints had been made against the business, but said the business had not been previously prosecuted.
Don’t sign any paperwork without fully reading and understanding your legal rights and responsibilities. If you are unsure, ask for clarification from the tradespeople.
Works over $12,000 require the tradespeople to provide builders warranty insurance cover.
Works over $5000 require the tradespeople to be registered and a domestic building contract to be entered into.
Never pay a deposit for building works before paperwork is signed or work has commenced.
Don’t pay an excessive deposit – a 10 per cent deposit is reasonable in most cases.
Don’t pay in full until work is complete and you are happy with the finished job.
Avoid verbal contracts. Written is always better as you can back it up in writing.
Consumers with inquiries can contact Building Advice and Conciliation Victoria on 1300 55 75 59.
