How to prove that the brigade makes left repairs. Divorce in your own apartment

Summer is the most popular time of the year for repairs: in June-August, the sounds of hammers and drills are heard from every entrance. And, accordingly, the main time for earning money for brigades engaged in leveling walls, laying laminate and tiles. Of course, the repairmen plan to get as much as possible, including through profiting from their customers. How brigades breed gullible citizens who dream of putting their housing in order, AiF.ru told former painter Svetlana Stepkina.

Divorce with materials

Rough finishing materials are a goldmine for repairers, especially if the customer trusts the workers to purchase them. The foreman can count as many bags of self-leveling floor, putty, soil, etc. as he likes, and then say that the purchased materials were not enough and more is needed. You should not rely on checks from the construction market (and repairmen are most often purchased there) - they can be “fake”.

Serious repair crews in the markets have their own people who can write a check for any amount. The difference between the actual costs of rough materials and the amount that the repairmen put into their pockets can reach tens of thousands of rubles.

Even if you instruct your team to buy goods only in large chain stores, where it is impossible to “break a check for any amount”, they can still deceive you - they indicate a pre-inflated amount of materials, after which the extra bags with a self-leveling floor and concrete contact will be taken to their friend at the construction site. half price market.

You are mistaken if you think that you will save yourself (and your funds) from the check carousel if you buy draft materials yourself. The workers use the scheme described above - they will call you a deliberately overestimated number of bags, and then they will take you to the market to their fellow seller. Or "sell" to another customer.

There are also teams that, in retaliation for the fact that you did not entrust them with the purchase of materials, will use cheap analogues instead of the high-quality putty or self-leveling floor you bought.

Zero waste production

It would seem that repairmen can hardly cheat on “cosmetic” materials, because it is more or less clear how much laminate will be needed in the bedroom, and tiles in the bathroom. Not at all. The same scheme applies here as with draft materials: the foreman strongly recommends that the customer buy the same parquet or laminate with a margin, in case there is not enough (so as not to waste time on a visit to the store and money on delivery). Where do unused packages go? flooring? Right. to the construction market.

It also happens that workers notify the customer that they need a huge bucket of paint - to paint a small hallway or, for example, a balcony. “Well, they won’t take a half-used bucket of paint to the market,” you say. That's right, they won't take it away, but at least they will sell it on the site of free ads, as a maximum, they will paint the hallway or balcony to their other customers.

And back to the market

As you already understood, any self-respecting brigade has its own people in the market, who write them checks for any amount and accept unused materials. As a sign of gratitude, the workers bring their customers to them, because wallpaper, tiles, linoleum, etc. Citizens who started repairs still prefer to choose for themselves. In order to drag the customer to "their people" in the market, the repairmen promise that they will definitely not be deceived in this place and maybe even give a discount. In fact, there is a high probability that they will just be deceived and sell the goods at a disadvantageous price.

"Brigade of Slavs - native Muscovites"

Many citizens do not spare money for the “Slav brigade” as opposed to visiting teams from neighboring countries. And indeed, compatriots who want to update the appearance of their living space are met by solid-looking foremen, sometimes even “Muscovites in the seventh generation” and with two higher education. And they promise to make repairs on their own - to level the walls, lay tiles and lay wiring.

In fact, the same guests from the Central Asian republics will level the walls, lay tiles and lay wiring. And since the foreman, a seventh-generation Muscovite, will take most of the payment for repairs, the migrant workers will receive a small reward. Accordingly, they are not interested in the quality of work.

By the way, guests from the Central Asian republics will most likely live in your apartment, and this is fraught with impressive bills for water and electricity - as a rule, workers do not particularly monitor the resources consumed.

Lifetime Warranty

No foreman will ever admit that his workers make poor quality repairs (even if this is true). Therefore, he promises his customers a lifetime warranty. But after the repairmen receive money for the work done, they stop answering calls and messages, and when they meet, they can pretend that they see you for the first time.

No money and no repair

Now it is rare, but still there are cases when workers disappear after receiving an advance payment and without even doing their own work. elementary repair. It is not difficult to identify such scammers - they charge an obscenely low price tag for their work. The calculation here is that many people will go for cheapness (and most importantly, you won’t have to look for customers for a long time), from which you can quickly get money and hide.

We publish this article at the request of many of our clients who have encountered fraud and unscrupulous builders when renovating their apartments. We think that this will help you avoid such incidents and save your money and nerves.

IN last years our company quite often receives calls from customers complaining about deceit during repairs, both from non-existent firms and rather “ large companies” which disappeared after two or three weeks, along with their website and the client’s money.

We are asked to redo or complete repairs, although only a few are engaged in such work. Usually we do not refuse help if we have the opportunity, and we also explain to people simple, at first glance, things so that the victims know about how the builders are deceiving gullible citizens of Moscow.

In order not to be repeated again and again, it was decided to publish a detailed article on how not to contact scammers, because this is fraught with loss of time, money and considerable sums.

The most common tricks and deceit during repairs

1. One page instead of a full site

If you are looking for a repair contractor on the Internet, you may have noticed an abundance of one-page sites and (landing pages). Of course, you should not suspect all the owners of these web pages of dishonesty, however, do not lose vigilance.

As practice shows, scammers who deceive customers with apartment renovations do not create multi-page sites, but “scanty” landing pages. Such a page may loud and beautiful name defunct company or " fake double» an existing firm.

Here are a few signs that you may be in a virtual trap:

• on the landing page you are being "chased" by a form feedback, wherever you click - everywhere they ask you to leave your phone number;

• contacts are written, but most often there are no addresses or they are fictitious;

• telephone numbers - mobile operators;

This is a terrible word "repair"... About how to distinguish bad workers from monstrous ones, Alexander Veselov, a foreman, who organized more than 400 successful repairs in Moscow, told.

1 The workers will beg you to trust them with the purchase of all materials. Don't agree. Otherwise, the cost of a bag of cement will be comparable to the annual budget of Côte d'Ivoire.

Counter attack
Buy all materials yourself. As a last resort, go on a tour of the construction markets or on the Internet, where you can always find not only the best prices, but also approximate estimates. Remember prices and repeat when communicating with workers as a protective mantra.

The workers don't have the tools and they say you have to buy them yourself.

Counter attack
You can just send them away. It is not necessary to beat for an attempt at brazen extortion.

Often workers are asked to live in a renovated apartment. At the same time, they have a very Samaritan character and are happy to make repairs at your neighbors, in the neighboring area, and in general anywhere, but not at your place. And do not be surprised if, suddenly arriving at the apartment, you find a worker's mother there, who is very harmful to the climate of Azerbaijan. And in the telephone bills after the departure of the workers, strange unfamiliar codes and four-digit sums in rubles will suddenly appear.

Counter attack
Call the ATS in advance and ask them to block the G8. And no permanent residence - let them work under your supervision. Even if it's only two or three hours a day, the repair won't last long.

Workers can name unrealistically compressed or unrealistically inflated repair terms. In the first case, speed increases at the expense of quality. The second means that the workers have a lot of orders besides yours, so the repairs will be carried out in their free time and from the remnants of building materials.

Counter attack
For repairs one-room apartment an area of ​​about 20 sq. m, a team of three people should take a week.

Most of the brigades work on the principle of "we don't live here." Sockets can be glued to the wallpaper, forgetting to bring electricity to them, and pipes made of cheap plastic can be walled up in the walls.

Counter attack
Control the process at all stages, especially when laying hidden communications. Otherwise, you will have to pay for repairs and neighbors.

PS.

All terms and prices multiply by two. Three is better. Record all expenses. Don't pay all at once, pay in installments. And sign a contract with the workers, according to which they are obliged to compensate you for all delays and damages. Of course, you won't get any money back from them. You just pay less than you promised.

Glossary

Remember the three basic words: level, slope and plumb. Eating any of them with a serious expression on the face makes the builders feel guilty and want to sink into the ground. For they, as a rule, do not have a level and a plumb line, therefore the slopes turn out to be crooked.

The foreman, who organized more than 400 successful repairs in Moscow, spoke about how to distinguish bad workers from monstrous ones. Either way, you will be deceived. But losses can be minimized.

1. The workers will beg you to trust them with the purchase of all materials.

Don't agree. Otherwise, the cost of a bag of cement will be comparable to the annual budget of Côte d'Ivoire.

Counter attack

Buy all materials yourself. As a last resort, go on a tour of the construction markets or on the Internet, where you can always find not only the best prices, but also approximate estimates. Remember prices and repeat when communicating with workers as a protective mantra.

2. The workers don't have tools and they say you need to buy them yourself.

Counter attack

You can just send them away. It is not necessary to beat for an attempt at brazen extortion.

3. Often workers are asked to live in a renovated apartment.

At the same time, they have a very Samaritan character and are happy to make repairs at your neighbors, in the neighboring area, and generally anywhere but not at your place. And do not be surprised if, suddenly arriving at the apartment, you find a worker's mother there, who is very harmful to the climate of Azerbaijan. And in the telephone bills after the departure of the workers, strange unfamiliar codes and four-digit sums in rubles will suddenly appear.

Counter attack

Call the ATS in advance and ask them to block the G8. And no permanent residence - let them work under your supervision. Even if it is only two or three hours a day, the repair will not last long.

4. Workers can name unrealistically compressed or unrealistically inflated repair deadlines.

In the first case, speed increases at the expense of quality. The second means that the workers have a lot of orders besides yours, so the repairs will be carried out in their free time and from the remnants of building materials.

Counter attack

For the repair of a one-room apartment with an area of ​​​​about 20 square meters. m. for a team of three people should take about two weeks. Example: three bedroom apartment 80 sq. m., in 2 months - the repair began from the pre-finishing finish (the walls were plastered, the floors were leveled), 3-4 people worked ( personal experience).

5. Most brigades work according to the principle "We don't live here."

Sockets can be glued to the wallpaper, forgetting to bring electricity to them, and pipes made of cheap plastic can be walled up in the walls.

Counter attack

Control the process at all stages, especially when laying hidden communications. Otherwise, you will have to pay for repairs and neighbors. Record all expenses. Don't pay all at once, pay in installments. And sign a contract with the workers, according to which they are obliged to compensate you for all delays and damages. Of course, you won't get any money back from them. You just pay less than you promised.
Remember the three basic words: level, slope and plumb. Eating any of them with a serious expression on the face makes the builders feel guilty and want to sink into the ground. For they, as a rule, do not have a level and a plumb line, therefore the slopes turn out to be crooked.

There have always been a lot of scammers. They are looking for easy ways and easy money, they are looking for a victim for deception. Recently, more and more often these victims are the owners of apartments, ordering repair . If to cosmetic repairs can still be done independently, then with a major overhaul or decoration new apartment can't do it on its own. And it’s not always justified to do repairs yourself, without having sufficient skills, equipment and materials - it’s more expensive for yourself. There are a lot of offers on the construction services market, but deception by unscrupulous craftsmen is also common.

In order to protect yourself from scammers when renovating an apartment or house There are two main principles to keep in mind.

The first "law" of such protection says - "cheap cheese is only in a mousetrap." In practice, its application is as follows: if you are offered to do the job quickly, efficiently and - very cheaply (!), Then it's time to be wary.
Agree that any self-respecting master who is capable of doing repairs at a decent level is unlikely to take low pay for this: today there are few people who do not need money at all. Therefore, most likely, the person who offers you such “fabulous” conditions is cunning in some way: think several times before agreeing to such an offer.

The second condition that it will be difficult to deceive you when performing repairs smoothly follows from this rule: work only with time-tested companies and individuals. If you yourself do not have such people in mind, then contact your friends and they will probably tell you the right phone number.

The advantage of such “protection” is a guarantee that if a person (or company) has been repairing premises for a long time and has a good reputation, then it is highly doubtful that for several thousand rubles he will discredit himself for a long time and lose his job. In addition, if you give such a person an advance or money to buy materials, then it is unlikely that he will disappear with them (as scammers often do), you know where to look for him. But, nevertheless, even in this case, you can insure yourself and ask the employee for identification documents and rewrite their numbers and other distinctive “features”

Repair business scammers place an ad in which they promise to make repairs quickly, efficiently, inexpensively. When negotiating with clients, they really name a small amount of payment and indicate short terms for the work. The team asks for a small advance payment, an estimate is drawn up, and it is agreed who will purchase building materials (the customer independently or the contractor). Further events develop according to several possible scenarios.

Often, after the first meeting, at which an estimate is made and an advance is transferred (often along with money for building materials), the contractor simply disappears with the money. It becomes impossible to get through to him, where to look for him is unknown, the victim does not have any contract or receipt for receiving money.

An unscrupulous contractor can actually start repairs. But he will do it hastily, not observing the technology. Instead of the expensive ones included in the estimate quality materials will buy cheap low-quality ones, putting the difference in his pocket. After the work is completed, such a contractor disappears, stops answering phone calls, or answers, but brushes aside all claims.

And the customer has a lot of claims already in the first weeks after the repair, when the wallpaper and tiles begin to fall off. Getting a contractor to redo their hack is almost impossible. As a rule, they fail to return their money, both paid to an unscrupulous contractor and spent on dismantling the disgrace left by him and redoing the repair.

To avoid such situations, do not look for cheap and quick repair . Remember the saying about free cheese and at the same time at least superficially study the terms of certain works. For example, concrete screed it dries on the floor for about three weeks, during which no other work should be done in this room. And if the repair crew says they're done overhaul the whole apartment for a month, then it is better to refuse cooperation immediately than to redo it later.

Do not transfer any advance before the conclusion of the contract. When giving an advance or money for building materials, ask the contractor for a receipt. Carefully control the purchased building materials for their compliance with the estimate (first of all, the name and quantity must match).

What is the deception?

When it comes to repairing a new apartment or overhaul, scammers can take money in advance, disappear along with expensive building materials. If you started a partial renovation, for example, in one room, then one terrible day you may face a bitter reality - there are no more valuable things in the house, as well as scam builders.

What need to do?

First, divide the apartment into zones. The area in which the builders will live, completely clear of your belongings. Believe me, this is a reasonable precaution. Still, the builders are strangers and you don't know them. Will you be pleased to enter the renovated bathroom and, noticing strange prints on your toothbrush, think who did what with it? Most likely no. Therefore, it is better to work hard and put all your things (not only valuable ones) away from strangers.

A clean builder is a good builder

Everyone understands that building glue, putty and other building materials are difficult to wash off. A builder will not come to you in a white coat. But if he does not smell, his hair is clean, there is no three-day stubble and bad breath - you can relax a little. Of course, it may turn out that this clean swindler today first began to play this role, but usually clean builders are good builders. The same goes for their speech. Obscene language does not add to a person's mind. If the builder smokes in your house without permission, feel free to kick him out.

How to avoid deception?

As already mentioned, choose only proven companies or craftsmen for repairs in the apartment on the recommendation of friends. Ask at the office of the company about the work performed, ask for photos. Pay attention to the builders themselves, sometimes a lot can be said already by appearance and human habits.

In any case, if you used the services of a serious company or nevertheless decided that the repair in your apartment will be done by a master individual or an independent team, try to follow a number of rules that can help you complete the repair without wasting your nerves:

1. Try to conclude a written contract for the implementation repair work. Although, alas, in the case of private traders this can be done extremely rarely.

2. If you are not doing repairs in a new building, do not give the keys to your apartment to the masters.

3. Make photocopies of the passports of the people you hired for the repair.

4. Do not give any advance payment and, moreover, do not lend money to the workers under any circumstances. To purchase materials for repairs, go to the construction market or shop with a foreman or foreman.

Work only with proven professionals! Don't fall for the tricks of scammers!