I've been reading on the forums and I must firstly thank everyone for all their words of wisdom I've never been compelled to actually sign up (never thought I had much to contribute! ) until now; my first problem with a tradie!
Anyway the story goes like this:
After completing some of the work, the plumber then requested that I pay half of the total amount for the job. I agreed with his request and paid him a total of $1300 in cash. When I asked him for an official receipt, he told me that he would provide me with one later on. All I received was some scribbles on a piece of paper stating that I had paid the said amount with his signature at the bottom.
The problems started to begin after that; there were some disagreements about the quality of his workmanship. The real problem began after he had installed our washing machine and laundry trough; the piping was not connected properly which resulted in water damage to our new floating floors in the hallway (the water spilled over from the laundry room into the hallway).
Initially, he agreed to pay for costs associated replacing the floor. However, from the moment we told him that we did not want he to complete the rest of the job, he started to become uncooperative. I requested that he provide a breakdown for the costs of the work so that we could finalise the total amount for the work that he had already undertaken. He has yet to provide with this figure (it has been almost 6 weeks already) despite many arguments over the phone.
Can anyone please advise what further action I should take? I'm at a lost at the moment. I have been thinking about writing to the Office of Consumer and Business Affairs. Has anyone been in this situation before? Thanks in advance.