littlepiglet 0 Report post Posted March 17, 2011 Hi everyone, I need some expertise to give me some advise. We are first timer doing renovation. Happen to get a good quote from this ID. Apparently after the discussion, we said that we want to go back and discuss before committing as we need to check how much loan we are able to get from the bank. He told us to sign the agreement saying that there will be no obligation and told us that we will need his quotation in order to submit our application for renovation loan. He gave us his quotation based on our floor plan as we have yet to get our keys. Now that we have taken our keys, we called the ID and request him to view our house so as to give us an accurate quote but he keep saying he is busy. When spoken to him on the phone, we told him we might need him to work within our budget and try to do as much as he can to help us and he said:" In this case, don't neeed to renovate if u guys have no money!" I am actually quite pissed with his attitude. On another occasion, as we will like to change the old existing aircons, he insisted that we dont go gain city but use his own contractor saying its easier to do things. And we can hear from his tone that he is not happy as we will like to out source and say that if anything happens, dont ever go to him and complain. Right now, we are very confused and feel regretted signing the contract thou nothing is paid. We felt conned. But looking closely at the fine clause, it stats that we will have to pay 30% of the quoted amount if we back out. Can any kind soul please advise us what can we do? We will realy like to change another ID. At least to someone who is more responsible and not so arrogant. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
everton 0 Report post Posted March 17, 2011 Hi everyone, I need some expertise to give me some advise. We are first timer doing renovation. Happen to get a good quote from this ID. Apparently after the discussion, we said that we want to go back and discuss before committing as we need to check how much loan we are able to get from the bank. He told us to sign the agreement saying that there will be no obligation and told us that we will need his quotation in order to submit our application for renovation loan. He gave us his quotation based on our floor plan as we have yet to get our keys. Now that we have taken our keys, we called the ID and request him to view our house so as to give us an accurate quote but he keep saying he is busy. When spoken to him on the phone, we told him we might need him to work within our budget and try to do as much as he can to help us and he said:" In this case, don't neeed to renovate if u guys have no money!" I am actually quite pissed with his attitude. On another occasion, as we will like to change the old existing aircons, he insisted that we dont go gain city but use his own contractor saying its easier to do things. And we can hear from his tone that he is not happy as we will like to out source and say that if anything happens, dont ever go to him and complain. Right now, we are very confused and feel regretted signing the contract thou nothing is paid. We felt conned. But looking closely at the fine clause, it stats that we will have to pay 30% of the quoted amount if we back out. Can any kind soul please advise us what can we do? We will realy like to change another ID. At least to someone who is more responsible and not so arrogant. the standard clause as far as I know is that you just lose any deposit that you've already given him....it's usually in the range of 500-1000 dollars. I'm not sure how binding that 30% clause is. I can't see any sound justification for him to insist on the 30%. Simply tell him you can't afford to do the renovation any longer. Tell him he's right, you don't have the money, and move on to another company. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neubie 2 Report post Posted March 17, 2011 (edited) Hi everyone, I need some expertise to give me some advise. We are first timer doing renovation. Happen to get a good quote from this ID. Apparently after the discussion, we said that we want to go back and discuss before committing as we need to check how much loan we are able to get from the bank. He told us to sign the agreement saying that there will be no obligation and told us that we will need his quotation in order to submit our application for renovation loan. He gave us his quotation based on our floor plan as we have yet to get our keys. Now that we have taken our keys, we called the ID and request him to view our house so as to give us an accurate quote but he keep saying he is busy. When spoken to him on the phone, we told him we might need him to work within our budget and try to do as much as he can to help us and he said:" In this case, don't neeed to renovate if u guys have no money!" I am actually quite pissed with his attitude. On another occasion, as we will like to change the old existing aircons, he insisted that we dont go gain city but use his own contractor saying its easier to do things. And we can hear from his tone that he is not happy as we will like to out source and say that if anything happens, dont ever go to him and complain. Right now, we are very confused and feel regretted signing the contract thou nothing is paid. We felt conned. But looking closely at the fine clause, it stats that we will have to pay 30% of the quoted amount if we back out. Can any kind soul please advise us what can we do? We will realy like to change another ID. At least to someone who is more responsible and not so arrogant. on hindsight, there's a few things you can learn from this. Never ever sign up with any contractor/ID until: 1. You have fully taken ownership of the house. Paper planning based on floorplan have no meaningful value, even if the ID tells u they have resized your floorplan to scale. 2. You have met up with contractor/IDs to personally surveyed your house and obtained quotes. How did you arrive at the idea this ID "happened to give a good quote". What makes you think others cannot match? Not necessarily the cheapest quotes get the best bang of the buck. Do not be enticed by the chio chio designs the contractor/ID show you. If they can do up the design, so can others. Freebies like aircon or kitchen cabinet are never free. 3. You have compared with various quotations carefully, ensure no additional hidden costs and studied the T&C of the contract/payment 4. You have set aside budget 5. You are fully comfortable with the contractor/ID after clarification, which NEVER happens on first meetup. You will smell something fishy if this starved ID asks you to sign up with them upon estimated renovation quote, or starts getting impatient with ur multiple queries and clarifications Anyway since your ID mentioned that the agreement is non-obligatory, it is conflicting with the stated T&C. If need be escalate to RADAC and see what can be done. for works not done by any contractor/ID via your ala-carte menu, it is usually the case they disclaim any warranty claims should anything go wrong. same thing for aircon, you have your ultimate right to chose any company, since you are paying. the only difference is you may need to manage & coordinate when inserting your own ala-carte items during the reno phase. doing up reno is not like going to NTUC buy grocery. it's the second most expensive capital expenditure after purchasing your flat. so be extremely prudent and careful. IMHO, the signed agreement is not legally binding. Many contractors/IDs will ensnare consumers into signing with them upon first meetup and using this to bully them & take them as hostage if agreement is breached. i feel a good relationship must exist and persist with the contractor/ID thru out the reno process, so both parties and happy and will progress smoothly towards completion. Good luck. Edited March 17, 2011 by neubie Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
edenstrauss 3 Report post Posted March 18, 2011 If you are already having issues with your ID in the preliminary stage i.e. even before you start renovating, the best bet is to give up on him. As suggested by neubie, you could check with RADAC on your circumstances and also relate to them that u r very uncomfortable with this ID & do not wish to proceed in commiting further. See what this reno body says. But there are quite a number of ID firms who do not come under RADAC. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bepgof 20 Report post Posted March 18, 2011 (edited) Nothing to be pissed off about. Most IDs are like that. Experience counts. - Just tell him to void the paper without paying anything, if he fails to appear for final discussion at site. This is your right. - Write a letter to his co to state the above. Edited March 18, 2011 by bepgof Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
muffin 2 Report post Posted March 19, 2011 Is it convenient to share who is the id? So that we can beware. Maybe u can put xxxx to replace some wording if u do not want to spell out so clearly Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chang2 0 Report post Posted March 19, 2011 Yes, please tell us which company this ID is from so that others will not fall into the same situation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flyingstar 0 Report post Posted March 20, 2011 Pls share more details abt tis ID, I m sure all of us dun wana fall to similar trap... name and location of ID situated if possible Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
emobebe 1 Report post Posted April 2, 2011 I hope you can let us know who is the ID because this will help the rest to filter out unnecessary problem in later part. I guess this renotalk forum is setup for sharing purpose and we can help each other by sharing the same info. Otherwise, there will be a lot of "sheep" will be slaughtered in later part by those hunters! Thanks! Emobebe Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
