Dear fellow homeowners:

We engaged Hup Huat Glass Contractor to fix our sliding glass door which was not sliding smoothly and their workers broke it during the repair. The workers then called their company and quickly left our flat after cleaning up the broken glass.

When we called the company to ask about paying for a new door, the lady-in-charge said we should foot half the bill even though it was her workers who broke it.

She raised her voice at us and hung up when we insisted her company pay for the full cost. So we recorded the phone conversation when we called her the second time.

This time, she said she doesn’t need to pay us because she can easily claim that it wasn’t her workers fault the door broke, and that she did not sign any contract. We went to CASE but they couldn’t do much for us because for CASE to take action, they need some kind of written document to prove we had engaged the company.

We had done everything over the phone - calling the company to ask for their quote for fixing the door, agreeing to their quote and confirming the repair date. We have made a police report but the police said it is a civil case.

We don’t understand the logic of it all. So basically, unless we have anyone we engage to provide us with a service (eg. locksmith, gas tank deliveryman, broadband installation technician etc) sign some kind of written document before they step into our flat, they can come into our home, break stuff and not be required by law to pay us back?

We have posted the voice recording of the conversation at STOMP on the following link: http://singaporeseen.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/got_service_or_not/854160/contractor_breaks_our_glass_door_yet_insists_we_pay.html

If you have or intend to hire Hup Huat Glass Contractor, please remember our experience.

Hi AngryOwner

Sorry to hear about what had happened. I am glad that no one is injured during the process.

There are so many businesses operating with no ethnics. I learnt from my lesson that it is important to obtain black and white, but sometimes it is not so easy to do so.

I hope that you can resolve your matter soon.