I was somewhat suspicious (once bitten, twice shy), as they were from a company I had never heard of. They had a letter from the government, regarding the fire in my roof, and were wanting to check it out themselves. They were also going around and checking all the other places the dodgy guy had done work: seven in my area, and there were also some in Goulburn.
After a bit of questioning/interrogation by me, it turns out that the dodgy guy had been subcontracted by them. Apparently the dodgy guy took them for a ride too, as he went to them and asked to subcontract. He then got this company to make the government insulation rebate claims on his behalf, and so now I guess they're possibly being checked out by the government.
I put them off from looking in my roof for a few days, during which I got in touch with the police constable I had talked to earlier, and passed on all my notes about these guys (their car's license plate, names, and all my notes from talking to him). I was also trying to figure out if these guys were trying to run some sort of crazy scam. Given their association with the first dodgy guy, I was quite suspicious/cautious.
Since I'd told him of the police involvement, that their subcontractor wasn't from the company they thought he was from, and that their subcontractor was possibly being investigated for fraud, it was a good sign that they did come back a few days later.
They had a look in my roof, and weren't happy with the quality of the work done, or the fire part, or their subcontractor. They then offered to fix it up for me (at no charge) so I told them that'd be great and to start in a week or so.
I then spent the week trying to figure out if there was (another) potential scam here. The worst I could see is that they would be crazy in coming back (several times) to the scene of the first scam, and at most they could make off with the new insulation (since it's worth maybe $800 or so).
Over the next few weeks the guys came and went a few times. First time around, I got my kitchen insulated (it was skipped by the dodgy guy, as it's hard to find and horrible to get into). It's at this point that I started to relax and feel positive about these guys. They hadn't made off with the insulation, and actually put more in.
They then moved all the (badly installed) new insulation aside, and paid another company $1000 to vacuum out the remainder of the old insulation (which is what should have been done in the first place). They then re-installed the new insulation properly, everywhere. Yay!
I've also had a plasterer and painter come and go, paid for by my house insurance, fixing up a crack in my lounge ceiling that was caused by the heat of the fire. I also got them to fix up a bad spot in my hallway, so now I have entirely repainted hallway and lounge ceilings. Yay!
Today I did a paranoia check in my roof, checking that all my downlights weren't buried in insulation (they weren't), fixed up my TV antenna cable that had been melted in the fire, and moved some left-over insulation, from the putting aside part a week ago, from above my garage to above a room that I use - so now my office has 150% insulation. Yay!
So, everything is back to normal and the way it should have been a couple of months ago! Financially this has cost me (insurance excess + money paid to dodgy guy) what it should have cost to be done properly anyway, but unfortunately some of that has gone to a guy who don't deserve it. It has also cost the people who fixed it up a fair bit of money and time, too.
The police investigation into the dodgy guy is expected to take another month or two until it has any further developments. There's also some internal police sillyness to do with cost centres: the enthusiastic constable (who is really keen to chase this up) is being told to back off, as her superior's superiors are saying it should be investigated by Parramatta, rather than Auburn (i.e. where it happened vs. where it was reported). However, in spite of that it is still being slowly investigated. It'll be interesting to see if I get to identify the guy in a line-up, have to do an official statement, or go to court.
I'm also wondering if I can get the department of fair trading involved, and/or find some way to get my money back from the dodgy guy. My insurance company may also be chasing the dodgy guy too, since it's probably cost them over $1500 to fix everything up.
It's also interesting searching for companies on the government's list of registered insulation installers, then doing an ABN search, and trying to find a company that is more than two years old.
If you know someone who is looking at getting their roof (re)insulated, here is a list of companies that I know to be not dodgy:
- Australian Insulation: http://insulationgroup.com
.au (Did my roof vacuuming, but they also do insulation installs.) - Abbey Insulation: http://abbeyinsulation.com
.au (The company that was impersonated by the dodgy guy. Also offered to fix up my roof, for no reason other than wanting to help, until their lawyers got involved, and told them to keep away from me, in case it looked like an admission of liability.) - Pepsu Services: http://pepsucleaning.com (The guys in the middle of it all, who subcontracted the dodgy guy, but did end up fixing it all at their expense.)
- Ceiling Suckers: http://www.ceilingsuckers.
com.au (Unrelated to my story, but a friend of a friend has used them for vacuuming.) - NSW Insulation: http://nswinsulation.com.a
u (Friend of a friend used them for new insulation.)
And, while I'm plugging companies:
- GIO Insurance: http://gio.com.au (Home and contents insurance, good customer service, and totally hassle free for claiming.)
- BF Western Electrical: http://www.bfwesternelectr
ical.com.au (Electrician who fixed up my wiring, who I've also used before.)
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