I hired Terry to paint our house because he had 99% positive reviews on MyBuilder. He first quoted £1.8k after seeing a video of the house. We then fixed an appointment to see the place. At that time the past owners were living there & I took him around the house to get a firm quote. I pointed out the study which had wallpaper that he needed to strip & re-decorate. At the end, we were all chatting & laughing, Terry made a joke to the past owners saying 'she won't be laughing when she sees my bill'. This put me off but I ignored it which was a big mistake.
Terry called me 10 mins after the visit to say he can do everything for £3k & I won't get it cheaper anywhere else. I went with him because of his 99% positive reviews - I wish read the 1% negative feedback because my experience working with him was VERY negative.
Terry was rude, unprofessional & disrespectful.
He kept asking for more money once he started work, & said it was for stripping the wallpaper when we specifically included it in the quote. I asked him to use Dulux colour matched to Farrow & Ball's Wimborne White & gave him the serial no. of the paint, but he used Johnstone's & Armstead. It was only a few weeks later that I realised that the walls & ceiling are painted in entirely different colours, even after I specified ONE colour on my emails to him. When I asked him to fix it, he threatened me saying he knows all the builders in my area.
Avoid Terry & read the 1% negative review before you hire him.