BMC Property Services

Yeah, I got scammed.

My fault for dealing with a fraud off Airtasker. Wasn’t getting anywhere on the platform with constant backwards & forward messages. Goes by fake name Joe M. in Airtasker & the one 5 star review is likely fake. There were red flags in the different profile name but I checked supplied ABN against his real name & then advanced payment for materials.

Dude turns up with stair rails/bannisters that he’d constructed out of 4 pieces of wood nailed together.

I literally sent him a link to the railing required so he could purchase before installing.

Also sent him photos of steel brackets & he brings some naff wooden brackets. So neither the bannister nor the brackets looked anything like photos supplied.

Obviously this was screaming dodgy but I let it roll. He then makes out that he’s finding wall studs with his mobile phone. I honestly could’ve done the whole job myself but a stud finder was one tool I didn’t have ($50 at Bunnings :o()

The comedy kept coming. He uses my saw & my saw horses to cut the bannister lengths. This was after saying he was going to use an angle grinder. I also offered a tape measure but he used his phone as it was ‘super accurate’….

He cut two lengths, making the cut in the middle of the bannister across two saw horses. Supposed to be 1m & 1.2m. He goes to his car parked down the road to get the other length & I measure the cut lengths- both less than 1m.

When he finally turned-up with the second bannister, I told him to turn around and take it & his gear away. With no protest, he grabbed his bag & left.

I followed with a couple of tools he’d left & attempted to ask him if he had any skills at all. Said he had a rough day & didn’t want to talk. I told him to enjoy the money he’d scammed me out of.

He’s got a heap of a vehicle & he’ll park it down the road. Clearly has no skills. Mobile number I have is different to that he uses for pay ID.

Brett Matthew Connor – AKA Matt C. on Airtasker

He’s currently going by the name ‘Matt C.’ on Airtasker, but by the looks of it he may have be booted off at least once so I’d avoid any combination of those names (Matthew C / Brett C / Bret C / Matt C etc.).

In hindsight there were a lot of red flags, but I’d posted a job twice and he was the only one who replied. He has several different phone numbers he uses, had zero reviews on Airtasker and wanted to do the job off of their platform. Don’t be tempted.

He did turn up and do a few sessions at our place. But I wish he hadn’t bothered. He’s a really awful tradesman and did an absolute hacksaw job. Nothing is straight, there’s plaster everywhere, nails sticking out of walls, uneven finishes, mess all over the place. He likely had no intention of completing the job, but turned up just enough to get some cash in his pocket and leave the place an absolute bomb site which will likely cost more to fix than before he started.

We also have young children (which he knew) and he left on the first day with a cigarette lighter lying on the floor in the middle of our 3 your olds bedroom, and nails all over the floor in the halls and in the front garden. There’s also rubbish and a pile or sharp wood all over the garden right next to our kids play area. He even left a pair of dirty boxers on the front lawn. Cheers for that Brett.

He’s extremely messy, absolutely awful at communicating, I constantly had no idea what he was doing or if he was going to show up the next day to continue, he’s blunt, rude, and an all round unprofessional bloke. And for the work he actually did whilst he was here its clear he either doesn’t care enough to try, or is just terrible on the tools (which is more likely).

If he pops up as a response to a job request of yours on Airtasker do yourself a huge favour and don’t engage with him. Luckily our job was a reasonably small one, so whilst we’ve lost money and will need to pay more to fix the mess he’s made, it doesn’t sound as bad as some of the others on this feed.