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hdn2mx
Junior Nomad
Posts: 75
Registered: 12-8-2002
Location: HB and Todos Santos/Pescadero
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Beware, Palapa guy rip-off
I don't like to post negative posts but this may help someone in the future.
If your in the Todos Santos / Pescadero region BCS read on.
I hired a local guy from Pescadero named Conacho who builds and works on Palapas. Long story short, he told me how he would perform a minor repair and
replace the net I had on my palapa roof and basically ripped me off. He barely started the job then bailed.
He has worked for me before, 10 years ago, mas y menos, but this time he choose to take the money and run. I paid him half to get started and that was
it.
If you own property down in that area, I'd avoid using him. He also did not provide the repair that he said he would do. Very shotty work and
dishonest in my opinion.
FYI only, RT in Pescadero, BCS
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capt. mike
Elite Nomad
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i have to laugh at all these stories of similar theme...
why did you pay him a dime in advance?? 
1st rule in contracting....never pay up front.
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering |
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KAT54
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Is not this common in baja?
Someone starts then quits?
Did he bid too low?
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
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If buying material was involved, it's customary to put up the money for that in advance.
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noproblemo2
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Another idea on materials, order them yourself instead of giving money to a contractor. Has worked well for us this way.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by noproblemo2
Another idea on materials, order them yourself instead of giving money to a contractor. Has worked well for us this way. |
Of course. Seems someone had a weak moment.
That's no excuse for the scumbag thief though. I hope this exposé costs him a lot of work.
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noproblemo2
Super Nomad
Posts: 1088
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by noproblemo2
Another idea on materials, order them yourself instead of giving money to a contractor. Has worked well for us this way. |
Of course. Seems someone had a weak moment.
That's no excuse for the scumbag thief though. I hope this exposé costs him a lot of work. |
I hope it costs him dearly for what he has done.........
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vandy
Senior Nomad
Posts: 538
Registered: 10-10-2003
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C'mon RT! I thought you must know how things are done down here.
You're supposed to pay DOUBLE the estimate in advance and wait for your change when they are through.
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larryC
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Good one Vandy.
Nice to see that things are the same down there. The first rule I learned was never, ever, never pay in advance. The first time I broke the rule, I
got burned. Sorry to hear about your adventure.
Larry
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arrowhead
Banned
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Registered: 5-5-2009
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This thread cannot end until monoloco implicates the wide-spread corruption in the US for causing Conacho to make off with the money.
No soy por ni contra apatía.
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DianaT
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
If buying material was involved, it's customary to put up the money for that in advance. |
And with certain people we know well and trust, we will pay for everything up front and have work done while we are gone.
But certainly not with everyone----
hdn2mx, it is a real shame as it sounds like you knew him.
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bajalorena
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Location: BuenaVista, BCS
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Over our 16 years living here, we have found that the most common procedure is to pay some to start, for materials. Sometimes it is half, sometimes
less. Lots of contractors cannot bear the burden of material upfront. Only once in that time did we ever get burned, and the worker brought the
materials and then never came back. So we just hired someone else, and already had the materials to work with.
It is never a sound idea to pay everything upfront. You probably wouldn't do that in the US, why would you do it here?
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajalorena
Only once in that time did we ever get burned, and the worker brought the materials and then never came back. So we just hired someone else, and
already had the materials to work with.
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I wouldn't call that getting burned. I'd say the guy treated you right unless you paid everything up front.
[Edited on 3-29-2010 by DENNIS]
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DianaT
Select Nomad
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajalorena
It is never a sound idea to pay everything upfront. You probably wouldn't do that in the US, why would you do it here? |
You are correct that we would not pay in total up front in the US. However, in our village in Baja we sometimes do. Why? Well sometimes we know the
person we are hiring needs food, or to pay their phone bill, or something else. So we pay, we leave, and it is done when we return.
But, we would not do it with everyone---some have a little trouble with keeping track of what has been paid to them.
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
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Interesting story......
A few years back, I had a buddy who wanted a three wheeled car built from a motorcycle. He hired a builder right here in Punta Banda.
First of each month he would give the builder more money toward the project even though progress was slow....very slow.
Finally, the builder had to tell my bud to quit giving him money because when the project was completed, he wouldn't receive payment as it was already
paid for.
There had to be a reward at completion or doing the job made no sense to the builder. The fact that he had already been paid was irrelavant at that
point.
Weird....huh.
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hdn2mx
Junior Nomad
Posts: 75
Registered: 12-8-2002
Location: HB and Todos Santos/Pescadero
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I hear all you dawgs barking.
Most all of the work I've had done down there was through people I knew or friends of friends. And almost always I paid half up front for materials
and never had a problem.
Unfortunately I knew this guy, paid him half for materials, and basically he disappeared until I left. The work was supposed to be completed while I
was there. Still no sign of Conacho.
Basically just a FYI, if you live or own property down around Pescadero, some of the workers down there have gotten caught up in drugs, I'm not sure
if that is Conacho's story or not, I'll find out when I return and look him up. I just thought I'd pass on the info for a heads up to any one in the
area.
RT
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durrelllrobert
Elite Nomad
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Location: Punta Banda BC
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
Interesting story......
..... a reward at completion or doing the job made no sense to the builder.
Weird....huh. |
BUILDER is the proper terminolgy for anyone that does work for you - CONTRACTOR which has meaning in US but not in Mexicoshould not be used (unless
proceeded by "self-proclaimed")
Bob Durrell
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monoloco
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 7-13-2009
Location: Pescadero BCS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by arrowhead
This thread cannot end until monoloco implicates the wide-spread corruption in the US for causing Conacho to make off with the money. |
Canacho probably split for California
where he can make more money working illegally at A-head's house while collecting welfare and food stamps.
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Mexitron
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3397
Registered: 9-21-2003
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
Interesting story......
A few years back, I had a buddy who wanted a three wheeled car built from a motorcycle. He hired a builder right here in Punta Banda.
First of each month he would give the builder more money toward the project even though progress was slow....very slow.
Finally, the builder had to tell my bud to quit giving him money because when the project was completed, he wouldn't receive payment as it was already
paid for.
There had to be a reward at completion or doing the job made no sense to the builder. The fact that he had already been paid was irrelavant at that
point.
Weird....huh. |
Not weird at all...I'm a landscape contractor and there's no motivation better for getting the job finished than to have a nice fat check at the end
of the job. For a larger company where the workforce is separate from the accounting it doesn't matter so much but when its just you doing the work
its a good carrot on a stick!
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bajalorena
Nomad
Posts: 141
Registered: 3-31-2009
Location: BuenaVista, BCS
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by bajalorena
Only once in that time did we ever get burned, and the worker brought the materials and then never came back. So we just hired someone else, and
already had the materials to work with.
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I wouldn't call that getting burned. I'd say the guy treated you right unless you paid everything up front.
[Edited on 3-29-2010 by DENNIS] |
Ok, I guess we didn't get "burned", poor choice of words.
In that case, we paid for the materials, he delivered them, and when he didn't show up for over a month to do the work, we hired someone else to do
the job.
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