Waiting for a handyman often costs consumers time and nerves. But how long are handymen allowed to keep their customers waiting? And what can the latter do if the specialists are not on time or do not show up? Read here what rights consumers have in detail.
Customers often have to wait a long time for a handyman to appear – sometimes several hours. For many consumers, the annoyance is correspondingly large. Because they often have to sacrifice vacation days, change their leisure time planning or even have to record loss of earnings. All the more annoying when all of this was for nothing.
A famous lawyer explains what waiting times are reasonable: “Basically, there are no rigid deadlines. In general, however, a waiting time of about half an hour is usually quite acceptable.” Conversely, consumers should note: Anyone who has made an appointment with a handyman North Hills at a fixed time must be present at the specified time! Otherwise, the handyman can charge the costs for the journey.
If the handyman comes too late or not at all …
If the handyman does not ring the doorbell at the agreed time, customers should first try to contact him or his office by telephone after a certain waiting time. But they don’t have to wait for hours: “If handymen are too late too drastically or simply cancel the appointment without comment, consumers can request a new appointment,” explains the lawyer. The customer can set a grace period for this, but this must be appropriate to the matter.
This depends heavily on the individual case – i.e. on the urgency of the respective manual work. A maximum of 2 weeks is usual. The lawyer’s tip: “It is best to send a reminder letter with the grace period to the craft business by registered mail.” If the handyman also misses this deadline, the customer can withdraw from the contract and hire another handyman.
If the handyman comes without tools or material…
The handyman is there on time, but unfortunately without the necessary tools? Or the necessary material is missing? “As long as the deadline is not pushed back too much, consumers have to accept that the handyman drives back to the workshop to get tools or materials,” says Anne Kronzucker. However, if the company is further away, customers can make a new appointment.
Important:If the handyman has forgotten tools or material in the workshop, he may not charge for working time or travel expenses for fetching the tools. However, the situation is different if it only becomes apparent during the work that special tools or special spare parts are required. Because the handyman cannot be expected to always have them with him. The customer must therefore pay for the extra trip.
Claim for damages?
Waiting not only costs time and nerves, but also often a lot of money, especially for the self-employed. If they can quantify their loss of earnings in concrete terms, they have the opportunity to claim the damage incurred. If the customer suffers a material damage – i.e. measurable in money – because e.g. If, for example, an apartment cannot be rented on time due to the delay in the manual work, he can also demand compensation from the commissioned company. Of course, this only applies to deadline problems caused by the handyman – e.g. B. in the case of delays due to incorrectly delivered material. Because the handyman always bears the so-called procurement risk, even if the material is delivered by a subcontractor.
Otherwise, it is only in very few cases that there is the possibility of receiving compensation from the handyman in the event of non-appearance or long delays. “Those who want to be paid for the time they have spent have a bad hand,” adds the lawyer. Employees who have taken paid leave for the appointment get nothing: the “waste” of free time is not actual damage that can be calculated in money. The waiting time can also be filled with leisure activities or housework.