When a tradesperson doesn't turn up

Short answer

Follow up in writing the same day and ask for a rescheduled date. One no-show is usually a scheduling failure rather than a pattern. If it repeats, put a reasonable deadline in writing, say what happens if it is missed, and be prepared to engage someone else — services must be supplied within a reasonable time under the Australian Consumer Law, and repeated failure to attend is a breach of that.

It is the most common frustration in the whole sector and the one people handle least well, usually by waiting silently and then losing patience all at once.

The first time

  1. Send a message the same day. Keep it factual: the date, the agreed time, that nobody attended, and a request for a new date.
  2. Use writing rather than a phone call, or follow the call with a message. This is the beginning of the record.
  3. Ask for a specific date rather than "sometime next week". Vagueness is what makes the second no-show possible.

Trades run on a chain of jobs that overrun. A single missed appointment with a prompt apology and a firm reschedule is not a character flaw, and treating it as one costs you a tradesperson you may want.

When it becomes a pattern

Two missed appointments with no proactive contact is a pattern. At that point put it in writing plainly: the dates missed, that you need the work done by a specific date, and that you will otherwise make other arrangements. Reasonable, specific, and in a form you can produce later.

If you have already paid a deposit

  1. Ask for it back in writing, stating the missed dates and that the work has not commenced.
  2. If refused, raise it with your state consumer body — most conciliate free, and deposits for work never started are among the more straightforward matters they handle.
  3. Keep every message. A deposit dispute is decided almost entirely on the written record.
  4. If it is unresolved, your state tribunal hears these and is designed to be used without a lawyer.

Reducing the odds beforehand

  • Confirm the day before. It is not nagging; it is how trade scheduling actually works.
  • Ask for a window rather than a time, and ask to be called if it slips.
  • Be wary of a business that will not put the date in writing at all.
  • Prefer businesses with a long, consistent review history — reliability is the thing volume of reviews genuinely measures well.

Common questions

Can I get my deposit back if they never started?
Generally yes if the work never commenced and no costs were genuinely incurred on your behalf. A business may be entitled to retain provable costs such as materials ordered specifically for your job. Ask in writing first, then escalate to your state consumer body.
How long should I wait before giving up?
There is no fixed period — the test is what is reasonable for the job. What matters more than the length of time is that you set a specific deadline in writing and said what would happen if it passed, because that is what converts frustration into an enforceable position.
Can I charge them for time I took off work?
You can claim reasonably foreseeable loss caused by a failure to meet a consumer guarantee, which can include demonstrable costs. In practice small claims like this are usually resolved by negotiation rather than a tribunal, and being able to document the loss is what makes the conversation go anywhere.

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