Martin Bester will say anything to get you to pay a deposit with no intention of completing your project

In September 2022, Martin Bester was referred to us as a reliable pool contractor, and initially, the process was quite smooth. He came all the way from Krugersdorp to our residence on the East Rand to meet with my wife and me to discuss our requirements for the pool project. He was friendly, knowledgeable and left a good impression on us. He sent a quote shortly after, and we paid the 80% deposit. Progress was good the first week as he sent his team to dig the hole for the pool and pour concrete. Thereafter, the project became an uphill battle. I was in contact with him on a daily basis, and while he kept his cheerful disposition, I was given excuse after excuse as to why he couldn't send workers to my site to continue with the project. He blamed everything from unreliable workers and the weather to car problems. We were becoming very concerned because if I didn't reach out to him, Martin seemed happy to quietly let day after day pass without any work done. As year-end approached, he finally had some material delivered to our site, but the real problem we had was several tons of dirt and rubble almost completely covering our backyard, and left the space completely unusable. We could not allow our yard to be left in such a state over Christmas and New Year. It took endless calls, texts and follow-ups for him to finally relent and send a rubble removal truck to clear out the yard. Already at that point, our garden was completely ruined. At the beginning of 2023, I was surprised to receive an unprompted call from Martin. He advised that he would be delivering more material, and he planned to continue working on the project. There was a good week's worth of progress. When I inquired about the next steps, Martin assured me that everything was on track and the pool would be completed in the coming weeks. THEREAFTER, HE COMPLETELY GHOSTED ME. He flat-out would not take my calls or respond to my texts or emails. He abandoned the project leaving my wife and me with an unsafe site for our child and small pets and no means to contact him. I know he is alive and well, given his regular activity on WhatsApp. We have, unfortunately, had no choice but to go the legal route to try and recover some of the deposit so we can finish the project with another contractor. The entire experience has left us so stressed and thoroughly disgusted. We would not wish it on anyone.