Unique Coatings, Unique Headache

In December 2020 we appointed two companies to repaint our roof and refurbish the fascia boards. Initially we had thought of appointing just one company for the whole job, but subsequently decided that a job worth around R50,000 was too big for us to take a risk with just one company. So, we gave the roof painting job to Permatex due to their 15-year guarantee and the fascia job to Unique Coatings. We're so glad we did! Permatex did an outstanding job and their very friendly Sales Executive called us about 3 times afterwards to check if we were satisfied with the work or if there was anything for them to sort out.

A totally different experience with Unique Coatings. In terms of our revised agreement, we added, at additional cost, that Unique Coatings would "sand down all loose and flaking paint, apply primer if needed and paint two coats" to the fascias they had not originally quoted to replace. In the morning of the second day of their work, someone called Rudi called me to say his team on the job had identified a piece of additional work that needed to be done but was not on the original quote and asked if I was happy for them to do it, to which I said yes BUT stressed that they show me first which work they were proposing be done that was not on the quote. In the afternoon of that day the company sent me the final invoice, which included R1,600 for some additional work, and requested proof of payment that same afternoon - before the job was completed. I responded by email to say I would wait for the job to be completed and then would settle the balance once I satisfied myself with the work. I also asked them what the additional R1,600 was for. Rudi called again, and he was so animated that I had to ask him several times to calm down. He claimed that I asked them to do a job and now I was refusing to pay, which was not true. I told him repeatedly that the job was not complete yet, and that I didn't know what the R1,600 was for. I insisted that he sends Johan, whom we dealt with from the beginning, to come and check whether he was happy with the job that had been done.

Before the company's team left at the end of the 2nd day, I spoke to their leader called Deon, who confirmed that they needed an extra day to complete the work. I asked him to communicate that to Rudi as he was calling me for final payment before the job was completed. Over the weekend, I took a number of photos and a video, which clearly showed that the company's team was painting on top of old paint an NOT sanding down in accordance with the quote and I sent these to their salesperson called Johan, who had met with us at the beginning when he came to quote for the job. On the 3rd day a totally new team arrived, led by the "Quality Manager", who went straight to the spot I had captured in photos and a video and sent to Johan. He claimed the reason the previous team hadn't finished painting in the specific area I photographed was because they wanted to sand down first. I disputed that, saying they stopped painting because of the rain, and showed him the painted area, which clearly showed that there was no sanding down before painting. This new team then started sanding down the still-to-be-painted area. As they were preparing to depart in the afternoon, with the job supposedly completed, I took them around the house and showed them that they hadn't app**** creosote to the interior of the new fascias they had installed. They app**** creosote and I paid the balance without further checking because I was on a long international call when they left. Over the weekend, I inspected all the areas I had pointed out to them, and discovered that one area was left undone. I took a photo and sent it to Johan, who read my WhatsApp message but never responded, not even a courtesy call.

As for the R1,600 additional charge, it turned out that it was for a really small piece of wood they had attached to a rotting rafter. The job was hardly worth a few hundred rand, but they tried to swindle us out of R1,600 for it. Thankfully, one of the guys who had been there during the first two days, who joined the team in the afternoon of the 3rd day, confirmed repeatedly that this short piece of timber was the only additional work they had done which was not on the original quote. He saved us R1,600 because the company ultimately agreed that we should not pay for that small additional piece of work.

All in all, a horrible experience with the company. Our next job is to paint the entire exterior of the house. For this we are not going anywhere close to Unique Coatings! Give me Permatex anytime - more professional, more courteous, better quality, and longer guarantee!