A rogue tradie is under investigation for claiming he was a licensed builder – after the quality of his work gave him away.
Zac Shaw, who goes by a number of different aliases, claimed to be a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) after customers Candice and Jason Clarke demanded to know what was happening to their half-built fence.
The couple had paid an $850 deposit to Mr Shaw – who they knew as Zac Green – for two screen fences either side of their Canterbury property, but the quality of the work had them questioning the self-proclaimed builder.
“Pretty much as soon as the post was in the ground I could just tell… it wasn’t going to be a good thing,” Mr Clarke said.
The posts are in the wrong place, the slats have been left at different finished heights, the screws aren’t straight and the gate – which can’t close – has to be lifted into place to avoid hitting its support post.
“We took photos of everything and sent it back to him and said ‘look we’re furious, what is the deal here mate’… It’s shocking. You don’t need to be a genius to see that it’s just terrible.”
But after a year of pleading with Mr Shaw, they’ve given up.
They’re just one of many who’ve come to Fair Go over Zac’s business dealings – which include suppliers and family-owned businesses across Canterbury and Invercargill.
Mr Shaw initially told Fair Go he wasn’t the right person and that our reporter had him confused with someone else.
“I’d be interested to know how you got this number,” he said.
His contact details were on an invoice he’d sent recently to a customer.
Three days later Mr Shaw changed his mind and admitted he was the builder in question – but denied ever receiving a single complaint.
“I have never received any emails,” he said.
Mr Shaw told Fair Go he’d be happy to refund customers if they met certain criteria.
He has yet to refund any of the complainants, including one with a Disputes Tribunal ruling in their favour.
Now though, Mr Shaw’s time as a tradie could be up with the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment is looking into his false claim that he’s a registered, licensed builder.
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