Reality star, Vee Iye, recently had the police arrest a plumber who’d been scamming her. Apparently, he’d turn off the control of her water supply then collect money and pretend to offer solutions for a “faulty pump”.
Some Twitter NG users are saying involving the police is extreme, but if you’ve been played before by Nigerian artisans, you’ll know that it can cost a lot to be taken for a fool. You might learn a thing or two from the experiences of these scammed victims.
Never pay before the service
“My DSTV dish was faulty, and I found an installer to help fix it. The guy seemed cool-headed, so I felt I was in good hands. He needed about ₦8k to buy some materials, and his workmanship fee was ₦2000. I don’t know why, but I just gave him the whole ₦10k because ‘cool-headed guy’. He came back with the materials, tried to fix the dish but couldn’t. This guy left and didn’t show up for another four days. He wasn’t picking up my calls and even when he did, it was lies. I knew I messed up by paying in full beforehand. Never again.”
Don’t leave them at the workstation
“Generator repairmen have really shown me pepper in this Lagos. But it wasn’t until I secretly watched one while he was working that I knew I’d been getting played for a while. This man threw a part inside his bag, and I even saw him pour from my petrol keg into a plastic container he came with. I went back up, and as expected, he said he had to buy something that was faulty. I asked him to drop what he stole from the gen. He tried denying, but when I mentioned the petrol bit, he knew he had been caught. The next guy that came, I stayed with him the entire time he was fixing the gen. Nigerian artisans are a mess.”
Ask multiple sources if it involves buying faulty parts
“I always seek a second opinion once I start hearing, ‘We have to buy this,’ or ‘That part is faulty’. I’ve learnt that it’s a ploy for them to get extra money for a part they probably have lying around in their workshops. Sometimes, they also cut deals with the traders at the market. Bring customer for me, and get x amount. Just some weeks ago, this generator guy said I had to buy a ₦75k engine for my gen, and that it was the only solution. I called someone else to check, and he fixed it for ₦25k. We didn’t buy any engine.”
Insist on seeing their previous work
“Sometime in 2022, I had an urgent owambe and my tailor was too busy to fit me into her schedule. I went with another tailor recommended by a friend and purposely picked a simple style to avoid stories, but this lady still messed it up. I typically spend a lot of time checking out a tailor’s social media page before patronising, but in this case, I skipped that part because it was urgent.”
Avoid if they don’t have a permanent address or workspace
“I’ve always had an electrician who helps with fixing stuff in the house. I only need to call him and he’d show up. This one time, my bedside fridge was faulty, and he said he couldn’t fix it in the house. He carried it to his workshop and was supposed to be back in two days. By the third day, I didn’t hear from him, but I waited another day before calling. His number wasn’t going through and even when it rang, he didn’t pick up. That was when I realised I didn’t even know his shop. I went to a street where I’d seen him a couple of times, but when I described him, they said he didn’t have a shop around. Apparently, he only comes to hang out in the area and leaves when he has jobs. He showed up with the fridge after a week and explained that he was sick.”
Watch and learn what you can when they’re working
“My gen wasn’t supplying electricity, and I called my ‘reliable’ gen guy to come check it out. After running his diagnostics, he said it’ll cost ₦35k to repair. I didn’t have enough cash and had to borrow to pay him. When he returned, he just coupled the gen and turned it back on. I allowed it to work for a while before switching it off, but this gen didn’t come on when I tried using it the next day. Called the guy again, and he fixed it, but it stopped working after two days. At this point, I checked the gen myself and went to the market in search of the faulty part. I got there and realized it was just ₦1k. This gen guy came back and was shocked to see the gen working. He had the audacity to tell me he had to change something worth ₦22k in the gen else the problem will persist.”
