I contacted Grey Army to request a quote from someone to fix our 2 rear deckings. I was asked if we need a permit, and I advised I was unsure as we weren't 100% sure what we were having done (whether to change a ramp to steps, etc, or just fix it to make it safe). I was sent who I later found out to be a handyman (though he never clearly stated this until work was completed). I advised him we wanted to replace all timber that needed to be replaced, and keep what could be re-used. We showed him the type of balustrade we wanted, and also took his advice and added some steps in place of the ramp we had on one decking. Upon completion, the balustrade was not only slightly different to what we wanted (we showed him a photo of how we were wanting it to look), it was installed poorly. I advised I will pay once I have had it inspected for compliance, and the handyman got nasty. Admittedly, I told him we found out we need a certificate of compliance towards the end of the work being completed, but he still knew before the completion, and advised that there was only one thing that may not pass. However, regardless of whether I advised him or not, he is still responsible to ensure everything is compliant.
When I got a building inspector out, there were 40 defects found, most of which was compliance, and the rest as poor workmanship. Among these defects were numerous timbers that are rotting and should have been replaced. The quote I received was only about $2000 less than the next lowest, even though the next quote would oil the deckings and remove all rubbish (we thought this explained the difference, as these were not part of his quote). Since the dispute began, I have spoken to Consumer Affairs and VBA, found out that laws have been broken, not just regulations, and I have followed the advice given to me by all parties. The tradesman and his manager both advise that they feel I am being unreasonable with my options (to fix the decking to make it compliant and look professional, which is what we were expecting all along, or demolish the decking and take back his wood, which would result in our deposit being refunded. This last one was a suggestion the tradie had also offered). However, he seems unwilling to actually decide on either of these options, and is only willing to fix the compliance issues, and leave the unprofessional work untouched. This is not what we were expecting when we hired him to do the work. The manager seems to not want to be involved anymore, even though Grey Army made the error of sending a handyman to do work that should have been for a carpenter or builder. The report also states that a plumber would have needed to sign off on the roofing for the decks, but this was never done. I have advised that one of the reasons I am disputing this is because our home insurance will not cover us for liability with the deckings if they are not compliant, and I shouldn't have to pay for work that does not look the way we had expected. His other offer was for us to pay $5000 of the remaining $9100, and put the remainder towards someone else fixing his mistakes, even though it will cost more than this. The report suggests the deckings will need to be mostly demolished and redone.

I also commented on a post on their Facebook (which was talking about their workers being professional and so forth) stating that it isn't correct since the one they sent out did an unprofessional job and broke laws, and they deleted my comment. When I messaged to ask why they deleted it, they said they reserve the right to delete comments that are based on lies, then blocked me so I couldn't reply. [Redacted generalisation comments] I will never again use Grey Army, [Redacted generalisation comments]