Rodent problem not resolved
I engaged John in December 2025 to carry out works to resolve a rodent problem that I’d had in the loft of my house. I had several conversations with him where I made clear that I was engaging him to resolve the problem and that this would involve closing any holes/gaps along the partition walls with neighbouring properties from which the rodents were entering my property. I also asked him to clear the loft of all contaminated insulation and disinfect the area as I’m due to have a loft conversion and the area had to be cleaned beforehand.
I received a quote of £2,000 for this work. I responded via email that I am happy to proceed provided that the loft is investigated for any ingress points and that any holes/gaps are covered with wire mesh. He then called me and said that he was happy to do what I’d asked in my email but that he’s not willing to put it in writing as he can’t guarantee that he’ll close all ingress points and can only do his best. At no point did he say that closing the ingress points was not included in the quote or that this work would incur an additional cost. The price quoted was considerably higher than others I’d received but I was happy to pay the extra money as I believed that John was offering a solution to resolve the rodent problem and he generally seemed competent when we spoke. He then amended the quote to include the investigation for ingress points but not the work to close them. Unfortunately, I didn’t spot this and trusted him based on our call.
John then came to clear the loft in January 2026 after which he put a camera in to survey the area. Within hours he was demanding payment despite the fact that he hadn’t completed all the work agreed. I then asked when he was coming back to close the ingress points, at which point he said that he’d charge extra for that work. He then called me demanding that I pay him immediately and threatening legal action if I didn’t, despite the fact that I was just questioning the scope of work rather than refusing to pay.
After several threatening emails I just paid to get rid of him and asked him to complete the investigation of the loft. John then sent me some photos of potential ingress points and said ‘This concludes my involvement in the matter.’ He hasn’t carried out the follow up survey after reviewing the camera footage (which he did write into the quote) and it’s clear that he has no intention of doing so.
So, I’ve paid £2000 for John to clear out/disinfect the loft of a 2 bedroom house and take some photos of potential ingress points, whilst aimlessly placing a camera. Not even disposal of the contaminated waste was included. The issue has not been resolved at all and rodents could return at any time.
The foregoing is simply a statement of fact regarding my experience of dealing with HWPC. You can make your own mind up as to whether this is acceptable conduct and treatment of customers.
