Fantastic Services review: Unauthorised cancellation fee - £83 lost due to a smashed mirror

On Tuesday 6 February 2024 I called Islington Handyman Services: https://handymanislington.co.uk/ which looked like a reputable local company. However when I called the number I got put through to Fantastic Services.

When I made the booking I felt really blindsided, firstly that I was through to a corporate sounding organisation and then also being asked to pay the full £83 up front. However I trusted them with their mention of insurance etc. I was not warned of any cancellation fee on the phone, they claimed that it was included in my confirmation email but I can't find any evidence of that now.

On Thursday 8 February (evening before the booking - Friday 9 February) I discovered that the mirror I had scheduled to put up was completely smashed even though I hadn't moved it since the delivery driver carefully slid it into the flat. First thing in the morning (9th February) I called to cancel and hopefully retain the credit I'd paid for a future booking when I had the replacement mirror. They said they couldn't notify the handyman until I had decided to reschedule for a 50% fee or cancel and lose my £83. I think this is a completely abhorrent way to treat customers . I asked to speak to a senior manager to reason with them but there was no-one to talk to. It's a completely impersonal faceless organisation. I went to put a review on Google and despite having 4.6 stars, you're unable to leave a review so not sure how they gained that level.

In order to ensure that the handyman wasn't inconvenienced further (and could be notified straight away) I decided to go for full cancellation as I have no trust in them and never want to use this company again

So I'm down £83 because I've had a bad service from another company. I think they have used fraudulent advertising in using a cover website for their corporate faceless company, and then in putting customers on the spot for an up front payment, as well as taking huge liberties with cancellation fees. Having high reviews despite me not being able to add my review cements my view that this is a really dodgy company