Fletcher bad for business - contractor

Fletcher EQR has lost its original pin-up construction company to opt-out repair work.

Carl Taylor Homes managing director Carl Taylor said working for Fletcher hubs was damaging the firm's reputation.

The company completed the first repair of the Fletcher-led Canterbury Home Repair Programme in November 2010, which was made into a media event, including an announcement by Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee.

Taylor said his company was the largest contractor working for Fletcher before giving up on the hubs five months ago.

"We did the first job in November 2010 and grew to be one of their biggest contractors," he said.

"Then we started getting frustrated with where EQR was going. Homeowners were getting upset and it was affecting our brand."

Taylor started the joint-venture Rebuild Me for people opting out of the Earthquake Commission repair programme run by Fletcher.

Taylor's business partners are accountant Nick James and property developer Steven Brooks. Rebuild Me employs 40 staff and about 150 contractors.

Rebuild Me was getting 30 to 40 calls a week from homeowners looking to opt out and was completing a similar number of repairs each month, Taylor said.

About five to 10 contractors working for the hubs were calling him each week looking for work, especially painters, he said.

"We're not slowing up, but from the number of contractors contacting us looking for work it seems that there's something going on there with the under-$100,000 work."

Doing opt-out work, the company was able to get some repairs scoped and started within two weeks of hearing from a homeowner, which was "bloody quick", he said.

"It's cutting out the middle man. We can just get in and do the job."

He had noticed that some homeowners who started opting out were being called by Fletcher, seemingly to keep them in the repair programme.

"We've had one or two where we've sent in the [opt-out] paperwork and miraculously a day later you'll get Fletchers on the phone saying, ‘Hey, we'd like to come round and scope your home'," he said.

Bryan Staples, of insurance assessor EQ East, said a last-ditch Fletcher phone call to those opting out was standard. The company was losing business and any other company would do the same, he said.

He believed people were "crazy" not to opt out.

"Why would you want to go though a system where all the decisions are made by someone else, including when it's going to be repaired?"

By opting out, the homeowner controlled the money and could ensure work was done properly by withholding payment until it was done well, he said.

Fletcher EQR spokesman Barry Akers said the company would not comment on opt-out work. The work was flowing from the hubs without pause.