ASA PROPERTY SERVICES LIMITED 

While Daniel was great and quickly and effeciently addressed the reason he was called out (carpet removal and removing baseboards) my subsequent interaction with ASA was far from acceptable. Scheduled for a 8:30 arrival to reinstall baseboards plus a few other items they didnt show until 11:30. Once on site the crew did quickly addressed a few items but then spent over two hours in a failed attempt to hang pictures. My wife and I provided specific instruction and checked in to see how it was going and offer feedback/confirmation of intent. However, the entire effort was fruitless. We had wanted about 15 pictures hung, of that at least 10 require someone (myself or another handyman to come back and correct). Watching them I'm not even sure the workers understood how to use a laser level. They were simply holding it on the wall with no point of reference or level. The concept of 'space equally' also seems to have been lost. Once the invoice arrived I noted I would pay for the time/materials spent on the items I was happy with but I was not paying for the picture hanging as it needed to be redone. I had to argue and fight for even a minor reduction in the costs. If you're looking for a blunt tool, ASA is your handyman. If you require even a remote attention to detail look elsewhere.

ASA charged money to inspect a leak in the roof. We agreed on the phone that the contractor would access the roof to inspect where it was leaking and make recommendations. As this was to access the roof I was OK with the charge. In the event the guy came for five minutes. Looked at the roof from the garden and through the skylight. Not what was agreed. They then tried to charge me more than agreed while not delivering the service I paid for. Extremely disappointed. Do not use this company.

First, the good. Adivalter Sfalsin de Assis, who runs ASA Electrical, is an amazing finisher and employs thorough builders. He took on a job at my Victorian Kensington flat - renovating two bathrooms and the kitchen - which had been converted by very bad (and I can only hope cheap) builders. The job had a horrible habit of constantly throwing curve-balls at us and getting bigger. By the end of it, we were repiping the entire flat, reflooring it and also redoing the storage in the master bedroom. He came out on top (if understandably over budget), and I have a beautiful flat to thank him for. He's a very talented electrician with great understanding of new gadgets, plugs, switches, and an out-and-out passion for LED lighting, which both bathrooms, my living room, my kitchen and the master bedroom have benefitted from. He's also got en eye for colour coordination and great finishes. I'm tone-deaf when it comes to matching marbles, finishes and stones to paints and other colours. He did it for me and hit the spot so well I just started trusting him with it all (subject to keeping me posted), and am glad I did. He had many ideas along the way - including creating a little storage space in a hollow wall in my corridor.

Where we got outside contractors involved because we were pressed for time or they had expertises we needed - Pimlico did some piping, Neatsmith did built-in wardrobes and we got the Knightsbridge Flooring Company involved when I decided to go for herringbone parquet rather than laminate - Adi's crew worked very well with them. He provided manpower when needed to support them, and did the rest around them.

Now for why my family and I were still left with a bad taste in our mouth. Mainly an inability IMHO to take full responsibility for wrong decisions, general evasiveness on facts and bad attitude on putting things right. What brought about the issue is that his background is what I'd describe as 'upper mid-spec' (nice serviced flats etc...) so if you want to go high end residential it's worth staying on him - or using somebody else - as it's not what he's used to. I invested in an expensive high end £2,500 Miele hob specifically designed for a flush fit installation, ensured he came with me to the showroom to see the installation and got the details of a Miele advisor who promised to send him any instructions he’d need. Still, he top-mounted it without specifically clearing that with me, for example. This led to a dispute after it shattered due to his non-recommended installation. He first tried to blame me for it and pretended he’d been clear about fact he’d do it the easy way. Luckily the staff at the showroom where he claimed to have been clear backed me up on the fact he’d never clearly said any such thing. In the end we settled things and - since it was too late to cut the flush rebate into the kitchen top - he agreed to replace the broken hob with a steel-framed model designed for top-mounting. But it took the threat of legal action, which honestly it shouldn’t have. The mistake is perfectly forgivable. The unwillingness, when found out by somebody to who just willingly paid multiples of your initial quote so that you’d do a good job, to put it right, isn’t. Also he's an electrician by background, not a networking person. So, while eager to please by agreeing to lay ethernet cables under my floor to expand my network, without raising any concerns on his own competence to do so, he was unable to tip them or even satisfactorily run them discreetly into walls plugs. Where he excels at old-school electrics, it may make sense to outsource any networking stuff because I for example shall need to call someone else to finish off that particular job to a decent standard since he's honestly left me with a half-done mess there, despite having promised us he’d get a professional to come do it right and that we’d split the cost.

I’ve realised since that he slipped me subpar plug sockets after charging me fkr better quality ones.

Use at your risk, make sure you count your change!