Local contractor hurt by false accusations
A LOCAL business owner is furious after a letter was sent to real estate agents “warning” them to not use his services.
Plumber To Your Door owner Gavin Kinlyside arrived at his Garbutt office about two weeks ago to find a letter under the door calling him “the laughing stock of the plumbing industry in Townsville” and detailing a list of rude comments allegedly made by suppliers.
Mr Kinlyside discovered letters had been delivered to real estate agents around the city claiming he “can’t be trusted”.
Mr Kinlyside said he assumed the letters were individually placed under real estate agents’ doors outside of business hours, as they did not have postage stamps.
“We’re only a new business to Townsville, and to have a letter like that, it’s pathetic,” he said.
“For someone to go to the trouble of putting that together and sending it to every real estate agent in Townsville is ridiculous.”
Mr Kinlyside opened the mobile plumbing business in February 2017, and said he had never seen anything similar occur in the industry before.
“Everyone has a bit of a negative comment to say about their competition, but not to that extent,” he said.
“I work 12 to 18 hours a day working on the business and growing the business – the stuff that’s in that letter is just pathetic.”
Plumber To Your Door sent out a counter letter to acknowledge the nasty note, and Mr Kinlyside said he hoped more information would come to light about who wrote it.
“We’ve had real estate agents contact us that don’t deal with me directly saying it’s a pathetic act,” he said.
“We’ve actually picked up a new real estate agent because of the letter. I’ve been talking to the suppliers and they’re disgusted as well.”
Mr Kinlyside said he did not know who sent the letters, but was seeking legal advice to take the matter further.