This tale is inspired by Mark Mapstone’s recount of a fraudster trying to swindle him of cash….

I’m not as confident as he about copying and pasting emails…. Also, I am stubborn, not massively, but quite, I get this from my dad, I’m not the only stubborn daughter in the fam. It’s fairly important you know this.

What”s this building up to……? I have stupidly got myself into a pickle with the maintenance man where I live. Hmmm. Problematic situation, dull though it is:

• I move to a new yard in Hackney. We need keys for the post box to access mail. None given, okay I can deal with that.
• Agency advise us to ask maintenance man to assist. Done. He says he’ll get it sorted.
• I get locked out my flat. Agency advise me to contact maintenance man, he said he’d be there in 30 mins.
• He lets me in, I am very grateful. The end. No mention of fees.
• Few weeks later, emailed by maintenance man re keys, there will be a £10 charge.
• I reply with a pithy, please bill the agency, as they were supposed to supply the keys.
• He’s reply: I should have charged you £30 for attending your lock out. You can either pay me £30 or £10.
• I said, I’d contact the agency first and get back to him, as I didn’t get any keys in the first place.
• Same day, he sends me through an invoice for £30.
• I didn’t like the tit for tat, arsey nature of his reply. He mentioned nuttin about lock out fees at the time or more importantly prior to it! He could have charged £300!!!
• Since then, the agency have washed their hands of the matter, although prepared to pay him £10 (they subcontract him for work and were the ones to recommend I get in touch with him when locked out).
• There have been some terse email exchanges in between. (Phone would have been easier, but the maintenance man doesn’t pick up, prefers email).
• The maintenance man has assured me he’ll take me to small claims court if I dont’t pay up.

What would you do? Mum told me off and said I should just pay up, friends reckon the maintenance guy is a ________ (insert profanity) and that I should ignore.

I’m not quite sure. If I’m forced to pay him, he’ll be getting it in a massive bag of copper coins and 5ps, (in weird amounts). Trus!

What would you do?