A dispute between a Melbourne tiler and a building contractor led to the latter owing the former thousands of dollars.
After a violent retaliation, the debt was wiped out. Simon McPherson of Xclusive Tiling destroyed his own work to make a statement about the dispute.
He was subcontracted to lay the tiles for a home that was being built in Hadfield.
Before he took to the roof, the worker laid the tiles himself.
@acurrentaffair9 ROOF RAGE: A tiler has incited rooftop revenge after allegedly not being paid by a builder. #9ACA #acurrentaffair
In a video filmed by a co-worker, the builder can be seen walking around the building while holding a hammer and hurling racial slurs at the worker.
In the video, the builder can be heard telling the worker to get off the roof.
The worker then responds by saying, “You have a year to pay.” According to Simon, they tried to get the money back, but it had already gone by. He then ripped the tiles off the roof.
Simon claims that the act was legal due to a provision in the company’s contract.
Legal experts also praised the company’s decision to include the provision.
In the contract, Xclusive Tiling stated that goods would remain the company’s property until the payments are made in full.
Justin Quill, a lawyer for Thompson Geer, said that it is important for sub-contractors to ensure that their contracts are watertight.
According to the builder, he was hit hard by the COVID lockdowns, and he had always intended to settle the invoice with Xclusive Tiling.
When asked about the incident, Simon said that he was satisfied with the outcome.