A South Australian homeowner said he received racist abuse after a video of his driveway being bulldozed by workers over an unpaid bill went viral.
In the video, which was posted on social media, the man can be seen pleading with the contractors to stop destroying his property.
According to the homeowner, he was at home preparing for his kids’ lunch last week when he heard a loud noise in his front yard. He then grabbed his phone and called the police after seeing the contractor digging his driveway.
The contractors refused to stop despite the police’s requests to do so. The incident occurred in Clare, which is about an hour and a half north of Adelaide.
The video has since gone viral online, with many users supporting the contractors. Jamie Sommerville and Damian Hallett, who are the owners of the company that performed the work, told news.au that they don’t condone the behavior but were forced to do it.
The job was reportedly for $13,500. Mr Sommerville noted that the homeowner had initially agreed to pay the contractor $10,000, but he refused to pay the remaining amount.
In the video, an officer can be seen telling the man that he has to pay the workers around $3500. A spokesperson for the SA Police told news.com.au that the incident was a civil dispute and that they were there to ensure no breach of the peace.
The police noted that no offences were committed and that they were not involved in the dispute over the payment. The homeowner, however, is not happy with the response of the police and is planning on taking legal action.
According to the homeowner, the police officers refused to do anything to help the contractors. They insisted that they were there to prevent the workers from getting physical.
After seeing the workers digging his driveway, the homeowner said he feared that they would destroy his property if he didn’t pay. He then told them to stop, but they continued to do so. He said he was only trying to stop the nonsense and that the police did nothing to help the workers. Although he was always going to pay the contractors, the men still hadn’t finished the work.
The homeowner claimed that he had already paid the contractor $30,000 for the work on his property. He was baffled by his refusal to pay the remaining $3500. The driveway was finished on March 9, and the homeowner had paid the remaining balance of $13,500. However, the contractor claimed that he was still not finished with the job.
The dispute escalated on March 12 after the homeowner sent a furious text message to the contractor. He said that the videos had caused his family distress, and he took them to Adelaide to get away. The man, who has been living in Australia for 14 years, said that the country had changed.
He said that the people who watched the videos had no idea what happened and could comment on everything about him. In another video, the homeowner can be seen arguing with Mr. Hallet after the contractor told him to get off his Bobcat. The man then asks him if he could talk to him.
The man, who identified himself as Mr. Hallet, then said that he had offered to bargain with the contractor, but he refused to listen to his offer. The police officer then asked Mr. Hallet how much he had to pay the contractor. The officer then told him that he had to give the contractor $3500.
On Instagram, Mr. Hallet thanked the South Australian police for helping resolve the dispute. He noted that they were paid in full.