What to ask before hiring a handyman in JVC

We get more calls in JVC than any other zone — and we hear more bad-experience stories from JVC than any other zone too. The mix of high tenant turnover, value-conscious landlords, and the volume of small contractors means the standard of work varies wildly.

Ask the trade licence question. Every individual technician operating legally in Dubai is doing so under a registered trade licence — either their own (rare) or their employer's. Ask which company holds the licence. If the answer is a person's name with no company behind it, you may be dealing with someone working off-licence.

Ask about insurance. Public liability cover is the floor. If a handyman drills through a water pipe (it happens), you do not want to be the one explaining it to the building. Ask for the insurer's name. We hold cover with Oman Insurance Company — happy to email the certificate.

Ask whether the price you are quoted on the call is the price on the invoice. The most common JVC complaint we hear is the AED 150 quote that becomes an AED 450 invoice once the job is half-done and the technician has the customer over a barrel. Get the full price up front, in writing if possible.

Ask whether the technician will take the old fitting away. A surprising amount of post-job dispute is about the old water heater or old AC unit sitting in the corridor for a week.

Ask whether they have done your specific building before. JVC has well over 100 buildings and the layouts vary considerably. A technician who has done your tower before will be in and out faster.

Ask whether there is a return-visit policy. If the same fault returns in 30 days, who pays? If the answer is not 'we do', keep looking.