How to Avoid Artisans Who Collect Money and Disappear
NaijaMart Editorial · 14 Nov 2026
Pay an artisan upfront in Nigeria and there is a real chance you will spend the next three weeks calling a number that rings out. The good news is that a few deliberate steps before work begins can protect your money and your time — and vetted platforms like NaijaMart OniseOwo now make it easier to book tradespeople who come with job protection built in.
Why This Keeps Happening
It is not always outright fraud. Some artisans take several deposits at once, then run out of capacity. Others underquote to win the job, collect the first payment, and go quiet when they realise the job will cost them more than they budgeted. A few are simply unreliable. Whatever the reason, the pattern is predictable — and it tends to spike during busy seasons.
Right now, in mid-November 2026, demand for tradespeople is unusually high. Wedding season is at its peak. Families are repainting and fixing up homes before Christmas guests arrive. Nigerians in the diaspora are arranging repairs remotely, often paying from abroad without being able to check in physically. That pressure on artisan capacity is exactly when shortcuts happen.
What to Agree Before Any Work Starts
Most disputes begin because nothing was written down. Before you hand over a kobo, make sure you have clear agreement on the following:
- Scope of work in plain language. Not "fix the ceiling" but "replace the damaged POP section in the master bedroom, approximately 2 by 3 metres, and repaint to match." The more specific, the harder it is to dispute later.
- A phased payment schedule. Avoid paying the full amount upfront. A common and fair structure is a small mobilisation fee, a progress payment when a defined milestone is reached, and the balance on completion and inspection.
- A clear timeline with dates. "As soon as possible" means nothing. Agree a start date, a completion date, and what happens if the artisan misses them.
- Who supplies materials. If the artisan is buying materials on your behalf, ask for receipts. Markup on materials is a common way costs quietly inflate.
- A defects period. Any competent tradesperson should return, without extra charge, to fix faults that appear within a reasonable period after the job is done.
Send all of this in a WhatsApp message so there is a written record both parties can refer back to. A message thread is not a formal contract, but it is far better than a verbal agreement that neither side can prove.
Red Flags to Watch Before You Pay Anything
Some artisans are easy to read once you know what to look for:
- They cannot give you a reference — a past client whose home or car or outfit you can actually see or verify.
- They ask for more than half the total job cost before starting.
- They give a quote instantly, without measuring, examining the fault, or asking detailed questions. That usually means the quote is a guess.
- They are evasive about which area of Lagos they are based in. A plumber who takes two hours to reach Lekki from Ikorodu every morning will burn time you are paying for.
- They pressure you to pay quickly before you have had time to think or verify anything.
How to Verify an Artisan Before Work Starts
- Ask for and actually contact references. Call two or three past clients. Ask not just whether they were happy, but whether the artisan finished on time and whether anything had to be redone afterwards.
- Check their social media or portfolio. A tailor who cannot show you recent work, or an electrician who has no photos of completed jobs, is a risk.
- Visit an ongoing job if possible. Seeing how an artisan behaves on someone else's site — their tidiness, punctuality, the quality of work in progress — tells you a great deal.
- Use a vetted platform. OniseOwo lists handwork professionals — plumbers, electricians, tailors, mechanics and other tradespeople — who have been vetted and booked with job protection. That vetting does not make every job perfect, but it does mean the artisan has been reviewed before they appear on the platform, and there is a structure for resolving disputes if something goes wrong. See how the job protection features work.
If You Are Coordinating from Abroad
Nigerians booking repairs remotely — whether from the UK, US, Canada or elsewhere — are especially vulnerable because they cannot make an unannounced visit to check progress. A few extra steps help:
- Ask for timestamped photos at each stage of the job, before and after.
- Identify a trusted person on the ground — a sibling, a friend, a trusted neighbour — who can pop in and verify that work is actually happening.
- Use a payment platform that holds the money in trust and releases it only when the job is confirmed complete. NaijaMart Trust does exactly this across NaijaMart platforms — the money sits held until you confirm the work has been delivered as agreed.
- Never send money through channels you cannot trace or reverse. Bank transfers to a named account are better than cash sent through a third party.
Planning Bigger Home Projects for Detty December?
If you are redecorating, adding a generator connection, or doing a full kitchen refit before Christmas guests arrive, start now. November is tight, and artisans who are still available in the third week of November will be heavily booked by early December. If your project also involves sourcing materials — tiles, electrical fittings, fabric for a tailor — NaijaMart Marketplace lets buyers and sellers deal directly, with Pay with Trust available so your payment is only released when the item arrives as described.
And if December also means a wedding, a naming ceremony, or an end-of-year party, NaijaMart PartyVendors lets you find and book caterers, decorators, photographers and more, with reviews from past clients visible before you commit.
Quick Reference: Before, During and After
| Stage | What to do |
|---|---|
| Before | Verify references, agree scope in writing, set a phased payment schedule, confirm start and end dates |
| During | Visit or request photos at each milestone, only release progress payments at agreed milestones |
| After | Inspect thoroughly before final payment, confirm a defects period in writing, keep all records |
The artisan who disappears after collecting money is not a new Lagos story — but with the right preparation, it does not have to be your story.
Questions people ask
How much should I pay an artisan upfront before work starts?
There is no single rule, but a small mobilisation fee — enough to cover initial materials — is reasonable. Avoid paying more than a third of the total cost before work has actually begun, and tie each subsequent payment to a milestone you can verify.
What should I do if an artisan collects money and stops responding?
Start by sending a formal written message — WhatsApp is acceptable — stating the amount paid, the agreed scope, and a clear deadline to respond or refund. If that fails, your strongest option is small claims court, though the practical route for many people is to use a platform with built-in job protection from the start, so the money is never fully in the artisan's hands until the job is done.
Is it safe to hire an artisan I found through a friend's recommendation?
A personal referral is a good starting point, but it is not enough on its own. Still agree the scope in writing, use a phased payment structure, and visit the job in progress where you can. A friend's experience of a painter's finish may be very different from your own expectations.
How do I hire a reliable artisan remotely from outside Nigeria?
Use a vetted platform like NaijaMart OniseOwo so the artisan has been reviewed before you engage them. Pay through a trust-based payment service so the money is only released when you confirm the job is complete. And identify a trusted contact in Lagos who can visit the site on your behalf.
What is job protection when booking an artisan on OniseOwo?
Job protection on NaijaMart OniseOwo means your booking and payment come with a structure for resolving disputes if the artisan does not deliver what was agreed. It is designed to give you a recourse that a cash handshake simply does not provide.
Written by NaijaMart Editorial with AI assistance, using live NaijaMart data on the day it was published. Prices are sellers' and vendors' asking prices on that day and can change. How we write and check these articles.
