Why BlueTika Exists

It was supposed to be a simple job. Paint the exterior of our Auckland home. Three weeks, max.

I found a painter through a local Facebook group. Great reviews. Professional-looking website. He showed up on time for the quote, talked confidently about the work, and his price seemed fair. I paid a 50% deposit upfront — $3,800 — to cover materials and secure the booking.

By the end of Week 2, half the house was painted poorly, the other half untouched. I called him. No answer. Texted him. Read receipts on, no reply.

I reported it to the police. They said it was a civil matter. I contacted Consumer Protection. They said I'd need to take him to the Disputes Tribunal — but good luck finding him. The Facebook group admin removed my warning post, saying "no negative reviews allowed."

"I felt completely powerless. And I wasn't the only one — I later found out he'd done this to at least 4 other families in Auckland that year."

While scrambling to find a new painter to fix the mess, I realized the whole system was broken. You either:

• ✗ Scroll through social media groups hoping for trustworthy recommendations (unreliable)
• ✗ Use lead generation sites that charge tradies $50-$150 per quote, driving up costs (expensive)
• ✗ Hire based on a slick website with fake reviews (risky)

There was no platform that actually protected clients AND rewarded honest service providers.