{"id":1542,"date":"2025-03-23T13:07:52","date_gmt":"2025-03-23T14:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/?p=1542"},"modified":"2025-03-27T11:28:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T11:28:10","slug":"student-so-scared-of-diy-he-paid-tradesman-180-to-change-batteries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/2025\/03\/23\/student-so-scared-of-diy-he-paid-tradesman-180-to-change-batteries\/","title":{"rendered":"Student so scared of DIY he paid tradesman \u00a3180 to change batteries"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Clueless\t<\/div>
Sam blames Covid for his lack of confidence when it comes to DIY (Picture: JustFix)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A student has confessed to paying a tradesman \u00a3180 just to change the batteries in his carbon monoxide alarm, fearing he might get it wrong.<\/p>\n

Sam Daley told Metro<\/strong> he does not want to speak to anyone on the phone<\/a>. He also lacks the\u00a0confidence to negotiate, even though he studies law part time.<\/p>\n

Sam, from Nottingham, said: \u2018There are skills that have been lost throughout the\u00a0years, and it\u2019s not just me.<\/p>\n

This anxiety<\/a> has forced the 22-year-old hospitality worker to turn to an app for help even for the most mundane tasks like swapping batteries.<\/p>\n

\u2018Especially with Covid-19 hitting us, it has taken two years out of my life, I guess in\u00a0theory I could\u2019ve used that for learning practical skills but I was a teenager at the\u00a0time.<\/p>\n

\u2018I have got to the point now when I have got so used to using Amazon and stuff I\u2019m\u00a0less inclined to figure things out for myself and I outsource that to other people.<\/p>\n

\u2018I could learn how to do it, but it is too easy to go on the apps.\u2019<\/p>\n

Sam sourced a tradesman through JustFix \u2013 which matches people with tradesmen in their local area \u2013 and paid them \u00a3180 to put up a shelf and change the batteries.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Sam\t<\/div>
Sam said both he and his girlfriend lack confidence with ringing people up and would rather use an app (Picture: JustFix)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He explained that he uses apps like \u2018for everything and I have to call someone\u00a0out for absolutely every job\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018I live in a house with my girlfriend and I had to use it to get someone in to put up a\u00a0shelf,\u2019 he added.<\/p>\n

\u2018I even had to have someone in to replace the battery in a carbon monoxide alarm,\u00a0which I subsequently found out is an easy thing to do \u2013 it\u2019s just screwing things in.<\/p>\n

\u2018I just feel lost with DIY as I don\u2019t have the foundational skills, there\u2019s nothing to build\u00a0on.<\/p>\n

\u2018I have just resigned myself to it.\u2019<\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t\tFollow Metro on WhatsApp to be the first to get all the latest news\t\t\t<\/h2>\n
\n
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\n\t\t\"Apps\t<\/div>
Follow us to receive the latest news updates from Metro (Picture: Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Metro\u2019s on Whatsapp! Join our community<\/a> for breaking news and juicy stories.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Sam\u2019s admission comes after surveys found rouge traders are targeting Gen Z\u00a0because they are more clueless about DIY than the elderly.<\/p>\n

He says both him and his live-in girlfriend Catharine feel the same way and that his\u00a0friends all use apps as they \u2018don\u2019t like having to call someone on the phone\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018If it wasn\u2019t for the app I\u2019d have to run crying to my parents, which is something I\u00a0really\u00a0don\u2019t like\u00a0doing,\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

\u2018I already feel dependent on people and doing things by myself makes me feel\u00a0independent \u2013 even if I am getting someone in to do it for me.<\/p>\n

\u2018I do work quite a lot, as it is really hard to be able to afford rent.<\/p>\n

\u2018I feel like if I\u2019m working all that time, I need to come home and not have to do\u00a0anything.<\/p>\n

\u2018If I\u2019ve got the money I\u2019d rather use it and get someone to fix it and not worry about it.<\/p>\n

\u2018My parents and grandparents would be quite judgemental, but I don\u2019t mind as my\u00a0house\u00a0looks nice, it is not an absolute mess.<\/p>\n

\u2018They don\u2019t need to know how it is done.\u2019<\/p>\n

Speaking about the change in generations, Adam Graham, CEO of JustFix, said: \u2018We find that many younger people simply choose not to spend their valuable time doing jobs around the home.\u2019<\/p>\n

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

For more stories like this, <\/strong>check our news page<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sam blames Covid for his lack of confidence when it comes to DIY (Picture: JustFix) A student has confessed to paying a tradesman \u00a3180 just to change the batteries in his carbon monoxide alarm, fearing he might get it wrong. Sam Daley told Metro he does not want to speak to anyone on the phone. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-weird"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1542"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1546,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1542\/revisions\/1546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/softnary.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}