After agreeing a commencement date in writing, this contractor cancelled 3 working days before the start date. The job was to change the flooring to two rooms in a small flat, and I had prepared by emptying the rooms and removing the old floor. The cancellation left me with a flat that's hard to live in - two unfurnished rooms with no flooring and one room full of all my things. I had contacted a few contractors about installation of an engineered wooden floor and some other minor jobs. I got two responses. I've had bad experiences with contractors in the past so I asked for a contract - the other contractor provided me with their standard contract, Przemek said he wouldn't usually use one for a small job and said I was welcome to create one if I wanted, so I did. He seemed very reluctant to have a contract, which to me seemed a little odd - I sensed that the need for a contract was putting him off doing the work. I let him know my desired start date, and again he seemed reluctant to confirm. Eventually, he said he couldn't start on this date and gave me another date. We confirmed this date in writing. Then, three working days before the start, he said he could no longer do the job. Interestingly, despite being adamant there was no need for a contract, he used not having a signed contract as a reason it was ok to cancel at such short notice.