Woman blames pet hamster's death on workers installing kitchen doors, company unable to establish 'causal link'
A pet owner is holding an installation company responsible for her hamster's death after the animal allegedly suffered "severe respiratory distress" due to dust generated during renovation works.
This is one of several complaints that Stomper Shirley has raised against Mettalogy, the company she engaged to install frosted glass doors for her kitchen.
She also alleged the following issues:
- Lack of updates on appointment delays
- Workers arriving late without notice
- Staff not answering calls or messages
- Changes to installation scope without prior communication
- Alleged aggressive, threatening behaviour by a worker
- Concerns over unsafe and unprofessional conduct during the works
The Stomper said she had first engaged the company via its Instagram page on July 11, 2025. She paid a 70 per cent deposit of $1,600, expecting the installation in August, but it was repeatedly delayed.
"Appointments were rescheduled multiple times without prior communication, and I often had to call the company days before scheduled dates just to confirm whether the installation would proceed," said Shirley.
The date of installation was eventually set for Nov 24, 2025.
"The appointment was scheduled from noon to 3pm, but the installation team only arrived at 4.30pm with no prior updates or explanation. I had repeatedly messaged the company on WhatsApp but received no replies," recounted the Stomper.
"On the day itself, I was suddenly told that frosted glass could not be installed, even though this was never communicated earlier — despite prior confirmations and instructions."
Shirley then claimed that around 7pm, one worker became aggressive, threw things and threatened to call the police.
"I felt unsafe in my own home," Shirley said.
"I called and messaged the senior staff multiple times on WhatsApp, but received no answers. When I finally got a response later, I was told that 'workers can decline overtime', which does not excuse violent conduct or poor communication."
She added: "Worse still, dust from the workers caused my hamster severe respiratory distress. Sadly, he has passed away due to the lack of safety and cleanliness precautions."
The Stomper shared a video of the hamster "gasping" for air.
In response to a Stomp query, Mettalogy said: "First and foremost, we are genuinely sorry that the customer feels the service did not meet her expectations."
The company acknowledged that the workers arrived late on Nov 24, 2025.
"We had communicated to the customer that delays may occur due to unforeseen circumstances at earlier sites. We do not dispute that the delay caused frustration, and we apologise for the inconvenience," said Mettalogy.
But the company said the installer "firmly" denies throwing any items.
"He did, however, explain that after a long day of physically demanding work extending past 7pm, he informed the customer that he may need to stop for the day and continue on another occasion for safety and health reasons, rather than work late into the night," said Mettalogy.
"As our work is labour-intensive, we allow installers to assess their own physical limits rather than push them beyond what is safe."
As for the allegations of threats, the company said it had advised the customer that if she felt genuinely threatened, she should lodge a police report.
"To our knowledge, no report was filed. We do not condone aggressive behavior, but we also have no independent evidence to substantiate the claim of threats," said Mettalogy.
"On the matter of communication, the customer contacted our office after working hours (after 7pm), when office staff were no longer present."
"Nonetheless, once the situation was flagged internally, a senior staff member contacted the customer using her personal phone at around 8pm to understand the issue and advised that the workers be allowed to leave safely, as it was already late in the evening."
Shirley told Stomp that after multiple calls, she managed to reschedule the installation for Jan 17, 2026. However, she was informed that only the door could be installed that day and not the frosted film.
"I insisted that both tasks be completed on Jan 17, and the senior staff member agreed," said the Stomper.
However, on that day, the frosted film team left before the rest of the workers arrived. Mettalogy told Stomp that it had explained to Shirley in advance that the film installation would be handled by a separate contractor.
"We attempted to coordinate both teams on the same day as a goodwill effort, but the film contractor declined to proceed concurrently as it would affect his schedule," said Mettalogy.
Regarding the hamster, the company said it was informed of its death only a few days after the installation and the installers were not aware of any pet being present during the works.
"While we sympathise with the loss, we are unable to establish a direct causal link between the installation works and the incident, and we explained that we could not assign a monetary value or discount to this claim," said Mettalogy.
"As a general safety practice, pet owners will typically keep their pets away from active work areas during renovation or installation works."
The company added there remained an outstanding balance unpaid for the installed works.
"Unfortunately, the situation has since escalated into repeated demands for discounts and refund requests, alongside references to negative social media exposure," said Mettalogy.
"We fully understand that the customer is dissatisfied, and we regret that the experience has caused distress.
"At the same time, we would like to highlight that we are actively exploring ways to resolve this matter directly and privately with the customer, and we remain committed to settling the issue amicably where possible."
