Robert Bakers Drafting Service

Hiring Robert Baker’s Drafting Service has been, without question, the worst decision we have ever made for our home build.



We paid $3,900 for plans that our independent surveyor described as “the most outdated drawings” he had ever seen – riddled with errors and not compliant with current building codes. When we requested corrections, we were quoted an outrageous $9,200 – almost three times the original fee – just to fix what we believed were his own mistakes. When we pushed back, we were met with arrogance and told: “If you don’t like it, go somewhere else.”



It got worse. He refused to release our own AutoCAD files unless we paid another $2,480. In our view, this was unreasonable and felt like our project was being held hostage.



Every single quote for third-party services (soil testing, surveying, engineering, etc.) was issued only on his own letterhead. We were never provided the official quotes directly from the tradespeople. We were instructed to make payments into his account, which raised major concerns for us about transparency. When we sourced our own independent quotes, they came back at times a quarter of the price of what he had quoted. Once we chose to proceed with independent surveyors and trades, the relationship deteriorated quickly. From that point on, he became noticeably more frustrated with us for not going along with what felt like his manipulative practices.



Communication was a disaster. Emails would take days to weeks to receive any response, progress stalled, and every amendment became a drawn-out ordeal. His methods felt outdated, his professionalism nonexistent, and his handling of our project left us feeling exploited and drained.



After speaking with other draftsmen and tradespeople, we were told this behaviour is far from normal. They suggested it appears he lures clients in with prices that seem competitive at first, only to sting them later with hidden and inflated costs buried in his contract. After reading other reviews – which we wish we had seen sooner – it’s clear we are not the only ones who have experienced this nightmare.



Seven months later, thousands of dollars wasted, endless stress, and still no completed project, we have reported our experience to Consumer Affairs Victoria, the VBA, and other authorities.



💥 In our honest opinion, Robert Baker’s Drafting Service is the most unprofessional, stressful, and disappointing service provider we have ever dealt with. If you value your money, time, and sanity, stay far, far away.

Gave me a reasonable quote for the drafting for a deck but misrepresented the costs of the soil tester, engineer and surveyor by over $3,500. Has a clause in his contract that he will only give you the invoices for the externals on his own letterhead - thereby disguising what he is up to. I only twigged to what he had done when he gave me a massive bill for simple amendments after the build had commenced and I contacted the external contractors myself to find out what they had charged.

Very expensive not quoted for council drawings $5880

Plans $7880 including additional plans



Never again with this guy

Collected half the money. Over two months and no result. Given many version of slight drawing with no advisory or helpful information. Dragging timeline and trying to get more money without producing any real useful work. Be very careful.