James Hird and wife Tania fall victim to tradie scam over house repairs

AFL great James Hird and his wife Tania have fallen victim to a tradie scam that has cost them an exorbitant amount of money.

AFL great James Hird and his family have been caught up in an alleged tradie scam that has seen them overcharged for repairs.

Hird and his Tania become the highest-profile victims of the alleged scam, which saw customers use a website to hire British and Irish workers, according to Seven.

Tania was searching for tradies to fix a broken downpipe on the couple’s home in Toorak.

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After using the website, Tania was charged $31,900 for the repair works. Works an independent expert says should have cost only $350.

The report from Seven states there are 11 alleged victims with the alleged ringleader appearing in court on Wednesday applying for bail.

Police claim they caught four accused scammers at Melbourne Airport trying to escape the country last month.

They allege the ringleader is part of an organised crime group targeting the vulnerable, such as an 81-year-old man who was allegedly scammed of almost $100,000 for roof works that left it “in a worse condition than when the tradies arrived”, per the report.

James Hird's family has allegedly been caught up in a tradie scam and stung for more than $30,000. Police claim the AFL legend's wife, Tania Hird, paid almost 100 times what she should have been charged for work to repair their Toorak mansion. @cassiezervos#7NEWSpic.twitter.com/BtHNgrUpLZ

— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) September 7, 2022

Hird is an assistant coach at GWS, but has been linked with a return to Essendon following the sacking of Ben Rutten.

The club great left the club in 2015 after serving a 12 – month suspension imposed on him by the AFL because of the infamous supplement saga.

New Essendon president David Barham was asked about the possibility of Hird returning to coach the club in the wake of Rutten’s sacking.

“I’m not sure what Hirdy’s got to do with it, to be honest,” Barham said.

“No one’s spoken to Hirdy. Does he want to (coach Essendon)? I haven’t asked him.

“How much more hypothetical can we get? That’s sort of like, ‘if one plus one plus one equals five’, what do you reckon?’ I can’t answer that.”

But it was the Herald Sun’s Jay Clark who left Barham completely bamboozled.

“Does the club know what sort of coach it needs?” Clark asked.

Barham: “Um, yeah that’s got to be worked out. That’s part of what’s got to be worked out on Sunday and the decision that’s got to be made.

Clark: “So no, the club doesn’t know?”

Barham: “Um … I think that’s got to be worked out on Sunday.”

According to recent reports Hird remains in the mix for the Essendon coaching role after Ross Lyon withdrew from the race.

The Hird’s fell victim to a tradie scam. (AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy)

Originally published as James Hird and wife Tania fall victim to tradie scam over house repairs