Drive getting redone bloke not turned up

[joshcowin]

Bristol spark said:

imdeman87 said:

So he lied to you when he couldn't start on Friday?

OP I think you know the answer here, get your money back and find an honest tradesman. I personally wouldn't agree to a tradesman asking for over £1k+ as a deposit - if he runs a good business then there should be sufficient cash in his business to pay for supplies before embarking on a job. He should also have accounts in good standing with local builders' merchants so wouldn't need to get money from customers before starting.

Sounds like the business is in financial trouble.

I think your missing the point of a deposit.

Its not to pay for the materials straight away, its to cover the material cost incase the customer is a tt and does not pay the bill at the end.

These things work both ways.

I agree secures your work, I would imagine that's the only reason for the deposit.

Customers are often as unreliable as this trades person is being.

[Andehh]

hman said:

is it normal to pay a deposit?

I cant remember any work I have had done on the house which wasnt 100% payment on invoice.

Nope, I have *never* paid a deposit for any work a trade has ever done for me. They hold accounts with their suppliers, which are settled after the job is done. Materials etc provided on credit, so why do they need advance payments from me? I get paid end of the month, they get paid end of the job. Way the world works.

Once materials have been delivered, and work started I am happy to pay an initial payment, but always with me being 'quids in' if they walk/disappear over the horizon. Staged payments I am happy with, but final payment is once job done & checked over.

I have never had a trade argue, or suggest otherwise.

wjwren said:

Out of interest what sort of proceedings can you start in such a case like this?

Moneyclaim online?

Yes, Moneyclaim with as much clearly & concisely presented evidence. Though in OP's situation, I would give them a few days (end of the week).

As per the above, I also don't remember any trade that has turned up on time, as promised for the entire job duration. As per nature of the trade some jobs take longer, slip over and compromises have to be accepted. That's why I don;t pay until they are under way.

edit:

joshcowin said:

I agree secures your work, I would imagine that's the only reason for the deposit.

Customers are often as unreliable as this trades person is being.

A solid trade should have enough work lined up where if one person cancels a job, he can shift stuff around and start the next one earlier. Our builder did that last week. Legal issues on one job he was in to do (shared wall disagreement came up mid way through tht project) he simply phoned me and asked to start a week earlier. I was over the moon!

Karma then came back to me, where he went back to do the original job after doing half our of job, but that took him longer which put him back 3 days overall on my project. I was disappointed & miffed at the lack of communication - but sadly that's the way if it with Trades these days! Ill suck it up as so far the work has has done is top notch.

Edited by Andehh on Wednesday 19th April 13:21

[imdeman87]

joshcowin said:

Bristol spark said:

imdeman87 said:

So he lied to you when he couldn't start on Friday?

OP I think you know the answer here, get your money back and find an honest tradesman. I personally wouldn't agree to a tradesman asking for over £1k+ as a deposit - if he runs a good business then there should be sufficient cash in his business to pay for supplies before embarking on a job. He should also have accounts in good standing with local builders' merchants so wouldn't need to get money from customers before starting.

Sounds like the business is in financial trouble.

I think your missing the point of a deposit.

Its not to pay for the materials straight away, its to cover the material cost incase the customer is a tt and does not pay the bill at the end.

These things work both ways.

I agree secures your work, I would imagine that's the only reason for the deposit.

Customers are often as unreliable as this trades person is being.

Well I personally would never deal with such tradesmen. If they want a large chunk of the money before even starting any of the work, then they can jog on. I'm clearly not the only one to have this mentality as per hman and Andehh's comments.

I pay after having had a meal in a restaurant, pay after my car's fixed at a local garage, pay after having a set of windows and doors installed, after a conservatory is built, after a new bathroom is fitted etc. - not before.

I'm not disputing the fact that there are dodgy customers out there - you can be taken advantage of in many business settings. That's just the inherent risk of having any business. If the customer doesn't pay, take the customer to court.

And besides, asking for a deposit does not guarantee that the customer will pay the remaining amount upon completion of the job.

If you do have to pay a deposit before the tradesmen lift a finger, at least make a £100 transaction on a credit card (should the business accept them).

[dingg]

hmmm

I ALWAYS deal in cash if I can trust the trader involved and get a GOOD deal

ie - large 4 bedroom detached house - 2 chimney stacks reduced in height , all 4 walls pointing ground out and repointed , complete new roof (clay tiles -sunsets I think- new battens felt etc) (roof is mahoosive for footprint of property having very steep design ) barge boards covered with black pvc and some new guttering. whole property scaffolded out for the work.

4k upfront for some materials/pay workers - another payment 2/3 way through and the rest on completion total cost 16k

had been quoted up to 40k for the same job.

this is North East england where a good deal can be had if you know where/who to ask

[SystemParanoia]

£16k

he saw you comming

[SVTRick]

Sounds like he not only pulled your pants down but also fully shafted you.
Only a mug parts with cash up front like that.
If someone wants money for materials up front buy the gear yourself and get it delivered.

[Monkeylegend]

dingg said:

hmmm



this is North East england where a good deal can be had if you know where/who to ask

Hopefully you will remember to do this next time then.

[oceanview]

Bodge it and scarper plc, are well respected and have great reviews on Fraudbook from, chav'iam, counci'l4ever,retard'resident and tatoo'tt.

This means they are great and work is a+++!!

[Sa Calobra]

A £1200 deposit is alot. You don't even leave that on a car.

Saying that if he does a crap job yuo can point to £1200 as 'paid'..

[Butter Face]

OP, have you, er, you know, called him?

[wjwren]

He text me yesterday to say he needed a couple of days to "sort his head out" and he will be along this week.
I read that as I need a couple of days to finish this patio off and il be over.

In hindsight I should of ordered the bricks myself and had them delivered.

[DaveH23]

Not quite to the extent of the OP but the tyre fitter I use now was recommended on a work forum. I beleive a few people that actually recomended him are on here as well.

Anyway he guarantee's to beat anybody on price including the likes of black circles, camskill etc and he wanted payment upfront by BACS to his bank so he could pay for the tyres.

I'm not on facebook so not sure if he is on there to check but never had a website of any sort at the time.

I was sceptical at first but as so many others had used him I transfered the money.

He then turned up at my house as agreed and fitted my new rubber exactly when he said he would.

Several years later he now has a website with proper payment options available.

When I first used him he was new to being self employed so needed the money upfront.

As he has grown this is no longer the case.

As people have said there are plenty of valid reasons as to why the tradesman is not showing up.

[wjwren]

I was speaking to my mate who is a developer and he said this happens all the time. Paid a bloke a month ago to tarmac a drive and had endless excuses. Anyway im hoping he will get his arse over this week and sort it out and then il pay him 4 weeks later or when i feel like it.

[Palmers]

What happened to being up front?

When he next says i need a few days for blah blah

Just drop it into the convo

'I need a few days to tie up loose ends'

'Yeah thats cool, nice patio you did on friday by the way.'

[hyphen]

Butter Face said:

OP, have you, er, you know, called him?

Hard to understand a thick Irish accent sometimes, text is easier

OP- set a firm timeframe with him to complete the job. In writing.

[Andehh]

hyphen said:

Hard to understand a thick Irish accent sometimes, text is easier

OP- set a firm timeframe with him to complete the job. In writing.

The reality is, it will get laughed at & shrugged off.

OP - all you can do is be polite and persistent and keep on at him. Give him a week and just accept this as a lessons learnt.

[wjwren]

No he wasnt irish!


He came over, twice to my house, my good friend had his drive done and was please, though he also ordered some soil through him the day or 2 for delivery turned into 2 weeks. Im hoping he will pull his finger out and start on it as im fed up with it now.

[V8 Fettler]

I've given up trying to find trustworthy domestic tradesmen, it's easier to live with the gradual decline of the property and spend the money on something else.

[wjwren]

Update - he called earlier to say he will be over first thing tuesday with the digger!

[lucido grigio]

wjwren said:

Update - he called earlier to say he will be over first thing tuesday with the digger!

Only a week late then.

Yay.