Trades man has taken money without doing any work
Discussion
Terminator X said:
lost in espace said:
I would give 101 a ring if as we are talking fraudulent tradesmen taking pensioners money. They are pretty hot on this.
500 will be pretty much impossible to see again unless the chap who has it voluntarily returns it imho.
TX.
For all we know the Police have had 0 other reports saying the same thing.
ClaphamGT3 said:
Terminator X said:
ClaphamGT3 said:
And this why, however big or small the job, you never, ever pay a tradesman or building contractor up front.
I will repeat my oft quoted mantra on the subject; the tradesman who cant afford to cashflow your job won't be capable of doing your job
In this day and age that will be a very small list. Pretty much everyone askes for money ahead these days as the alternative is to do some work and risk getting stiffed for it yourself. Just check them out first to make sure they are genuine vs someone who has a reputation for it?I will repeat my oft quoted mantra on the subject; the tradesman who cant afford to cashflow your job won't be capable of doing your job
TX.
TX.
Terminator X said:
How do they pay for the windows then as afaik they will pay 50% before the window company even move a muscle then the other 50% before the windows are delivered?
TX.
Nearly £15k worth of custom made windows and doors recently fitted, not a penny paid to the window company till they were fitted and all minor snags rectified.TX.
jfdi said:
Terminator X said:
How do they pay for the windows then as afaik they will pay 50% before the window company even move a muscle then the other 50% before the windows are delivered?
TX.
Nearly 15k worth of custom made windows and doors recently fitted, not a penny paid to the window company till they were fitted and all minor snags rectified.TX.
Any sensible Company would want to see some Customer commitment.
Taking a deposit from a customer isn’t a sign a business can’t float its own materials/works either it’s just balancing risk. As much as there are plenty of bad companies out there , bad customers are plentiful too.
All of it is by the by really , essentially the OPs (parents) have been a victim of theft and it Should be reported and action taken .
Edited by Fckitdriveon on Monday 23 May 07:28
gcollins said:
Andeh1 said:
Strongly disagree! Several years, 3 properties and a dozen jobs.... Not once has anyone ever quibbled about payment in stages after work done. Last bill was 28k within 14 days of the invoice, post job completion.
Decent builders will get 30 days credit with merchants....why would they need payment up front unless they have proven themselves to be unreliable & unable to secure credit themselves!?
You buy a car you pay a deposit, You purchase a kitchen you pay a deposit. We are no different, Fully booked up and all work through recommendations. Decent builders will get 30 days credit with merchants....why would they need payment up front unless they have proven themselves to be unreliable & unable to secure credit themselves!?
GasEngineer said:
Canon_Fodder said:
Ste372 said:
Post was placed on my builder
Do 'My Builder' not provide any protection for buyers?Like others on here, I have never, ever paid a tradesperson up front. I've offered a holding deposit and been told it wasn't necessary (£25K project), I've paid a stage payment once part way through an extension, otherwise all the other trades have been paid on satisfactory completion. I always pay on the nail, never quibble prices once agreed, always confirm extras by email so again, no misunderstandings.
I would always agree to pay a token gesture holding deposit, but as others have said there is no need for significant up-front payments. The commercial world almost 100% works on progress payments of work done or goods delivered, and that's how it should be.
I would always agree to pay a token gesture holding deposit, but as others have said there is no need for significant up-front payments. The commercial world almost 100% works on progress payments of work done or goods delivered, and that's how it should be.
Fckitdriveon said:
jfdi said:
Terminator X said:
How do they pay for the windows then as afaik they will pay 50% before the window company even move a muscle then the other 50% before the windows are delivered?
TX.
Nearly 15k worth of custom made windows and doors recently fitted, not a penny paid to the window company till they were fitted and all minor snags rectified.TX.
Any sensible Company would want to see some Customer commitment.
Taking a deposit from a customer isn’t a sign a business can’t float its own materials/works either it’s just balancing risk. As much as there are plenty of bad companies out there , bad customers are plentiful too.
All of it is by the by really , essentially the OPs (parents) have been a victim of theft and it Should be reported and action taken .
Edited by Fckitdriveon on Monday 23 May 07:28
Far more sensible for the tradesperson to ask for say, 20% up front as a commitment payment.
Is this company a reasonable sized firm or just one guy and his van?
Is it a Ltd company or is he a sole trader or similar?(which could actually be better than a limited company in terms of extracting the money from him)
I have done a small claims/MCOL before (and won) and it's a simple enough procedure.
Is it a Ltd company or is he a sole trader or similar?(which could actually be better than a limited company in terms of extracting the money from him)
I have done a small claims/MCOL before (and won) and it's a simple enough procedure.
I am carrying out a full house renovation. Local guy doing the windows said payment on completion only, fitted in April, not yet received the bill.
Local jobbing builder started in December, asked me for some money last month, paid more this month, bill on completion.
New kitchen, 10% deposit to national company, rest on completion.
Edited to add: Local carpet fitter, invoice on completion, no upfront money.
Local jobbing builder started in December, asked me for some money last month, paid more this month, bill on completion.
New kitchen, 10% deposit to national company, rest on completion.
Edited to add: Local carpet fitter, invoice on completion, no upfront money.
Edited by MustangGT on Monday 23 May 20:06
I’m a carpet fitter, the shop we contract to ask customers for 50% upfront as a deposit, the remainder on completion (or within an acceptable time afterwards).
We do a similar thing with our private jobs too if they are larger jobs over a few grand, not because we can’t afford the products but as an insurance more then anything that the customer is committed.
We live and work in a wealthy area so maybe it’s different here but we’ve never come across any issues with people not wanting to pay upfront to secure a job and the diary being booked through to august would suggest that it’s not driving anyone away.
Another shop in the town now does 50% as a deposit and gets the remaining 50% before the fitting is done! He says it’s not affected his work at all and he has reduced his stress levels a lot now he’s not spending hours each week chasing customers who don’t pay after the fitting.
For the OP though 60 days waiting is not right, we’ve had issues getting some products but the companies often tell us upfront on ordering that it’ll be a 4-6 week wait etc and of course we would tell the customer as soon as we knew just so they are in the loop!
We do a similar thing with our private jobs too if they are larger jobs over a few grand, not because we can’t afford the products but as an insurance more then anything that the customer is committed.
We live and work in a wealthy area so maybe it’s different here but we’ve never come across any issues with people not wanting to pay upfront to secure a job and the diary being booked through to august would suggest that it’s not driving anyone away.
Another shop in the town now does 50% as a deposit and gets the remaining 50% before the fitting is done! He says it’s not affected his work at all and he has reduced his stress levels a lot now he’s not spending hours each week chasing customers who don’t pay after the fitting.
For the OP though 60 days waiting is not right, we’ve had issues getting some products but the companies often tell us upfront on ordering that it’ll be a 4-6 week wait etc and of course we would tell the customer as soon as we knew just so they are in the loop!
Thank you for the replies.
Some great advice here.
Really felt for my parents as it's made me realise they are getting old and frail now. 10 or even 5 years ago they wouldn't of given any money up front.
I ended up contacting him personally and got given a load of nonsense about how times are hard etc etc... Tried to be as reasonable as possible discussed staggered payments
All of it fell on deaf ears so took a slightly different approach to it.
Ended up getting a quote at a different house for 'work to be done' he showed up and whilst he was around the back of the property me and few other neighbours who were aware of the situation just blocked his van in
Ended up having a really nice chat and when his promises of money fell on deaf ears and he realised his van wasn't moving fast He suddenly could pull a large chunk of cash out of his van.
Alls well that ends well. My original idea was to fight it legally but seeing my parents taken advantage of certainly lit a fire in me and after speaking to the numpty on the phone it was clear that was going to be a long and tedious process. The main thing is my parents can stop worrying and being embarrassed by it and can enjoy life again
Some great advice here.
Really felt for my parents as it's made me realise they are getting old and frail now. 10 or even 5 years ago they wouldn't of given any money up front.
I ended up contacting him personally and got given a load of nonsense about how times are hard etc etc... Tried to be as reasonable as possible discussed staggered payments
All of it fell on deaf ears so took a slightly different approach to it.
Ended up getting a quote at a different house for 'work to be done' he showed up and whilst he was around the back of the property me and few other neighbours who were aware of the situation just blocked his van in
Ended up having a really nice chat and when his promises of money fell on deaf ears and he realised his van wasn't moving fast He suddenly could pull a large chunk of cash out of his van.
Alls well that ends well. My original idea was to fight it legally but seeing my parents taken advantage of certainly lit a fire in me and after speaking to the numpty on the phone it was clear that was going to be a long and tedious process. The main thing is my parents can stop worrying and being embarrassed by it and can enjoy life again
fred bloggs said:
ClaphamGT3 said:
And this why, however big or small the job, you never, ever pay a tradesman or building contractor up front.
I will repeat my oft quoted mantra on the subject; the tradesman who cant afford to cashflow your job won't be capable of doing your job
This. I will repeat my oft quoted mantra on the subject; the tradesman who cant afford to cashflow your job won't be capable of doing your job
Longstanding / repeat clients no deposit.
Andeh1 said:
Strongly disagree! Several years, 3 properties and a dozen jobs.... Not once has anyone ever quibbled about payment in stages after work done. Last bill was 28k within 14 days of the invoice, post job completion.
Decent builders will get 30 days credit with merchants....why would they need payment up front unless they have proven themselves to be unreliable & unable to secure credit themselves!?
Its not for cashflow it is to show customer commitment. Decent builders will get 30 days credit with merchants....why would they need payment up front unless they have proven themselves to be unreliable & unable to secure credit themselves!?
If I am about to demolish half your house and spend 6 months on your property I want to know you are committed as much as I am.
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