Paying deposit before builder starts working??

rxbren

ive started up on my own and its a struggle unfortunately as not well known i dont have jobs back to back I dont ask for deposits but i feel if its a big job its something that would help alot if a small deposit was taken or on completion of sections. its a massive risk everytime i do jobs to be paying out for materials and occasional machine hire-the deposits for the machines alone are between 500-1000 each so in a metter of hours can be out of pocket by a couple of grand. Then your still left with the worry of getting the customer to pay up which in my experiance the ones who seem to have more always want to try and pay less if they pay cash who then get funny when you tell them its the same price (id love to see their face if i said cheque would be 10% more).
Its ok if your some big business with hundreds of thousands in reserve you can afford to take the risk of paying out large amounts up front as you will have more luck recovering money if the !!!! hits the fan

doubledad

Not read the entire thread as I saw a bit of squabbling and couldn't be bothered getting into a p*****g contest with a bunch of strangers. To answer the original question; it's subjective. Some tradesmen will charge a deposit and some won't, simple as that. You're the customer so you decide if you want to pay it or not, there is no industry standard and there are no rules that govern such things within the wonderful world of self-employment. I charge a deposit akin to the cost of materials as it stops people cancelling and/or messing me about. It's all well and good someone telling you that it's not usual practise and that all builders have accounts, but he/she is simply guessing. I'm not a builder i'm a landscape gardener and whilst i do have an account with a supplier, that supplier also charges me a restocking fee of 20% because he doesn't want to be messed about either, so if i order decking @ £1000 and the customer cancels, i'm out £200, have the hassle of returning the goods and have no work as i've moved other jobs to accomodate the one that's just been cancelled - whilst the customer pays nothing? I think not.