New Boiler - Money Up Front?

paigesaunt

I feel I must add my tuppence here. My husband is a builder and I'm forever hearing how you shouldn't pay anything upfront, particularly to builders. Since being caught by seemingly trustworthy customers on a few occasions, we always request a deposit if the total amount is over £1,000 and stage payments, up to 75% of the whole job, any orders such as windows have to be paid in full on ordering, after all we don't want to be left with a whole house of windows and doors if the customer decides they can't afford to have it done after all, or lose their job, or worse!

I get sick and tired if hearing 'you shouldn't pay anything until the job is complete' Could someone tell me why tradesmen are one of the very few services you can call upon and not pay a penny until they have finished, and then more often than not it's days or even weeks later before they are paid.
If it's a reputable tradesman, and have a written quotation, and receipt (bank transfer is a good enough receipt) then you gave nothing to worry about.
Be fair to your trades, don't make them beg to be paid, and they'll respect you as a good customer and go out of their way to help. Your refusing to pay a deposit could suggest you will be a bad payer and trades may be reluctant to take on the job.

warmhands.coldheart

few rules I live by when having work done. and I've had numerous jobs done on houses I've owned over the years.

• NEVER pay all up front... EVER
• It is not unreasonable to pay a trade person a deposit up-front for materials, however I always offer to pay the suppliers directly on behalf of the trades-person and have all materials delivered to my house. That way it's win/win no-one's "out of pocket". pretty much everyone who has done work for me has been 100% happy with this arrangement.
• Always withhold a small amount until ALL snagging is done. This MUST be agreed up-front at the start of the job with the tradesperson, not to be forced on them when they submit their final bill. Agree an amount and stick to it.... no reasonable trade person will disagree with this as I have yet to meet a tradesperson who's got it 100% right 100% of the time...
• FINALLY If it sounds too good to be true... it usually is !!

mandm65

warmhands.coldheart wrote: »

few rules I live by when having work done. and I've had numerous jobs done on houses I've owned over the years.

• NEVER pay all up front... EVER
• It is not unreasonable to pay a trade person a deposit up-front for materials, however I always offer to pay the suppliers directly on behalf of the trades-person and have all materials delivered to my house. That way it's win/win no-one's "out of pocket". pretty much everyone who has done work for me has been 100% happy with this arrangement.
• Always withhold a small amount until ALL snagging is done. This MUST be agreed up-front at the start of the job with the tradesperson, not to be forced on them when they submit their final bill. Agree an amount and stick to it.... no reasonable trade person will disagree with this as I have yet to meet a tradesperson who's got it 100% right 100% of the time...
• FINALLY If it sounds too good to be true... it usually is !!

This sounds like my principle, so far worked fine for my projects, it work both ways and a honest builder would not object to above if he has nothing to hide. I guess this principle also addresses the issue highlighted by paigesaun.

cyclonebri1

If this is "a bit of a sideline" to him then you should expect much less than a price "around what you expected".

I don't want to get into an argument about the black economy, but it does exist and can be an option for anyone in dire straits, but is that you? There are of course pitfalls, backup being the very least.

I pulled a name of the gas safe reg 2 months ago, found a guy that lives 1/2mile away and used him, cost £300 plus the dreaded for the install, I supplied the hardware, which incidentally was faulty so my issue to deal with the manf.

In general, and I rarely use any tradesmen, I would never pay for more than I have on site, ie, when the boiler and bits arrive pay for the materials, when the job is half done pay half the labour etc

You want to end in a position where you have nothing to pay but the profit or profit with costs of the fixer.

Yes it may upset a few who trade differently but I'm speaking from the point of view of someone who expects to pay but doesn't leave too mant exit routes open;);)

C_Mababejive

If you dont like the terms proposed then go back to British Gas or another major company.

teddysmum

C_Mababejive wrote: »

If you dont like the terms proposed then go back to British Gas or another major company.

Why a major company ? None of the small locals who gave me quotations wanted paying in advance, but they did vary by £300 in price on an approx. £3000 job.


Would the boiler warranty be ok, if not fitted 'officially' ?

Andy_89

paigesaunt wrote: »

I feel I must add my tuppence here. My husband is a builder and I'm forever hearing how you shouldn't pay anything upfront, particularly to builders. Since being caught by seemingly trustworthy customers on a few occasions, we always request a deposit if the total amount is over £1,000 and stage payments, up to 75% of the whole job, any orders such as windows have to be paid in full on ordering, after all we don't want to be left with a whole house of windows and doors if the customer decides they can't afford to have it done after all, or lose their job, or worse!

I get sick and tired if hearing 'you shouldn't pay anything until the job is complete' Could someone tell me why tradesmen are one of the very few services you can call upon and not pay a penny until they have finished, and then more often than not it's days or even weeks later before they are paid.
If it's a reputable tradesman, and have a written quotation, and receipt (bank transfer is a good enough receipt) then you gave nothing to worry about.
Be fair to your trades, don't make them beg to be paid, and they'll respect you as a good customer and go out of their way to help. Your refusing to pay a deposit could suggest you will be a bad payer and trades may be reluctant to take on the job.

I would be happy to pay a deposit, on materials only. As long as they were delivered to my house.

rustyboy21

Another one here who has been shafted by what looked like nice genuine customers, who have then bounced cheques, refused to let me in the house to discuss a 6 month old debt or have tried to slate me to other people, when I have taken them to small claims to try and get my money off them.


I now charge them for all the goods 1 day PRIOR to installation, by BACS or card/cash and they then pay for the install on the day. If they don't agree to it, they don't get their goods, full stop.


Not going through all the hassle of small claims, when they are sitting nice and warm in their house, thinking they have got one over on me !:mad:


Percentage/proportionally wise, there are more bad customers than bad dealers/installers/engineers.

BristolS

Andy_89 wrote: »

I would be happy to pay a deposit, on materials only. As long as they were delivered to my house.

Unless he has his own gas safe number he wont be able to register the boiler on a private job. He can only legally work through British gas.

On new boiler installations I ask for a 10% deposit.
Materials to be paid for when they are delivered (day the job starts)
The rest when its complete

Andy_89

BristolS wrote: »

Unless he has his own gas safe number he wont be able to register the boiler on a private job. He can only legally work through British gas.

On new boiler installations I ask for a 10% deposit.
Materials to be paid for when they are delivered (day the job starts)
The rest when its complete

That is definitely the way to do it.

If its a very small operation, and there was a considerable amount of work to do, I would be happy paying a sum fortnightly.

Obviously not an excessive amount, but I fully accept guys have to put dinner on the table.