Paying for building works

nickhopkins07

Good afternoon,

I'm having some work done on my house shortly with a cost in the region of £1500. I don't have any concerns with company I've gone for, they appear to have a high amount of good reviews and their quote was competitive.

What is the best way to pay them once the work is completed? I don't want to pay cash, I was thinking of having a cheque drawn up at the bank? Could I get a cheque drawn against my Nationwide credit card? If I can would that offer me any protection, in the same way if I bought something from a shop on it? As a first time buyer this isn't something I've had to deal with before.

Many thanks

Nick

Le_Kirk

Does the builder take credit/debit cards, this will give you protection if there is a dispute. If you have a bank account you should be able to draw a cheque on that - assuming you have a cheque book. I don't know that you can draw a cheque against a credit card. If you have internet banking you can do a "Faster Payments" transfer direct to your builder's account. You can also obtain a bankers draft but I believe you pay for those.

macman

OP is looking for Section 75 protection, and I don't think that the protection is available if you use a credit card cheque-but why not check with your card provider?
But first check what payment methods your builder will accept.

nickhopkins07

He's offered bank transfer; is this common practice?

comeandgo

If you know him then yes, bank transfer is how I pay most of my bills but be sure you have the correct bank details or you have great difficulty getting the money returned. Maybe just pay £5 to check its gone to correct account then pay the remainder. You don't get any of the Section 75 protection though.

Le_Kirk

macman wrote: »

OP is looking for Section 75 protection, and I don't think that the protection is available if you use a credit card cheque-but why not check with your card provider?
But first check what payment methods your builder will accept.

Good advice macman. Section 75 is only available with Credit Card. Debit Card uses Chargeback. No comeback with a cheque. You can call the bank and have it stopped for a fee but it is illegal if you issue a cheque knowing that you are going to stop it.

skintpaul

No stage payments?

If was the builder, would want some money up front for materials etc..

Doozergirl

skintpaul wrote: »

No stage payments?

If was the builder, would want some money up front for materials etc..

Stage payments and/or deposits for £1500?!


OP, bank transfer is perfectly normal and to me, the most legitimate way that we can work, creating a paper trail. If you have an agreement in writing for the work and evidence of payment then you can go small claims route if there is a problem, but usually you'd ask people to rectify things first! If I were that worried about a builder, I'd question why I was having them in the house in the first place.

nickhopkins07

Many thanks for the replies, we've agreed on bank transfer when the work is completed.

Dozergirl, I'm not worried about the builder, I made that pretty clear in my opening sentence, just looking for some advice!

Thanks everyone.