Paying tradesman

G_M

I got this guy's details off one of those check a trade type websites,

Which one? The only ones I'd put any faith in are

* Which? Trusted Traders, or

* Trading Standards

The others are all commercial sites, full of duff reviews, and where contractors pay to be included (so are never removed whatever the feedback as that hits the income stream)

thescouselander

Always pay in arrears. If the tradesman has a cash flow issue perhaps you could pay for the materials on arrival at your location. There's definitely no need to be stumping up 40% up front though. It sounds dodgy IMO.

alumende27

Mr_Poves wrote: »

it's more a case of "is this customer gonna rip me off or not "

And there you've hit the issue. Trust is a two way street. He doesn't trust customers enough he wants a 40% deposit a week in advance. I don't trust traders who insist on payment before they've even set foot on site. And if their default mindset is a customer that won't pay an unreasonably large deposit is going to be trouble then I'm certainly happy I chose not to use them.

As I wrote before I've never had an issue with tradesmen before and they've never asked for money up front. I always paid in full and promptly and have never had the need to query the quality of their work. The request seemed unusual hence my original question.

I get your point of view, but I don't want to use a tradesman that keeps having such bad experiences with customers he feels the need to ask for such a large deposit in advance.

keith969

I've only paid upfront to a tradesman I know, who has done work for me before, and even in that case it is for materials only. I've had two very different jobs done recently which came to over £1000 and both were paid on completion. If they'd wanted money up front then I would have required references, if they want to credit check me fine, I have no problem with that.

Mr_Poves

dsdhall wrote: »

And there you've hit the issue. Trust is a two way street. He doesn't trust customers enough he wants a 40% deposit a week in advance. I don't trust traders who insist on payment before they've even set foot on site. And if their default mindset is a customer that won't pay an unreasonably large deposit is going to be trouble then I'm certainly happy I chose not to use them.

As I wrote before I've never had an issue with tradesmen before and they've never asked for money up front. I always paid in full and promptly and have never had the need to query the quality of their work. The request seemed unusual hence my original question.

I get your point of view, but I don't want to use a tradesman that keeps having such bad experiences with customers he feels the need to ask for such a large deposit in advance.

My situation may differ slightly as I'm a carpet and flooring installer , but same principles will apply in reason , There's no way I am ordering materials , especially cut to size or bespoke without a retainer , And to add to the trust issue , it's also down to people shopping around , and the other suppliers who will always undercut you just to win the job .
What happens if I quote the customer £1500 , shake hands on it , then a week before the job they get a quote elsewhere for a few hundred less ?
Today people do not work on trust and handshakes , you would always lose the job and end up with goods you still need to pay a supplier for .
I've worked this way for year's and only get maybe 1 or 2 people every 6 mth's who will question it , they are normally in their 20's for what that's worth , the majority of my customers actual offer a deposit at the point of accepting the quote without me even asking.
I still stand by the fact that it's totally unreasonable to expect someone to book days in a work schedule without any kind of guarantee they will get paid , If I book a 2 day job that gets cancelled last minute I'm then sat on my backside for that 2 days with no income , Again I will mention it's the unscrupulous tradesmen that give us all a bad name , but you can easily turn that around and question the customers integrity , I know loads of people have never been paid for completed work .
I'm gonna bow out at this point , but appreciate the opinions of other's .

Doozergirl

It is a catch-22 as there are utter idiots on both sides of the coin, but the default position seems to be one of distrust towards builders.

It is incredibly frustrating as regardless ofnwhether or not a tradesperson has credit accounts, those accounts need to be paid. There's no refund option on a £10 piece of soil pipe laid in the ground and certainly no refund on the hugely higher value of labour and plant.

I can carry well into five figures of credit every week for a client and don't charge deposits unless there are bespoke items, but people can have the nerve to question my integrity at any point in a job just because they watch awfully made television.

I'm doing my good friends' kitchen for free at the moment. My guys get paid, but I've designed it all, fetched and carried and project managed it for love. I've even paid for the solid surface worktops that are installed and haven't asked for the money yet. A family member had the gall yesterday to suggest that she was being ripped off! They look beautiful and they've only paid for the fitting so far - after it was done.

missile

Some tradesmen ask be paid in full in advance.
Some ask for a deposit.
Some on completion.

I get paid in arrears for any work I do.

tired_dad

assuming good references, evidence of previous work, personal recommendation etc, I would have no problem paying a deposit.

Small job. He has to block time off and refuse other jobs while allocated to you.

Maybe he is worried you'll get a cheaper quote and dispense with his services. A deposit gives him security that the job will proceed.

For me the issue would be confidence we had the right person.

garrysibbald

tired_dad wrote: »

assuming good references, evidence of previous work, personal recommendation etc, I would have no problem paying a deposit.

Small job. He has to block time off and refuse other jobs while allocated to you.

Maybe he is worried you'll get a cheaper quote and dispense with his services. A deposit gives him security that the job will proceed.

For me the issue would be confidence we had the right person.

You Sir are a tradesmans ideal customer and I hope your trust in them has been rewarded with prompt professional work. :beer:

alumende27

Fun times. After agreeing to the cancellation of the work due to his asking for a 40% deposit up front (although not mentioning that in the quote or when he visited site or at any time between asking him to go ahead with the work 3 months ago until he finally sprung it on me last week, he's now sent me an invoice for 10% of the quote value as a cancellation fee (and 5% interest charged weekly if I don't pay within 5 days).

Argh!