Paying checkatrade builder upfront for goods

northwest1965

We want to have some new doors fitted.
The quote was OK, but the joiner wants us to pay upfront for the doors.
I have suggested that I pay the door company direct to order the doors but he says we can't.

Is that normal - and is check a trade a good thing?

Brie

Have you had a detailed invoice for the goods and work to be done?  Have you had recommendations other than checkatrade about the joiner?  

A close friend who runs a business looked at getting on the checkatrade list but by his account it was a case of paying a fee and then he would be added.  So no actual check would be done on his business.  Not sure how true that is on the building trades.

stuart45

He could be getting them from Howdens who will deliver directly to you. Checkatrade guarantee the work up to £1000.
.

UnsureAboutthis

Pay the door supplier direct. I would not trust anyone.
Even if the man/woman is 100% trustworthy, things can go wrong.

So, pay yourself or look for another one

We had the roof done a few years ago. I paid for the tiles etc to a local builder they bloke used.

Many, many years ago we had another roof done/replaced—we did not pay a penny until the
job was completed.

Even if he/she is getting the door's cheaper, ask yourself, are you being passed on the savings or
most of the savings, and is it worth the risk?

MyRealNameToo

northwest1965 said:

We want to have some new doors fitted.
The quote was OK, but the joiner wants us to pay upfront for the doors.
I have suggested that I pay the door company direct to order the doors but he says we can't.

Is that normal - and is check a trade a good thing?

Its not uncommon, some will ask for part of the labour up front too, whilst you are concerned about a dishonest trader they are also concerned about dishonest customers, ones who cancel last minute leaving them without a job to do (ie no income) or worse still get the work done then dont pay the bill. 

Any tool to help you find suppliers can be useful but dont rely on them having done all the due diligence or assume that just because they are listed they are good. Some tools will provide some guarantee behind the people listed but make sure you understand what cover is and what terms. Some can have onerous requirements which are easily missed meaning they refuse to step in if there is a problem. 

Have hired a few people from similar tools, personally didnt have a major problem with any of them but certainly some were better than others. 

stuart45

northwest1965 said:

 and is check a trade a good thing?

Checkatrade as a company are easy to deal with regarding complaints. The quality of the tradesmen varies quite a lot, although the ones with too many issues have their accounts suspended. 

plumb1_2

Unless they are a special order for the doors then a deposit should be made upfront 
If they are bog standard doors,off the shelf type in stock, then they should have an account with trade facilities.
If he’s concerned about payment as your a new customer to him, inform him you will pay for the doors on delivery 
Never pay by cash, unless the doors are on site and inspected 

itsthelittlethings

I think it’s fairly standard to pay upfront like that, not had much major work done though.

TELLIT01

Has he tried to explain why you can't pay the supplier?  Even if it's trade only, they will still accept payment from a customer.  We paid Howdens direct for our kitchen units.

He probably doesn't want you to pay because they you would see his mark up.

stuart45

The point about paying upfront often depends on the market. If there's plenty of work around and there's a shortage of tradesmen, it's more likely he'll only work for people who'll pay upfront 
When work is really tight, tradesmen are more likely to take a chance.
Would agree with TELLIT01 about you not wanting customers to know the trade prices. 

Alanp

We had a new gate a few years ago, the guy ordered the wood ect ,from his supplier and we went and paid for it, 
it’s better to go to your local council and get a list of the trades people from them, I think they are vetted by age uk,