Paying tradesmen

[Stravaig]

I wonder if you can help with some advice, please.

We're having our kitchen done up. This is a necessity from taking on this house, not a whim. Anyway, our first plumber did a runner and the work he'd repeatedly promised by the end of the year hasn't even started yet. (Fortunately he didn't have any of our money.) Then the electrician had an accident (not in our place!) and was off sick for months. He's now ready and willing and pleased to quote for our work.

It's all been a big hassle. And good tradesmen are rarer than unicorns round here. Out of desperation we're getting B&Q to do the work in one of the rooms. An expensive way to go about things but sometimes needs must. But they can't supply the labour until May and that is despite us having to pay upfront for the work when we booked it mid-Jan. (And they were very keen that we should uuse their credit finance partner for our payment. But that's another story.)

Anyway, you hear/read about some horror stories. One guy in our area fleeced several customers by getting paid £30-40k up front for loft conversions, and then he just naffed off. Thus the poor customers were left substantial sums out of pocket and the work half-done, which was probably even worse than not starting it in the first place.

Well, we can't afford to lose large sums of money in such a way. What can we do? Is it the norm to pay before the work is done? I think we're particularly vulnerable because of being new to the area. But equally, what if the tradesmen did the work and then we didn't pay. They'd need some protection too.

I suppose we could set up some kind of escrow arrangement but I can't imagine that's the norm. How would you expect to pay for a major building project in your home?

Thanks in advance if anyone can help.

[retropants]

Dear Stravaig, my husband is a tradesman, and he gets paid when the work is complete, unless a larger sum (rare) then he requests a % upfront to purchase the materials. Occasionally he has to chase for payment, but it almost always comes through.

We had our roof replaced in January, and we didn't pay for the actual work until completed and we were happy with it all. We did, however, have to pay some suppliers on day one, in order to get materials delivered.

[Stravaig]

Many thanks, RetroPants. That's helpul. As it happens, we've already bought nearly all the materials, eg cabinets, sinks, etc. So the guys won't have to buy any of that on our behalf. I suppose most people don't get their kitchens done up if they're not planning to pay for it but people who don't pay promptly could create havoc for a small business's cash flow. It must be a worry.

The job we have lined up for B&Q is doing up a bathroom (bath out shower in, new sanitaryware, etc). About 70% of the cost of that was labour. We're waiting for the independent tradesmen to come back with a quote for the kitchen. It'll be interesting to see how that percentage of materials to labour compares.

I'm glad we won't have to pay up front and then live in fear that the work might not be done. Thanks again.

[Geoff]

I'm trying to get our hot water cylinder replaced, not leaking but showing corrosion round the top that is a bit worrying, so have given the details to three plumbers but nobody has got back to me. At least if they asked for money up front it might indicate a bit of commitment! We also have a borehole issue and have had a quote for that, wanted 50% up front, paid on 26th January with a supposed 2 week lead time. Failed to answer emails or phone calls since so I decided on one last chance this Monday, was going to try email, landline and mobile and if no response set off to his address (40 minutes away) for 8:00am Tuesday. In the event got a response saying a pallet load of parts for us and other customers had gone astray, it had been escalated and response promised, back to silence. I also have a request for a quote for replacing double glazing units outstanding since last September. The tradesman situation is just ridiculous caused by youths finding it easier to go for nondescript university courses then sign on unemployed with mental health issues, bring back proper apprenticeships. Can only get worse if more of them decide to go into politics instead.