Protect yourself from Cowboy Builders

There will come a time in everyone’s lives when they will need to engage a trades person, and we all know someone or have personally experienced cowboy builders and unscrupulous trades persons. Everyone has a story, which is why it’s crucial to know your rights and remedies so you can be prepared from the beginning.

Don’t ever be taken in by what appears to be goodwill on the builder’s part. They may make you feel confident of a positive outcome, but this is a business arrangement and you must ensure you have a watertight contract that you are happy with. If you are considering works of a reasonable value you should engage it on a contractual basis.

This would include specific clauses in relation to how long the job will take and how much it will cost. If you do not, then the assumption will be the job should cost a ‘reasonable amount’ and take ‘reasonable time’ – which is subject to interpretation and may drag things out if you find yourself in dispute.

A template for this type of agreement can be downloaded from Elite Trades.

So where to start?

When a tradesman comes to price a job, ask him to break down his costing into SEPARATE PRICES for labour and material costs.

When you receive his quotation (NEVER accept an estimate) call him and ask him how many days the job will take and how many tradesmen and labourers he will be employing during that period.

Ask the contractor what they charge as a day rate for trades and labourers  – When extras occur or unforeseen circumstances happen you should be in the position to know what the expected costs will be.
Multiply the number of tradesmen-days by his day rate and multiply the number of labourer-days, by adding the Tradesman and Labour totals together you can compare this to the figure for labour costs in the quotation and see how accurate and fair the price is. If there is a big difference then ask the question, if you don’t feel comfortable with the answer Go Elsewhere!

Remember you are letting someone into your home so check their references, if you are getting a reasonably sized job done i.e. New Kitchen, Extension, ask to visit previous clients to see examples of work which the contractors have completed, if the client was happy they will be more than willing to help.

Create a check list before you appoint the contractor:

• · Always ask to see a copy of their insurance
• · Check if they are affiliated with any trade associations
• · Confirm deposit required before works commence ( around 20% )
• · Always get alterative quotations ( 3 recommended )
• · Always confirm the works agreed in the quotation to make sure you understand what your getting before the project starts (make a specification if possible )
• · Confirm a payment plan before works commence. (So after the deposit when is the next payment due? )
• · Agree, pre contract, a snagging period to insure they correct anything you are unhappy with before final payment is issued.
• · Agree in writing a program of works to insure your project does not drag on!
• · Always keep a close eye on your project, ask for weekly site meetings with the contractor.

Of course using organisations like Elite Trades will cover most of the above.

If you would like to know more about your Statutory Rights and get our FREE detailed paper on Engaging a Contractor with a FREE legal contractors template please download by signing up for our newsletter at the top of the page