Forums Forums Wirral Information Law And Your Rights Builder problems, advice needed

We have had a few quotes for a bathroom refurbishment, and all of them want a deposit of around 25% I am told that this is normal, any advice.

Unfortunately this is becoming more common and is becoming the norm.

You could ask for proof of address and a signed receipt. Take the vehicle ref number if you can.

As DD says this seems to be generally accepted practice these days and seeing it from the contractors point of view they don't know you any more than you know them. If you use someone who has decent reviews ( I know many are fake) or has been recommended then I see no problem in paying a deposit. Obviously get as much info as possible about the company.

Theres a thing called charge back which if you pay using a debit card you can retrieve your money in certain circumstances. The banks do it all for you. I ordered and paid for about £200 worth of stuff online and after many emails and no replies and no goods i contacted the bank and got money refunded. You would need an order and proof of payment. Much safer than handing over cash.

When are you people going to learn?

NEVER pay upfront, not even a deposit, if they don't like it they can go away and you can get someone else.

As for the "We need materials" line, ask them what you need and get it yourself!
Any excess materials keep as they have been known to order extra to line thier own pockets.

Do your homework and cut the middleman out, they will charge you extra for materials just like some car garages do, they will put thier little bit on top, all you need them to do is build/do the work and pay thier labour.

Shop around, ignore reviews on google as they are mostly made up.

Another thing, as far as i am aware it is a legal requirement that they give you a written quotation, make sure you get one in case you do have to go to a small claims court.

Don't be afraid to haggle on the total price for the job either as a majority of the time they will take a drop.

Unless you know you're stuff you're really in the clag. Had a roofing job done by someone who is "proud to be Member of Checkatrade.com" it says on the side of the wagon, logo and everything. Turns out he's not a member and the job he did was shoit. Got him to put it right and he'd done it with masking tape. I hope my roof job is ok, can only hope. I can't climb ladders anymore so have to rely on their word that the job's been done. Word of mouth is probably the best way of getting a tradesman, but what do I know?