How to Agree a Price with Cowboy Builders

• Published: July 30, 2010 by Umma Queenan Comments (0)

Always get written quotes from at least three different companies before committing to having any work done. Not only will this give you an idea of what’s a reasonable price for the job, but you’ll get the benefit of three traders’ expertise and advice on how to do it. Then if there’s any confusion over the final price, it means you’ve got something on paper to produce in court.

Are you being charged an hourly rate, a daily rate or price per job? Most call-out engineers, for example, work on an hourly rate for emergency plumbing, but if you’re having ongoing work done, such as a new bathroom fitted, it’s best to go for a price per job. This way there’s the incentive for them to get the job done rather than paying an hourly rate to someone who expects a cup of tea every hour and a ten-minute chat.

Be clear what the job involves: what’s included and what’s not? Who is responsible for clearing and disposing of rubbish, such as old kitchen units or building rubble? All this needs to be taken into account and written down; if not in an official contract, at least in some form of written document or quote that you keep hold of.

Agree a time limit

Agree a start and end date. Depending on the work involved the weather could play a part in this, but make sure you know how long the project should take. If the work can’t start because you’ve messed up delivery dates or forgotten to order materials, you may be expected to cover the cost of any wasted days while your builder (or whoever) is unable to start work.

Staged payments

If there are materials involved, say when building a conserva¬tory, you may be expected to make payment in stages so your builder doesn’t need to fork out for all the materials themselves. If this is the case it should be clear from the start how much materials and labour will cost.

Don’t hand over cash for random supplies without getting a receipt, and be clear when the final payment’s due. You should be given time to fully inspect any work done and ‘sign off the job, so to speak, before handing over full payment.

Say no to anyone wanting full payment upfront for any job. Chances are they’ll want cash, and in some cases will even offer to go to the bank with you.

Don’t feel embarrassed to ask to look over any work before paying up. A good tradesperson will be comfortable with this and keen on putting right anything you’re not happy with.

Quotes and estimates – what’s the difference?

- A quote should be an all-inclusive price for the job and list VAT, if payable.

- An estimate is more of an educated ‘guess’ as to what the job will cost. I tend to call these the guesstimate’, as they’re more likely to go up as the job goes on.

VAT (Value Added Tax)

Companies with a turnover of less than $68,000 don’t need to register for VAT, so they shouldn’t charge it on their bills. If a company includes VAT on the bill, it must list its regis¬tered VAT number. So if you’re asked to pay VAT but there’s no VAT number listed, don’t pay it.

If you’ve got a company’s VAT number, check, they’re officially registered for VAT by calling the Revenue and Customs National Advice Service on 0845 010 9000.

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• How to Agree a Price with Cowboy Builders