paid builder £55k. business gone into liquidation and he's left the country

Are any of those cowboy builder programs around? Maybe write to them and they might come and do some footage of it and finish it off for free.
 
koolpc said:
Cant understand how people are so gullible these days! Handing over £55k is just plain stupid.
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When you've been searching for weeks/months for a builder or fitter & being let down countless times then I can understand people going with someone who just turns up to give a quote.

£55K is a large amount, & not something I'd hand over but we recently handed over 3k as a deposit for work to our bathroom.
Quoted an ETA of 4-6 weeks to start, 7 weeks later still no ETA but being told should be in the next 2 weeks
 
Dis86 said:
That's why you pay a small agreed deposit up front. You then set payment gateways - foundations, blockwork, roof, glazing, 1st fix services, 2nd fix, finishing etc.
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This, pay abotu 10% upfront then you just pay in stages as you see things getting completed with agreed milestones.
 
Robzere31 said:
When you've been searching for weeks/months for a builder or fitter & being let down countless times then I can understand people going with someone who just turns up to give a quote.

£55K is a large amount, & not something I'd hand over but we recently handed over 3k as a deposit for work to our bathroom.
Quoted an ETA of 4-6 weeks to start, 7 weeks later still no ETA but being told should be in the next 2 weeks
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£3k deposit for a bathroom? Seems a large deposit too me! And 7 weeks later they still have not turned up..
 
I can’t believe that people are advocating paying up front, there is absolutely no justification for this whatsoever.

I have had extensive building work done multiple times (thousands of sqft in total) on multiple properties and have never and would never even consider an upfront payment of any kind. A reputable firm will have materials on account and will charge in staged arrears with significant lag to work.

Absolute worst case and you do decide that a one man band is credible, who genuinely can’t front materials, you buy the materials for them on your own account, and agree very regular stages in arrears to keep their cash flow maintained.
 
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Jez said:
I can’t believe that people are advocating paying up front, there is absolutely no justification for this whatsoever. I have had extensive building work done multiple times (thousands of sqft in total) on multiple properties and have never and would never even consider an upfront payment of any kind. A reputable firm will have materials on account and will charge in staged arrears with significant lag to work. Absolute worst case and you do decide that a one man band is credible who genuinely can’t front materials, you buy the materials for them on your own account, and agree very regular stages in arrears to keep their cash flow maintained.
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I suspect times have changed since you had building work done. I don't think it would be unusual to not now be expected to pay some sort of a deposit. But the key thing is to only pay a nominal amount, and then agree some payment stages. If it's a reasonably sized firm, you may even have the option to pay the deposit by credit card.
 
Semple said:
I suspect times have changed since you had building work done. I don't think it would be unusual to not now be expected to pay some sort of a deposit. But the key thing is to only pay a nominal amount, and then agree some payment stages. If it's a reasonably sized firm, you may even have the option to pay the deposit by credit card.
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My current project which is a 1000ft 3 storey extension is still ongoing and is currently a block shell. I have done a significant building project almost every year since 2007 right up until and including this ongoing project to give you the time period. I had 5 firms tender for this latest one and not one asked for anything up front. All agreed to independent building inspection from my side and staged payments in significant arrears.

I have extensive experience in this and it is just absolutely not something that people should be considering at all under any circumstance. Tiny one man bands you can work around it as per my post above but you should never consider paying up front.
 
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It's like giving £55k to a complete stranger on the street and saying come and do my extention start Monday. But they never turn up!

Doh!

Its common sense you wouldn't hand over a large amount of money to a stranger. I'd struggle to hand that amount of money to a close relative
 
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