Get Professional Help, Says Interbuild

Following this week’s national story about a builder who took drastic action by demolishing his handiwork after non-payment, Interbuild is calling on tradesmen to seek professional support.

James Gower, Interbuild’s Event Director, says: 'To many self-employed professionals, it’s a familiar story. Job done, everyone seems to be satisfied, then the excuses and quibbles start flowing while any hint of payment dries up.

'This is the point when many tradesmen need professional support. It’s an issue that many trade associations deal with and one which crops up again and again in our Builder’s Information Zone – The BIZ – which we jointly host with the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).'

National media this week picked up the story of Nigel Gray who built £22,000 worth of porch and conservatory on a council house in Shoreham-on-Sea. Following non-payment, excuses and several bounced cheques, Nigel Gray, with the full support of the West Sussex Council, took a sledgehammer to his handiwork. He was allowed to leave the rubble and the Council will be billing the tenant for restoring the fabric to its original condition.

Gower continues: 'But not everyone can, or wants to, destroy work that’s not been paid for; an outside extension is relatively straight-forward, but central heating or electrics is a different matter. Restoring it as it was before would be very costly and even dangerous.'

So what can the smaller trader do?

'Taking the matter into your own hands can be risky, both physically and legally, so we would strongly recommend seeking legal advice from professional industry advisors – bodies like the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) or the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA).

'Trade organisations have years of experience in helping their members and offer services like credit checks, insurance and tax advice, too. At Interbuild, The BIZ is another great forum for raising issues where all types of trades can receive honest advice, based on solid legal understanding and many years of expertise.

'Come and see us at this year’s Interbuild show, between 26th and 30th October 2008 at the NEC and avoid falling into the trap facing builders like Nigel Gray.'

Interbuild offers six simple steps every tradesman should remember when starting a project:

1. Ensure there is a formal contract agreement covering work, time period, price and payment. This should be in writing as far as possible (although verbal agreements are legally binding).

2. Agree phased payments and timing, e.g. deposit and stage payments etc.

3. Agree what to do about any additional costs to the contract, whether unforeseen or introduced.

4. Communicate regularly with the client to identify problems and issues.

5. Use your trade organisation’s mediation and debt recovery services where offered (commercial firms are often very costly).

6. As a last resort, there are, of course, some tax benefits to an unrecovered debt. It can be claimed as expenses against income tax (or corporation tax for a company) and the VAT can also be claimed back.