A contractor you may wish to avoid

[Paul Finn]

Hi all,

Thanks for letting me in the FA... I feel blessed! lol

Ok, so now im in the private part of the forum I can finally expose the contractor who still owes me a few hundred quid and took 5wks to settle 3/4th of the invoice.

Peter Trainor @ Trainor Contracts

He is a member of the TTA and works closely with Portview to get the majority of his work, which is why I was more than surprised when he failed to deliver... I was under the impression if your a member of the TTA your living up to an industry standard. However, in his case.... obviously not!

I was sub contracting for him on the new Harvey Nichols in Liverpool, working stupid unsociable hours and doing nothing but snagging work that his lads has messed up up in order for the job to pass P.C.

P.C passed with no problems and Portview commented on there twitter page how pleased they were with the work carried out.

so..... If you come across Mr Trainor........ stay away!

 

[kilty55]

not sure what your payment arrangements were paul but i know i have waited well over 30 days in the past while working for larger companies..pain in the *** i know

 

[Dan]

I've waited a lot longer for a bigger bill than that before now with companies I still do business with. Sometimes it can just be a pain in the back side. Sometimes there are genuine reasons.

What would their reason be for not paying so quickly if you were told? Or had to guess otherwise?

 

[Paul Finn]

Yeah im aware of larger companies and the 30 day invoicing, but we agreed payment every 2 weeks on a big job and im a subbie... not a ltd company.

Then he said on the phone your lucky im not paying you every 30 days.... well if thats the case, just tell me payment is every 30 days instead of every 2wks.

then when payment did arrive it's not what we agreed.

there's more to the story with the way he conducted things and lied but just i'd just be blabbering on... take it from me, if you work for him you will get stung.

 

[Dan]

Hmmmmmmmm. I'm on the fence on this mate to be fair.

I don't agree with paying you after 5 weeks if the agreement was 2 weeks. And I don't agree with paying you less than what was agreed.

Though I've been down this road before and it ended up the work was snagged again and the tiler thought he was getting paid more than he actually was, but the figure ended up being correct in that case.

So don't mind me if I just sit on the fence and not take sides mate I mean no offence. I'd just rather not jump on the old "oh he must be a right b1tch then" thing.

 

[Paul Finn]

lol, no probs Dan. either way, he's a pain in the backside and I for 1 will stick to the few good contractors iv'e got onside from now on..... lesson learned

 

[brian c]

lol, no probs Dan. either way, he's a pain in the backside and I for 1 will stick to the few good contractors iv'e got onside from now on..... lesson learned

thats what i was trying to say earlier Paul..lol

 

[Paul Finn]

thats what i was trying to say earlier Paul..lol

well... we live and learn Brian 🙂

 

[nybor62]

i know how you feel , have had the same thing happen to me, they will tell you ought to get you on site, with no intention of paying on time

 

[Paul Finn]

Yep.... there the 1's... talk the talk then let u down.... get a free graft out of you!

 

[Peter]

Trainor contracts from NI? Never dealt with them but seen one of their vans working near me yesterday. Always looked quite reputable.

 

[Paul Finn]

Thats what i thought wingn. Im not saying he does a crap job for 1 min. Im just warning lads that may have the oppertunity to work him to be cautious because if he,s mugged 2 lads off.... hes capable of doing it again and its morally wrong

 

[Spud]

has he refused to pay you or just said he is unable to pay you at the moment?i pay my guys weekly but last month they had to wait nearly 3 weeks as i had a contractor mess me around for money, not on I know, but sometimes cashflow is a killer especially on the bigger jobs

 

[aphilp]

Hi and welcome

Have you threatened Court proceedings in writing?

Send him a 7 day warning letter.

Best Wishes

Anne

 

[Ajax123]

This almost sounds libellous... 5weeks ( only three weeks late) is b all in the general scheme .. I deal with guys who end up waiting three and four months or more for their money. There is presumably a reason why you were delayed payment and also presumably why it was short but you on seem to have balanced your argument. Was he delayed payment, is there a contract retention etc etc... Just to cut the guy off short saying he is bad news without more act is wrong in my opinion. This is contracting work, not domestic where you get a cheque. Cash on completion.

 

[Andy Allen]

This almost sounds libellous... 5weeks ( only three weeks late) is b all in the general scheme .. I deal with guys who end up waiting three and four months or more for their money. There is presumably a reason why you were delayed payment and also presumably why it was short but you on seem to have balanced your argument. Was he delayed payment, is there a contract retention etc etc... Just to cut the guy off short saying he is bad news without more act is wrong in my opinion. This is contracting work, not domestic where you get a cheque. Cash on completion.

couldn't disagree more alan, typical reply from someone who gets a weekly/monthly pay check, if someone says to me you will be paid in 14 days then i expect it in 14 days, or a phone call to explain why not....

why should he have to wait 5 weeks, we have bills to pay to, and to pay it short is taking the pee..

 

[Peter]

Suppose if he doesn't get paid himself then he can't physically pay out. Done a big floor for a builder in August and only got the last few quid off it in October. Usually pays me on the Friday but was held back 30 grand so not really much he could do. Hard for contractors to keep cash flow moving when theyre promised the money next Wednesday but the bank won't give them an overdraft to pay wages. Meanwhile the same bank hits you with direct debit charges because they wouldn't lend your employer the money to pay you. Viscious circle.

 

[Paul Finn]

couldn't disagree more alan, typical reply from someone who gets a weekly/monthly pay check, if someone says to me you will be paid in 14 days then i expect it in 14 days, or a phone call to explain why not....

why should he have to wait 5 weeks, we have bills to pay to, and to pay it short is taking the pee..

I agree, The agreement was 2 weeks... his words, not mine.

I work with another 2 contractors 1 who pays a week in hand every other week without fail and the other who pays via faster payments the day after you've completed the job. Its these kind of good contractors who appreciate what you do for them and in return you want to go that extra mile for them.

If I was the main contractor, I would take into consideration the 30 day plus invoicing and any retention that may be held back but the fact of the matter is im not. I dont get paid to deal with the logistics and wait around for payments and sorry to be blunt but if anyone's financial situation is making it difficult to pay the lads who are keeping them in there Mercedes then they shouldn't be punching above there weight and messing people around. As Andy said, we've got bills to pay aswell.

Only received 3 payment in the short time I worked with him but every time the payment was short, and then the final blow.. he just keeps a few hundred. Hes just a snake.

 

[peteablard]

In contrast I got a call earlier from the company i was working for last week telling me to get my invoice over tonight as they are doing their payment run tmrw and wanted to make sure I didn't have to wait an extra week to get paid!

I also walked away from another contractor who had given me loads of work this year but stitched me up for £150. Out of principal I won't work for a anyone who try's to short change me.

 

[Paul Finn]

In contrast I got a call earlier from the company i was working for last week telling me to get my invoice over tonight as they are doing their payment run tmrw and wanted to make sure I didn't have to wait an extra week to get paid!

I also walked away from another contractor who had given me loads of work this year but stitched me up for £150. Out of principal I won't work for a anyone who try's to short change me.

Exactly Pete... £150? that's a night on the tiles... lol... had to get that 1 inn 🙂

 

[Time's Ran Out]

Not sure what all the fuss is about - you got 3/4 of the money in 5 weeks so just take action through a solicitor for the rest. One side of a dispute never gives a clear picture but naming and shaming could be libel , no matter how upset you feel. Everyone will be hanging on to cash for a little longer these days.