packing in working for builders

[Andy Allen]

same as above, only work for a few builders I know, and get paid on completion, any new builders that ring out the blue, I don't even bother to look at the work......just cant be doing with the stress of fighting to get paid....

 

[wayne]

I have worked for two builders for seven years now after being told I wouldn't get paid off them and they would give me nothing but grief. Best blokes I have worked for. Then two builders who came highly recommended I have had nothing but trouble with. I have just let one of them know I won't be doing the whole downstairs and four bathrooms in a new build cause he's that much of a nightmare getting paid off

 

[Pebbs]

I'm sorry to hear this Gary, its always a nightmare getting money from the majority of main contractors, but the last 18 months seem to have got worse. I have consolidated who we work with now, and thrown the late payers or in some cases non payers out the window. Look at the end of the day, its a massive lie when they tell you they haven't been paid, they are or should be all on staged payments. That should be no reason at all for delaying the payments to sub-contractors, they employ surveyors to get their bill in every month or draw down from the clients account their staged payment.

The stakes are so high on these big contracts that sometimes I feel like I am sitting on a bomb, I have to be a nasty piece of work, because I am not running a charity. I really do not give a s**t about any ones excuse why they cant pay, my lads need paying, I need paying the suppliers need paying. If they cant deal with that, then go and mug someone else of. They will always try and delay the payments on the sub contractors who are the nicest people, so the lesson here is this. Dont be nice, they are not your 'mate' if you have to sit in their accounts office all day, then do it. If you have to go round their house, and sit outside in the car, blocking their drive do it. It comes down to this, you either feed your family or not. Yes I know I sound brutal, but why should they sit at home ordering a takeaway on a Friday night and you cant even pay the wages?

Pick your contracts wisely, if you get a bad feeling, then walk away, as I am doing tomorrow morning on one contract. I don't trust the smarmy piece of crap I met a few weeks ago, and life is to short to have MUG tattooed on your forehead.

Now back to my knitting!!! thats if I can find the needles that I embedded in a project managers chest earlier!! Im nice really...honest!

Lynn

 

[Peter]

Only do work for small builders now who pay up at the end of a job, the big outfits just aren't worth the hassle. One of my big contractors went into administration before they paid me up to date, then rang a few months later saying they were back on their feet and had work for me. "Stick what you're owed on the invoice and we will pay it all at once". Aye, dead on.