Today – how to spot cowboy builders
If your home needs some work doing, you’ll want it to be done to the highest possible standard. This is where most people would look for a builder in their local area. They would scour directories like Thomson and Yellow Pages, the internet and even classified pages in their local newspaper. When they feel they’ve found the right one, they arrange a meeting or speak over the phone to see how much the job will cost and when it will be done.
Photo Credit: Emdot
How to spot cowboy builders
In most instances, the job is done on time and the cost is reasonable. However, there are isolated cases where ‘cowboy builders’ either do a substandard job for their customers or don’t do it all despite being paid. If you’re worried about knowing whether the builder you want to hire is a cowboy or not, here are a few tips to help you spot them:
- If you have a contract, they won’t sign it. Should you not have a contract to hand, they won’t offer you one.
- Reputable, registered builders will provide you with detailed documents relating to the job that are word processed. On the other hand, cowboy builders usually provide handwritten documents with very little detail.
- One thing which is a sure-fire way of identifying a cowboy builder is their insistence on being paid upfront in cash. Registered tradesmen such as birmingham plumbers will wait until the job is done before requesting payment, and then will ask for a cheque or payment via card or direct debit.
- Despite giving a detailed schedule of what work they will do, they don’t stick to it. This is a good way of identifying a cowboy, as proper builders will follow their schedule as closely as possible.
- If asked a series of questions by a customer, they tend to find a way of not answering them. Registered builders are willing to answer any questions you have about what they’ve done in the past, your job and what’s needed to make it work.
These tips, if followed, will help you to tell the difference between a legitimate builder and a cowboy. It can be difficult at times, as many cowboy builders seem proper on the surface, but by being vigilant, you’ll find the right tradesman to carry out the work you need.
This post on how to spot cowboy builders has been provided by Per Call a company that specialises in proving trade services throughout the UK such as locksmiths in bristol. You may also like my post on ways to save money on a home renvation
