Dishonest Tradesmen.

Approximate Reading Time: 14 minutes.

Let's assume you're thinking about having a new bathroom fitted, or perhaps your house re-wired?   Maybe you want new windows fitted or a garage built?   Regardless of what the work is, you will likely get a couple of estimates from different tradesmen and compare them.

Did you know there's a way for you to easily identify which one of your chosen tradesmen are honest and which are less than honest and likely to take advantage of your finances?

Before we look at how it works, let's look at what an estimate is.

What Is A Estimate?

An estimate is merely an estimation of the costs your tradesman THINKS are involved and to be honest, it's not worth the paper it's printed on.

With this in mind, you should NEVER ask a tradesman for an estimate.   Instead, you should be asking your tradesman for the TOTAL COST for the work to be completed.

Right now you're probably thinking, What does he mean by a 'Total Cost'?

I mean the amount you would be expected to pay in the absolute worst-case scenario!

I know the worst-case scenario may not happen, and we certainly hope it won't happen.   But what if it does?   Wouldn't you like to know what it might cost if things don't go to plan?

When you ask a tradesman for the total cost, they are putting into writing the maximum amount you will pay them to complete the work regardless of how long it takes.

A lot of tradesmen will not want to give you this information as it ties them to that amount, even in the event of unforeseen circumstances arising.   However, I cannot emphasise strongly enough how important it is that you get this total cost in writing and not an estimate.

If your tradesman refuses to give you the total cost in writing, if they say that they can only give you an estimate, they're being dishonest.   Simply thank them for their time and move on to the next one.

Why They Only Want To Give A Estimate:

Giving an estimate allows a tradesman to provide the illusion of being competitive!

Let me give you an example.;

Let's say you have a gas leak.   Half of your gas pipe is located in a concrete floor and the other half is clipped to the wall and you want this leak repaired.

You contact one company and they give you an 'Estimate' saying it will be about £80.00 to repair it.

You then contact a different company that gives you the 'Total Cost' for the worst case scenario.   This company, let's call them 'Exclusive Trades', know that, yes we may be able to locate and repair the leak in 5 minutes and charge you for just the initial hour of work (£60.00).

However, they also know there's a 50\50 chance that the leak may be in the concrete floor.   If this is the case, it will be more cost effective to have a complete new gas pipe installed.   In this situation, we give you a total price of £580.00 because we know replacing the gas pipe would take five hours and will require £280.00 worth of materials, hence the £580.00 cost.

We explain that this cost covers the initial diagnosis and if necessary the time and materials for a new gas pipe.   We also explain that if it turns out to be a loose fitting or something equally as simple, the cost will be reduced accordingly based upon our hourly rate of £60.00 for the first hour, followed by £1.00 per minute after the first hour (Plus the costs of any materials that are to be used).

At first glance you may think, why would I even consider using 'Exclusive Trades', they're £500.00 more expensive than the other company!

Look a little closer.

The first company gave you an estimate.   Was the £80.00 estimate for up to an hour of work?   Was it for half hours work to be able to test the gas pipe and hope it's just a loose fitting?   Are they guaranteeing to fix it for this price?   NO!   Their £80.00 was just an estimate and estimates quite often go up!   Exclusive Trades, on the other hand, were Guaranteeing the amount you will pay would not exceed £580.00 regardless of how long it takes.

Always ask for their total cost for the worst-case scenario.

Getting Started:

Once you have a few 'Total Costs' for the work you require (NOT estimates), you can set about finding out if your chosen tradesman is honest or dishonest.

Your first thing to think about is your tradesman's financial commitments.

I know what your thinking, you're looking for work to be completed at your property, so why are you thinking about your tradesman's financial commitments.   Give me a moment to explain and it will become clear!

Financial Commitments:

Tradesmen, just like everyone else have financial commitments.   Just like everyone else they will have a mortgage or rental payments, expenses for food, clothing, family, vehicle running costs, etc.

On top of the day to day costs that we all have, tradesmen also have additional outgoings for membership to trade governing bodies, (Gas Engineers have the 'Gas Safe Register', Electricians will have 'NICEIC', etc).   Technical measurement\sensing tools will require specialised calibration each year.   Manual tools become worn and will need replacing.   They also have their public liability insurance, van insurance and van maintenance costs.   Some advertise their services through places like 'Checkatrade', others will place adverts on Google or Facebook, some will have flyers posted through your door, etc.   On top of that the more specialised trades like Plumbers, Gas Safe Engineers and Electricians, will have costs for regular training courses to keep up to date on the latest regulations.

As you can see, professional tradesmen have significant financial commitments!

Income Goals:

Employed people typically have a monthly income goal.   Employees are a perfect example of this as they are typically paid monthly.   If you are paid monthly you know you have a set amount that is paid into your bank account each month which enables you to pay for all your outgoings.

Sometimes, self-employed people won't have a monthly income goal, they will have a weekly income goal.   They know they need to earn a set amount each week to ensure they have sufficient income at the end of the month to cover their outgoings.   If they don't achieve their weekly income goal this week, they need to put in more work next week to make it up.

Other tradesmen will have a daily income goal.   What this means is that they have a set amount that they know they need to earn each day.   You will probably have heard this referred to as the tradesman's 'Day Rate'.

I personally have a 'Half Day' income goal. This allows me to monitor my income very closely.   If I don't reach my morning income goal, I know I will have to work late that day to make it up.   I do this because I know that if I don't achieve my daily income goal today, there's a chance that I won’t achieve my weekly income goal at the end of the week.   If I don't achieve my weekly income goal. it's possible that I won't achieve my monthly income goal.   If I don't achieve my monthly income goals, I'm not going to be able to meet my financial commitments for that month.

It's important to keep these financial commitments in mind as they will help you identify the dishonest tradesman, which is why you are reading this, so let's get to the good bit!

How does it work?

It's very simple.   Once each of the tradesmen have given you a price for the job, simply ask each of the tradesmen if there would be any chance of them doing the work for a lower price?   To clarify, you are asking if they can do the work for a lower Total Cost.   Ask things like .   .   .   .

Is there a discount for cash?

If they say yes.   Firstly this is probably going to sound very tempting for you to receive a discount, but remember you'll be losing any guarantee you may have on the work.   With no documentation, no receipts for the work and no proof that your hard earned money was transferred from your bank account to their bank account.   If you pay by cash, you will have no come back if there are any issues with the work in the future.

If they agree to a cash discount, be very wary!   I have had many conversations with clients on how they (or their friend) lost hundreds or even thousands of pounds in the past to a dishonest tradesman that asked for a cash payment and only did half the job.

Can they do it for £??? less to match another price you had?

When they gave you their price they documented what they believed the work would cost to complete in a worst-case scenario.   If they agree to drop their price, you know they didn't give you their best price to start with and probably added on a percentage for bargaining/negotiating purposes, which is evidence that they weren't completely honest with you to start with.

Assume for a moment that you hadn't asked for a discount.   Once the work was complete, do you think the tradesman will say, Look, when I gave you the price, I added on 40% of the total cost just in case you tried to negotiate a discount?   Most of the time people want to try and knock a bit off the price, so I always add a bit extra on top so that I can let them knock me down on the price a bit, it lets them think they're getting a bargain.   You're one of the very few that didn't ask for a discount and I've actually made an extra 40% profit on your work.   I've decided that I'm not going to charge you the full amount and will discount your invoice by the 40% I added on initially for negotiating purposes.

Or do you think they will keep quiet & keep the extra bonus?

Important!

Going back to the tradesman's income goals for a moment, ask yourself this.   If you are able to negotiate a lower price with your tradesman, do you think they are agreeing to work for this lower price knowing they will now fail to achieve their weekly or monthly commitments and that as a result;

Or

Do you think that perhaps they have been dishonest with you to start with?   That instead of giving you their best price, they bumped it up by 20%, 30%, 50% or even more, to allow you the opportunity to negotiate a lower price and THINK you have got a bargain?

Think about it for a moment.

Better still, put yourself in their position.

Let's assume you have a job where you are paid monthly.   You go in to work on Monday and your boss asks you if you would be willing to take a pay cut this month so that the company can save a little bit of money.   It's purely optional, you don't have to say yes, nobody's job is on the line, the company is doing well, your boss just wondered if you would be interested in doing the same work you always do but for less money this month?   You don't have to agree to this, but please keep in mind that if you do agree to do it, you won't have enough money to pay your mortgage or rent that month.   You will also be short of money to pay for your children's food and clothing and that summer holiday you were planning is no longer an option as you now can't afford it.

Once again, don't forget this is purely optional.   Just as the tradesman doesn't have to agree to work for a lower price, you don't have to take this pay cut, your boss simply wanted to save the company some money and was wondering if you would help out by doing your job as usual, just for less money?

So, Would You?

I am going to assume that you have said NO.

Summary.

If you manage to negotiate a lower price than what was originally given there's a strong chance that your tradesman is dishonest and will take further advantage of your finances when the opportunity arises.

If the tradesman refuses to budge on their price.   Let's say that price was £3,000 and you tell them they won't get the job if they don't cut it by just £50.   If they still refuse to lower their price, you can be fairly certain that you have found an honest tradesman that has provided you with their best price and simply can't cut it down lower.   Cutting the price would mean it's costing them money to work for you'

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