Non payment and sign off

[oscar21]

Another email has just come through.


Hope your both well, can I ask that either of you contact me to discuss my e-mail below so that we can amicably resolve to complete the project & sign off.

If we cannot resolve this & or make contact, I will have no alternative but to appoint another electrician to complete the works & sign off. This is an Avenue which I would rather avoid as I feel it is unnecessary as this can simply be avoided through communication.

Please note that I need to get these matters resolved & signed off by the end of this week either preferably through yourselves failing that a third party

I don't think he gets it at all, the only possible way he will get a cert off me is to deposit the money in the bank, nothing else in the world will make me do one otherwise. Where is something clear and concise I can send him that explains that signing off someone else's work is illegal and could get them thrown out of the NIC or NAPIT. Not that anyone with any sense would do that anyway unless they were a close and trusted friend.

All I would have to do would be to go on the NIC website in a few months and check whether the job was signed off or not, if it was then I could make life very difficult for them indeed, why would you risk it.

 

[oscar21]

I think we've finally got the dosh minus a couple of things he was crying about. So fairs fair I will send him 5 pages out of 6 of the cert.

 

[baldelectrician]

I think we've finally got the dosh minus a couple of things he was crying about. So fairs fair I will send him 5 pages out of 6 of the cert.

I use EasyCert and you can watermark certs

Send him the full cert watermarked 'draft'

 

[LukeD]

Decide... do you want to work for him ever again. Could you get work from the client or their friends .One of them will be happy . work with that one !

 

[oscar21]

Decide... do you want to work for him ever again. Could you get work from the client or their friends .One of them will be happy . work with that one !

That ship has well sailed. We wont ever do another job for the builder, I can't cope with the hassle. As for his client, my mate has been back and done a few things for him as extras but I wasn't interested as I think he will be awkward about paying, not sure if my mate has been paid yet or not.

I'm very choosy about who I work for nowadays, certainly no more site work and I only pick who I think are the decent customers now. Its great not having a mortgage and low(ish) bills.

 

[MDJ]

Really the moral is - don't work for builders,

I feel your pain Oscar, I have been telling people on here for 10 years not to work for builders and I hate them.

 

[brianmoooore]

Worked with plenty of builders over the years, but only ever worked for one. Always let me get on with it my way, using my designs, and paid up promptly when I presented them with my invoice.
Only odd thing was the cheques I received were genuinely from an account in the name of Messrs Bodgitt & Scarper.

 

[buzzlightyear]

Me has well, never again, reather poke my eye with a pencil, if you are propered to work for the them take a hammer just in case they will Nail your boots to the ground.
If they offer you the work contract to their customer.

 

[Darkwood]

Let's be upfront here, although I understand your frustration here there are certain directions you should not go down, although it may work in some cases it could come back to bite you on the rear hard.

You cannot use the issue of a completion certificate or similar as a bartering tool for payment, works are not formally completed until the cert' has been issued and anyone clued up can refuse payment until you issue it, you are going down the road of blackmail for payment and that does not hold well in court so be cautious regardless if you have any agreement in place, if your contractor takes this route of refusing until you issue it can be several months before you see any money which often you financially lose out on in court appearances, solicitors fees etc.
Ensure work and payment terms are in writing, it is always best to agree a 28 day payment terms when subbing to another contractor, this gives room for admin work and any queries to be resolved, if you are working direct for the client/customer then payment terms can be agreed on completion and issue of certification which is common in domestic work direct with home owner.
I would recommend if you have no adequate cash flow to wait for payment to work with your bank, they too will want your business to be a success and they often open you up to overdraft allowance in case you need room to build up some financial resources.

I went through this myself when I started and wish I had the experience of what I know now, contractual work is usually as mentioned is open to a 28day payment window as you do if you have an account with your wholesalers, be cautious though always find out the payment terms in advance if working for another company and not direct with a member of the public, many mid to larger firms do payments anything from 4 to 12 weeks, that has caught me out a number of times with new customers, there is nothing more embarrassing than asking to be paid earlier after the matter.

 

[oscar21]

Let's be upfront here, although I understand your frustration here there are certain directions you should not go down, although it may work in some cases it could come back to bite you on the rear hard.

You cannot use the issue of a completion certificate or similar as a bartering tool for payment, works are not formally completed until the cert' has been issued and anyone clued up can refuse payment until you issue it, you are going down the road of blackmail for payment and that does not hold well in court so be cautious regardless if you have any agreement in place, if your contractor takes this route of refusing until you issue it can be several months before you see any money which often you financially lose out on in court appearances, solicitors fees etc.
Ensure work and payment terms are in writing, it is always best to agree a 28 day payment terms when subbing to another contractor, this gives room for admin work and any queries to be resolved, if you are working direct for the client/customer then payment terms can be agreed on completion and issue of certification which is common in domestic work direct with home owner.
I would recommend if you have no adequate cash flow to wait for payment to work with your bank, they too will want your business to be a success and they often open you up to overdraft allowance in case you need room to build up some financial resources.

I went through this myself when I started and wish I had the experience of what I know now, contractual work is usually as mentioned is open to a 28day payment window as you do if you have an account with your wholesalers, be cautious though always find out the payment terms in advance if working for another company and not direct with a member of the public, many mid to larger firms do payments anything from 4 to 12 weeks, that has caught me out a number of times with new customers, there is nothing more embarrassing than asking to be paid earlier after the matter.

That's in an ideal world though, I would never give anyone more credit than I could afford to lose, so if I say the client won't get the certs until I'm paid then if he/she never pays hthey never gets the certs, its that simple. I would never capitulate or compromise my terms just for the money, its the principle.