Wardrobe fitter wants 50% deposit before starting work should I give it to him?

parkmagic said:
Are people on those kind of tight margins though, surely they have some kind of working capitial?
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Last job, margin after all costs: 2.8%.

So, assuming 10k wardrobes, that'd be Eur 280. Assuming 10% (I wish....), then that's 1k.

So, a tradesman should put out 9k for a depost of 1k ? I don't think so........

Reminds me of what an MD of a Swedish company told me many years ago, where they were charging 5% interest per month, on invoices unpaid. He succinctly, and accurately, as it turns out, said: "I'm not a bank - if you want to borrow money, try the bank - otherwise, pay me my interest".
 
S.L.F said:
I was last in the house and she told me she was running out of money so when it came time for me to be paid she just refused to pay me.
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That absolutely stinks. I know what it's like to be running out of money towards the end of a large project, and it's not fun. But I simply can't imagine refusing to pay someone for work commissioned which was done to a fully acceptable standard - it's theft, plain and simple.

Did she even suggest a deferred payment plan?
 
Dreamerb said:
Did she even suggest a deferred payment plan?
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No just a big row on the phone, well her shouting and me trying to be reasonable, I'm sorry I didn't record the damn thing.

I came into this year with €5000 in debts because of that woman.

All the more galling because I really put my heart into getting it just right.

When I met her I had a bad feeling and I told my wife I had a bad feeling about her, my beloved wife told me every time I have a bad feeling about a customer it has always gone pear shaped.

So now if I meet someone I don't like or have doubts about I'll have them sign a contract and have them put the money with a solicitor for safe keeping.

I'm not getting stung again like that.

When in doubt get them to sign a contract...

Plus get your 50% deposit
 
Title of goods does you no benefit. If you sell goods only, yes. If you supply and install items then they become fixtures and you can not trespass to repossess.
I found this out the hard way when I tried to have my goods repossessed when a client bounced their penultimate stage payment and refused the last payment on an extension. Stung for 15k on a completed (bar minimal snagging) project.
It is a matter of trust on all sides.
 
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