Today I wanted to address something after speaking to a few tradesmen, I have dropped in the conversation with my builders over the course of a month the idea of The Consumer Protection Guarantee.
There is a universal intrigue and concern, with the 10 or so I have mentioned it to, they were all interested and everyone of them also had the same concern.
You might have guessed it from the title (Don't look at it now I'm about to tell you!) they all said how am I going to get my customer on board? It's a fair question and really with what TCPG are offering it shouldn't be all that difficult!
So as I always do I try and put myself in the mindset of the end user, I want a job doing and the builder quotes me, he mentions TCPG and that he would really like us both to be on board with no extra cost for me.
My concerns? who is this company? are they legit? Do i really want to part with a lump sum of money for someone else to judge if the work is up to standard? How do i know the person judging is qualified and fair?
Taking out what I know about the company and thinking about what my concerns would be I'm pretty sure if I had any amount of money over £2000 these are the questions that would run through my head, there pretty big concerns and most customers don't give a reason for saying "no" and to be fair who would challenge them if your job is on the line?
It's about educating your end user, addressing there concerns and bringing across that you have there well being in mind and that your proud of what you do and this is a guarantee to back your work up.....again at no extra cost to the customer, but were still not addressing my questions as the customer are we.....
Who is the company?
The company TCPG was started to combat "The cowboy builder" The guy that does a half A** job and does a runner and is never to be heard of a again, but....
It was also started to protect YOU, the honest, hard working tradesman who is skilled in there field and when a customer says "I'm sorry I know the work you've done is great but I have no money" or holds up the cash because there swearing blind you've done an awful job when it's more than up to standard!
Are they legit?
Well check for yourself, they have company registration, company address, telephone number, e-mail.
Even get them to check the company registrar themselves if they have concerns.
Do i really want to part with a lump sum of money for someone else to judge if the work is up to standard? & How do i know the person judging is qualified and fair?
Well just in case your customer still has reservations it's all conducted by an official RICS Surveyor if a dispute arises, again this is to protect YOU and the customer.
I know it wouldn't put you off doing a job if your customer said "No I don't want this free policy that your providing" but I the builder would be cautious, why would your end user say no to this? it's a policy to protect them against rouge builders and lets be honest its still a red hot subject in the media and something that the general public are more than aware of, they are more than likely than ever before to question your work no matter what the standard, I'm sure you've all come across the dreaded beast that is:- The customer that can not be pleased.
To summarise this post, your customer will need educating when it comes to TCPG don't try and force it on them because they just may have concerns that can't be over come and there still honest and reliable when it comes to paying and the last thing you want is to lose the job but really it's something that all jobs over £2000 should have.
I'll leave you with the scenario:- You do a job for £5000, you finish it and your customer isn't happy with your work, the work itself is up to the high standard its always been but your customer is refusing to pay you the money.
You have maxed out your credit account at your merchants and the next job has a start date coming up, tell me how are you going to do the next job without materials? Maybe pay with a credit card? how far away is the payday for the next job? is it going to cover your credit card bill and the bill for your merchant account? and this is just your business outgoings don't forget mortgage repayments or rent, food.....I don't need to go on but you get the idea.
Add the TCPG to the scenario:- You do a job for £5000, you finish it and your customer isn't happy with
your work, the work itself is up to the high standard its always been
but your customer is refusing to pay you the money. You contact The Consumer Protection Guarantee and they send out a RICS surveyor to inspect the work you've done and is happy with the standard of work.......The funds are paid directly into your bank account.
On with the next job then!
Take a look at how they work and then decide if you think it's a good idea, at the end of the day its your decision:-
http://www.tcpg.co.uk/
Save Build.
