Is There Such A Thing As A Cowboy Customer In The Building Sector?
This is something I’ve wanted to touch on for sometime now as there seems to be a lot of talk in the building sector about ‘Cowboy Builders’ but never much about ‘Cowboy Customers’. Like with anything, there will always be a handful of people who want to capitalize on something at somebody else’s expense or misfortune, and believe it or not, this also happens with a few customers or so in the building sector.
If you mention the word ‘Cowboy’ to somebody in connection to the building sector, the first thing that will enter their mind is Cowboy Builder, or ‘shoddy tradesman’. Well while I will not try to fob you off into believing that there are no Cowboy Builders in our sector, I will also attempt to put forward another argument to you, and that is the realm of the Cowboy Customer, and yes, they do exist!
Let me firstly tell you that here at 4K Construction, the vast majority or our customers, are a pleasure to deal with and we seldom have any difficulties when it comes to settlement of accounts etc. We always deliver first class work every time and our customers are very appreciative of this. But every now and then, we will always come across what we can only define as a ‘Cowboy Customer’.
What Is A Cowboy Customer?
Quite simply, a Cowboy Customer is somebody who wants to have work or a service done for a fraction of the total cost, or worse still, for nothing at all! Sound a little far fetched? Well don’t be too alarmed because it’s happening to businesses each and every day all over the UK.
In the building sector, a typical scenario for the Cowboy Customer may be that the builder has agreed a fair price with the customer, completed the work as agreed, finished on time and done a fantastic job, but then when it comes to payment, the customers explains that he or she hasn’t got the funds right now and will pay for it as soon as at all possible. A week passes, two weeks passes, they don’t pick up the telephone and won’t answer the door when you call, hoping that you will finally get fed up chasing the payment and will just write it off as a loss.
Another scenario will be as before, the builder has done all as agreed and a fantastic job, always checking along the way that the customer is happy with the work so far, and the customer acknowledges that all is good and they are very happy with how things are looking. The job finishes and you present the customer with their invoice for works. Miraculously, the customer now starts to find a list of things that they are unhappy about, all things that you had already sought clarification about and had been checked off. It doesn’t matter what you say or do, the customer is still requesting that you knock off a percentage of the agreed price for works.
These ‘Cowboy Customers’ from the above examples will stop at no length to evade payment and sadly it is an everyday occurrence in the building sector causing builders to take financial losses that they had never anticipated.
So What’s The Solution To All This?
Great question, I guess you have a few ways to go about this. The best way is to try and resolve the matter mutually between customer and builder in order to put the things to an early close but should this not be possible the builder can try to have another party intervene on his behalf. The builder can speak to a solicitor or other legal representative who will contact the customer to try and ‘mediate’ in an effort to bringing the dispute to an early close. If this doesn’t solve the problem then the builder is well within his rights to esculate the issue and take the customer to a small claims court whereby a judge or adjudicator will decide the outcome.
The small claims court route however, is timely and additional expenses will have to be met so it is far better to try and resolve any issues without going down this route.
For many smaller builders or even ‘one man bands’, taking a customer to a small claims court is not even an option as they simply cannot afford the expense or commit the time to do so; subsequently for many builders, this means taking a loss which can be catastrophic. The other alternative is refer the debt to a debt collection agency in the hope that some of the monies may be recouped that way.
The above are just a couple of things a builder can do to try and be paid for his works tendered but I can tell you that I’ve heard of builders going back to the premises where work was carried out and taking their materials back. I’ve known plaster to be taken back off walls and even roofs being taken back off!! While I don’t condone this behaviour for even one minute, I can certainly understand a builders frustration when he has completed a job satisfactorily only to discover that the customer refuses to pay in order to get the job done for nothing.
However, if you’re a builder and this has happened to you, you should contact your legal representative at your earliest opportunity to discuss the best course of action to take.
So there you have it! There are not only Cowboy Builders in the building sector, but also a handful of Cowboy Customers! Not many granted, but they do exist.
Are you a builder and had ‘Cowboy Customers’ try to get work done for nothing?
Are you a customer who’s had to deal with a ‘Cowboy Builder’?
What say you?
Let’s hear those experiences!
4K
Cowboy Customer sounds like a new term to me, but you have given good explanation to clarify your point. So its the time to say that one should be aware of such customers.
Can you request a 25% deposit up front? That would cover the cost of materials, more or less. Then maybe you can get another 25% at another benchmark, and so on. If you explain to a customer your policies up front, and why they are in place, I would think the people who have good intentions will agree to the payment plan.
Yes Julie, some builders may request a deposit upfront, however, many customers are sometimes reluctant to want to pay this due to bad press with some ‘cowboy builders’ taking the money and running without doing any work. What may be better is payment in stages, whereby the client or customer will pay for the job as the work progresses. This is the method we employ at here at 4K Construction on any project that runs into thousands of pounds.
Everybody is happy
My son in law is a carpenter builder and considered one or the best in the area. He works very hard and always does an excellent job. Unfortunately he sometimes comes up against cowboy customers and needs some support when these customers refuse to pay him the last payment for work completed on trumped up reasons. I think it is time there was an inspector who comes in at this stage and arbitrates at the customers expense so that builders who have completed their work satisfactorily are not left without money – and vice versa. Customers seem to think they have all the rights and forget that these small buisiness men work from week to week and have to pay men who have families to care for.
The stress involved is high and happens too often. It is amazing how many dishonest, supposedly upright citizens the are and I see the effect it has on my family. Spmething needs to be done that will bring these people to their senses before someone becomes seriously ill from the stress of it all!!!!
Hi Jackie. This an excellent post and one that other trademen and builders should take note of. Sadly, there are many builders falling victim to cowboy customers frequently and nobody gets to hear about it.
Ironically, we hear about programmes being broadcast such as Cowboy Builders’ but perhaps the producers of the show should also consider a spin off called ‘Cowboy Customers’. Viewers may be surprised to see the flip side to the relationship between builder and client.
How do builders fix this problem and not fall victim?
Quite simply, they have to take all the necessary precautions to safeguard themselves against these untrustworthy customers. I must also add that the majority of customers are a pleasure to work for and very sincere, but there will always be a handful that aren’t. A contract should be put in plasce from the onset with all terms and conditions clearly documented.
While this may not stop the problem from occurring, at least it will give builders some form of recourse in the eventuality of it taking place.
The FMB, 4K Constructions trade union, offer free contracts that can be used by both homeowners and builders alike, to so that there is some sort of legal obligation between both parties prior to construction of the project.
Graet post Jackie, welcome to the site and I hope to hear from you again.
Kirk
4K Construction
hi there are alot of cowboy customers about basicaly fraudsters ive had several over the years they know how to play the game the best one i had was i laid a stone drive the customer said i had laid the wrong stone because as they drove off the stone flew into the air,it had nothing to do with the fact that they drove off to fast had to take these people to small claims it turn out the post man had told them it was the wrong type of stone i won my case didt get cost for the hassle this caused me also these people are doctors at addenbrookes hospital in cambridge they should have had more sence than that
I come accross Cowboy Customers regular. The excusses, Loans not come in yet, can’t afford it as its near christmas, now not happy with the quote, even though it was signed for before work commences etc.
Carpet damaged, walls marked, work tops scratched….the list goes on. We have a quality control tick sheet so after work has been completed the customer inspects the work done, with an opperative, and signs it, to eliminate any maintenance or comebacks. And before work commences an inspection is done on the property, so if there is a carpet damaged or worktop scratched etc it is photographed and a form is signed by the customer. By doing this the customer has no excusses at the time of payment (normally a week after completion).
We are a Small Plumbing & Heating company with 4 Workers and a manager. Based in South Wales. We work for large and small builders, private customers and local authority. We don’t advertise but do have a Website, and most work comes from refurals and word of mouth.
People will do anything so they don’t have to pay, even though a new Bathroom, en-suite and Central heating system has gone in to their home, leaving me with a £10,000 debt! They don’t even feel bad.
Could i go into Tescos and walk out without paying because my loan didn’t come in or go to a restaurant and walk out and say i wasn’t happy with the quote….. no because its there in black and white.. the price and it’s stealing! Why is it different for tradesmen, its our boiler, kitchen, bathroom until they pay for it, they are breaking the law.
I’m currently battling to get £8000 off small builders x 2 and a private customer. They think paying me a grand short is ok or giving me lies will be ok?? No…. if you can’t afford it get someone else!or better still don’t have it done at all!!
If i was better at computers i would set up a web page and contact every builder or tradesman in britain, to name and shame these selfish idiots, even get a tv programme, anything..
I think people who don’t pay are stealing off us, we can’t keep this happening. So come on thats get this Rogue Customers idea going and punish the poor payers.