to ask what is a reasonable length of time to chase payment. .

[whiteblossom]

I've had different tradesman do work in my home and have been surprised to be chased up for payment after they have handed me the invoice just 14 hours after. Today a different tradesman, 24 hours later...aibu to think fuck off and give me a chance (they want cash so need to get to the bank)

The first tradesman Ive used a handful of times, paid no problems, job finished at 6pm on a friday, invoice handed over...8 am sat morning phone call chasing payment after being told "we can't live off fresh air you know"

I didn't use them again she was so bloody nasty with it too. (Wife chased up for her husband)

Surely you give it a week then chase?

Agree Ed balls is a dick head though.

Look a job is done so just bloody pay the person who has done it ASAP. End of.

Good lord, reading this thread, it's no wonder the country is in the mess it's in. Very little real world business experience, with an awful lot of entitlement ...

GottaFeeling has to be the best ...

I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a tradesman to wait a day or two

what does the tradesman think ?

Direct attacks arnt allowed folks so be careful with your fuck offs or you will be deleted and warned.

Bitter experience.

I don't think the analogy with a haircut is a very fair one - if you've asked a tradesman to do some work in your house the chances are you won't have sat watching him do it to check the work is OK, so you need time to make sure nothing needs to be sorted and that's more easily done alone. I think less than a day to do that is asking a bit much, and bad business sense too, as it's unlikely you're going to be singing his praises to your friends now.

This was not mentioned when he quoted

out of interest, was this a written quote ? Did it have terms of payment on it ?

Didn't you check how much it would cost before the work was done? Normally, if I'm having work done, I'd ask for a quote and then ask how the person would like it paid before I agree to having anything done in the first place.

I have to say, as a sole trader, I don't accept cheques any more (too many problems with them being filled in wrongly, bouncing etc), but do accept cash, bank transfer, paypal or credit/debit card. Bank transfer is only worth it for me if it is above a certain amount because I need to log in to my bank and keep checking whether the money has been paid. I also don't accept bank transfer from clients I know to be notorious late-payers. On the other hand, I get a notification it has been paid when I use paypal, but then there are fees. Cash is not a tax dodge (in my case) because it goes through the books into the bank anyway, but some clients just prefer to use cash, or don't do internet banking.

If you used the first tradesman a few times and paid, no problem, did you perhaps leave it a few days before paying and they've been slowing seething away about the woman who always waits a few days before paying, so finally chased up the next one, thinking, oh no, not again, it's going to be a while before we see the money from her again. You also say you've had trouble with more than one tradesman? Well... there's your answer then.

These tradesmen are getting uppity wanting payment like this.

Bring back the good old Downton abbey days where such people knew their places and were grateful.

You've added details that make it clearer now OP. You assumed you could pay by cheque or bank transfer, the tradesmen wants cash and you haven't had chance to get to an ATM.

next time make sure you know in advance.

As an aside I have a totally above board job. I get paid in cash, weekly. It suits me and my employer. Some busybody reported me for benefit fraud, assuming I was claiming income support or JSA. I wasn't, and produced my last 52 payslips on request. It was all sorted within a week but it just shows how naive and quick to judge some people are!

I had new doors installed yesterday. Carpenter was here all day. He worked. He handed me an invoice... I paid him.
Why on earth should he wait a week???
If you agreed cash then it is YOUR responsibility to have the cash waiting for them to finish the job.
I would be pretty pissed off if my OH came home from doing a job and said 'woman didn't pay me honey so no food shopping tomorrow'

YABU

If he handed you an invoice at 6pm without prewarning you he needed cash, then he must appreciated that it was very unlikely you would be hoarding enough in the house to pay for a day's work without any notice, surely. In which case he's no choice but to wait a day or so, surely? It's not that the OP is refusing to pay him for a month, it's that he made it impossible to pay at that moment in time by not making it clear at the start of the project that he would like cash.

Unless you have form for not paying for days, the 11am Saturday phone call was unwarranted. Although the wife may just have been very frustrated about having to chase up lots of late payers and you unfortunately got the brunt of it!

Lurking, surely the real world business experience is lacking in tradesmen who expect to be paid immediately without allowing their clients to check the work or go to the bank

Pyjamas, your quite right. I take back my fuck off namechangey ?? off for a walk with baby via a bank.

If he didn't tell you he needed to be paid cash, then he can't expect you to a) have that money available straight away and b) be willing to go the bank within 12 hours of receiving an invoice. However if he had mentioned when he started the job that it would be X amount and he'd need paying in cash on Y day and you didn't pay him, that would be rude.

However, I've never dealt with a tradesman that required cash, so normally he gives me the invoice and his bank details or I write a cheque there and then. So, if I wasn't told it was a cash job, I'd not have the money on me either!

I do agree that I tend to have either cash or cheque ready for tradesman when they come - if they have let me know a rough idea of cost.

I beg to differ with the tradesmen that are poor - our plumber is a good friend and I know full well what he charges for most jobs (we do get mates rates but still through the company) and also know he has had a number of very nice holidays away in the last couple of years - the type of holiday colleagues of mine in a professional job have had to save for for years. I know lots of other tradesmen who also seem to have a lot more disposable income than is made out here.

GottaFeeling

Actually I agree. If the tradesmen didn't specify his terms in advance, he's an idiot, and he won't be in business long. And the place to put these things down, is on the written estimate/quote you provide before starting work.

I appreciate a £10 job probably won't require a quote. But anything in the hundreds/thousands does.

If a dispute ever has to go to court, the first document the court would want to see is the quote. Yes, you can have verbal agreements. But they're only worth the paper they're not written on.

I think the only think that can be "assumed" about payment, in UK law, is that is would be in legal tender, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

The annoying thing for traders isn't necessarily because they don't have the money immediately. I'd imagine most should have enough cash flow to be able to wait a day or a week or whatever. The problem is that if they don't get immediate payment they know that it'll be a faff chasing up. (Whilst the OP might well have paid in a day or two, a significant number of people have a habit of 'forgetting' and need lots of reminders.) The time they lose to this they could be quoting for other work etc. That's why it's so annoying.

And it's annoying for bigger companies too. We've spent 3 months trying to get paid by one of our clients, who eventually did once they received the county court summons. We got paid in the end but the time spent chasing and so on has been lost. So we're not working for them again.

We're renovating at the moment - when suppliers invoice us I will generally pay within 48 hours, or happily write a cheque on the spot if I'm there and they have an invoice ready on the day.

It's certainly rude to fanny about with payment - especially with sole traders, this is someone's cashflow and my invoice could be needed for their next mortgage payment. I work freelance quite a bit as well and really resent having to waste time chasing invoices when I could be doing productive work, so I try and make sure I'm a good customer!

I would be a bit surprised to get chased after 14 hours though.

We had this too and it is extremely annoying. Builders finished late Saturday evening and handed us the invoice. They said can you pay by bank transfer on Monday. No problem, we said. Got a call at 6pm on Sunday asking for the money. ?? I do think some builders need training on when it is appropriate to chase for money! That was particularly ridiculous, but in the OP's case, I think it is fine for them to ring and ask when she will be making payment, but not to be making sarky comments about nonpayment after 14 hours. That is taking the piss.

Paying in cash isn't dodgy, neither is a discount for doing so you can't judge whether the tradesman is going to pay their income tax.

Many tradesmen only like cash. My builder will take a bank transfer which is convenient.

Presumably they are chasing as they need to know when to make the trip back to your house to collect the cash? Generally we pay as soon as we've been able to inspect the work

If it's "cash" & not going through the books, less VAT & a bit naughty it should really be paid there & then when the works are done.

Otherwise unless stated as cash upfront whatever terms the invoice say?
Our firm is 14 days & I've not really heard any less than 7..

I am with you OP, we had the same when our bathroom was done, we paid upfront some of the cost so he could buy stuff, then he asked for more and DH said yes when job is done we will settle in full, told him he needed some as he was taking his wife out that night so DH said he would as a favour transfer a bit more, he rang 3 times to see if DH had done it yet... finished job a week later at lunchtime and by 6.00pm he had rang 4 times, been round once then rang a further twice to see why it wasn't in his account yet. first time DH was at work, second time on his way home, 3rd time he was eating dinner so didn't answer, 4th time said yes I will do it in a minute or two when I get laptop out, then he came to the door DH said he would certainly pay him but it was bordering on stalking! then cos he was so hacked off he delayed it an hour while he washed up and got the extra two calls whole thing was a nightmare as he messed up some of the job and we ended up paying for stuff we really had not anticipated. Yes it is nice to pay as soon as a job is finished but a few days should not be an issue

I run a farm with several other associated businesses. Generally speaking the 'norm' for payments is usually understood to be 28 days unless agreed beforehand. If I am waiting for payments off people I usually give it 4 weeks and then get accounts to send a gentle reminder.

I if I'm using a small one man band for anything (say a self employed plumber) then I will make more effort to get them paid within a few days. With a large company I just let their invoice find its way through my accounts department which normally sees them paid within a couple of weeks.

DP is a joiner. he co-owns a small building company with his father.

a tradesman demanding cash only is a bit dodgey. unless they are up to no good, there's no real reason why it would be a more convenient payment option.

DP has to be fastidious with his books. that industry is watched like a hawk and there is so much funny business it is unreal. VAT is crippling but they gotta take that up with their MP, not dodge it in the sly.

I don't know your builder. maybe he's a stand up guy and he'll declare it, put it through the books and pay the VAT. maybe.