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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Tradesman chasing for payment

699 replies

CharlesIsQueensHorcrux · 19/06/2022 11:24

Hi - I had a tradesman in last week, finished Friday & invoiced Friday night with email and message. Since then has messaged another five times chasing me! By the way I wasn’t ignoring him I messaged back saying I was out but would deal. Is it me or is he unreasonable to chase me all weekend for an invoice issued on Friday night? I was happy with the work but not sure now I would use him again as I feel a bit ick like there’s a suggestion I wouldn’t pay or something. Aibu?

OP posts:
browneyes77 · 21/06/2022 08:47

riesenrad · 21/06/2022 08:34

There are lots of people who DO have money and they ARE getting things done! Tradespeople in my area are overwhelmed with work. If they weren't, they'd answer emails, do quotes and turn up when they are meant to.

It may depend on the area you live in, but on the whole there are too many jobs people want or need doing, and too few people with the right skills to do them.

Show quote history

Your area is not indicative of the rest of the UK.

mydogisthebest · 21/06/2022 09:38

My DH is a plumber and heating engineer. He is very busy but customers are taking longer and longer to pay.

When he has bought a boiler and any fittings needed, used fuel to and from the job (doesn't always work very close to home) he really doesn't want to want weeks to be paid.

He often does work for estate agents/letting agents and they used to be good at paying. The last job he did for one of them (new boiler, new shower, some other plumbing work) they took just over 2 months to pay. So we were out of packet for that time.

A friend has a business making items for customers. She has today posted on facebook that in future she will be asking for payments upfront as more and more customers are dragging their feet when paying. She says they come up with all sorts of excuses or even just "well I can't pay until such and such a date".

It's so out of order

5zeds · 21/06/2022 09:39

tradesmen are flooded with work in my area and have been for more than a year. Where are you that it’s easy to get work done?

RachaelN · 21/06/2022 10:00

So pay the man for the work he has done. My partner is a trademan and is sick of people not paying him promptly. We have kids to feed and a house to pay for.

5zeds · 21/06/2022 10:09

@RachaelN how quickly do you both expect to be paid? I think the different expectations is probably the problem.

Angiemumof5 · 21/06/2022 10:35

Maybe he has a family and wanted to take them out at the weekend!
I hope you’ve paid him now op

Ortega888 · 21/06/2022 10:39

A lot of trades people are not getting paid and it’s a wage so it would help if you pay and apologise for the delay. After all you don’t know his circumstances he had probably got bills and a family to support.

TheBreakTimeReads · 21/06/2022 10:53

Just pay him as soon as you can. He did the job and you are happy with it. It’s like daily wage for them and defo leaves them worried if the payment is not done soon or on the spot.

Mamaof2males · 21/06/2022 11:01

Please pay immediately - as other posters suggest materials are extortionate and he’s done the work, why delay? It’s money owed to him for works done.

GCRich · 21/06/2022 11:12

Hrpuffnstuff1 · 20/06/2022 13:49

Is this thread still going, I completed a job this morning arrived at 8:33 finished at 8:57. I invoiced at 10:10, the customer paid at 10:53.
The next set of work is agreed to for mid-July.
So simple.

None of this, I'm busy, a magnifying glass to check.
No service provider will last with poor quality workmanship, it's the life blood of the business.
It's interesting to note that R Mcalpine is now paying contractors within 7 days.

I am sure that plenty of people on here who are saying that the tradesman in this case is bang out of order would do the same as you have.

GCRich · 21/06/2022 11:13

TheBreakTimeReads · 21/06/2022 10:53

Just pay him as soon as you can. He did the job and you are happy with it. It’s like daily wage for them and defo leaves them worried if the payment is not done soon or on the spot.

As soon as she can is not necessarily immediately. She never said she wouldn;t pay as soon as she could. Do you think harassing customers is acceptable and likely to encourage them to go out of their way to pay you quickly?

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 21/06/2022 12:01

Mamaof2males · 21/06/2022 11:01

Please pay immediately - as other posters suggest materials are extortionate and he’s done the work, why delay? It’s money owed to him for works done.

Surely delaying works both ways - I'm waiting for an invoice to pay (they ask for the invoice number as the reference). I want to pay and will pay within 24 hours of receiving the invoice but the tradesman hasn't sent it to me. I'm away at the weekend so won't be checking my emails then so he'll have to wait until Sunday night/Monday morning if he sends it then.

AmaryIlis · 21/06/2022 12:39

We had a carpet fitter who came and did most of the job but had to come back to finish off. He didn't turn up when he said he would and we had to hound him for three weeks. His invoice pinged over within 15 minutes of finally finishing and he was hounding us to pay within three hours. We weren't impressed.

Dibbydoos · 21/06/2022 12:42

Why's he chasing you if you're going to pay him?

Trades people are normally paid the same day.

You need to just pay him.

Also if he's done a good job use him again, you might get conned by someone else. At least he didn't ask for cash on completion.

AmaryIlis · 21/06/2022 12:44

Angiemumof5 · 21/06/2022 10:35

Maybe he has a family and wanted to take them out at the weekend!
I hope you’ve paid him now op

Or you could try reading OP's posts to discover that he was paid before she started the thread?

pixie5121 · 21/06/2022 12:52

mydogisthebest · 20/06/2022 09:33

"Paying invoices is work"! Don't be so ridiculous. How is paying 1 invoice which takes a matter of minutes work?

Your terms are 30 days fair enough but not every tradesman has those terms. Once a job is finished the money is due. If that happens to be a Friday and you can't pay Friday evening then you pay it over the weekend.

What if it were a Bank Holiday weekend? I suppose you think then it should not be paid until the Tuesday?

The tradesman may be in need of that money especially if so many of his customers delay payment

Show quote history

Of course it is.

Anything that takes me away from my leisure time is 'work'. I don't have online banking on my phone, so if I've planned to have a nice day out or weekend away, it's a giant pain in the arse to have to sort something like that out.

I have clients and if I harassed them over a weekend for payment, they'd never use me again. I wouldn't even send an email or invoice over a weekend, i.e. after 5pm on Friday, because I think that's rude as well.

Just because you're a sucker who has no work-life balance doesn't mean we all are.

GCRich · 21/06/2022 12:56

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 21/06/2022 12:01

Surely delaying works both ways - I'm waiting for an invoice to pay (they ask for the invoice number as the reference). I want to pay and will pay within 24 hours of receiving the invoice but the tradesman hasn't sent it to me. I'm away at the weekend so won't be checking my emails then so he'll have to wait until Sunday night/Monday morning if he sends it then.

Show quote history

What? Outrageous! Who on earth goes away when they have an unpaid invoice? You should cancel the weekend away - the invoice will need paying the second the builder sends it?

MrsLighthouse · 21/06/2022 12:57

YABU . It’s very superior to pay when you choose …they’ve done the work. Pay immediately .

Rosscameasdoody · 21/06/2022 13:14

Payment is normally due on receipt of the invoice, and if he sent it by email, presumably the payment arrangement was by online banking - this takes a minute or two to complete so yes, YABU and should have paid on Friday, on receipt of the email.

Workaholicwoman · 21/06/2022 13:31

You ARE being unreasonable. You don't take your shopping and pay for it a few days later, do you? We run a company and I am sick of customers using us as a credit facility. We are not a bank!

pixie5121 · 21/06/2022 13:40

Workaholicwoman · 21/06/2022 13:31

You ARE being unreasonable. You don't take your shopping and pay for it a few days later, do you? We run a company and I am sick of customers using us as a credit facility. We are not a bank!

Why can't you manage your cash flow so that your customers can pay you in a reasonable timeframe?

When I was freelancing full time, my invoices got paid within 30 days. I sometimes really struggled for rent money etc. but how was that my clients' problem? They in turn were waiting to be paid, so they could pay me.

What makes you so important that you get paid immediately when nobody else does?

sunglassesonthetable · 21/06/2022 13:54

You ARE being unreasonable. You don't take your shopping and pay for it a few days later, do you? We run a company and I am sick of customers using us as a credit facility. We are not a bank!

Nothing to do with shopping.
It was an INVOICE without pre agreed terms.

I bet you if you're paid in 48hrs you're happy.

LadyMil · 21/06/2022 14:04

This thread is really horrible.

It doesn’t matter if tradesmen are overstretched with work or not. That’s not the issue.

The OP had the work done, she should have paid there and then but stated in an email reply that they were out and would pay when home, which she didn’t.

She then read a further few invoices over the weekend and still didn’t pay.

She then proceeded to come on here and question if it was unreasonable and state she would probably not use that tradesman again.

  1. Pay immediately after work is done.
  2. She clearly read several invoices and emails and failed to pay
  3. She was able to read and reply to an email while out so paying the invoice should have been no problem
  4. If your work says they will pay you on the 28th and send you a payslip and then you don’t get paid but get repeated stories of “I’ll pay you when in home” or “within 30 days” and then they come on to a social site to ask if it’s unreasonable….how annoyed would you be?
WeAreBob · 21/06/2022 14:15

LadyMil · 21/06/2022 14:04

This thread is really horrible.

It doesn’t matter if tradesmen are overstretched with work or not. That’s not the issue.

The OP had the work done, she should have paid there and then but stated in an email reply that they were out and would pay when home, which she didn’t.

She then read a further few invoices over the weekend and still didn’t pay.

She then proceeded to come on here and question if it was unreasonable and state she would probably not use that tradesman again.

  1. Pay immediately after work is done.
  2. She clearly read several invoices and emails and failed to pay
  3. She was able to read and reply to an email while out so paying the invoice should have been no problem
  4. If your work says they will pay you on the 28th and send you a payslip and then you don’t get paid but get repeated stories of “I’ll pay you when in home” or “within 30 days” and then they come on to a social site to ask if it’s unreasonable….how annoyed would you be?

So, you didnt actually read the OP's posts then, did you?

She paid before she started the thread. She had to pay it in installments as her babies limits the amount you can send to a first time payee as a safety measure against scams.

She paid him.the first maximum and had to wait a day to pay the next maximum allowed by her bank. She told him this. He continued to email asking for payment.

sunglassesonthetable · 21/06/2022 14:15

@LadyMil

Payroll not the same as an Invoice. Obviously.

She clearly read several invoices and emails and failed to pay

Exactly, 5 in a few hours of sending original. That's what this thread is about.

She was able to read and reply to an email while out so paying the invoice should have been no problem

Unless you were with OP you literally have NO IDEA if that's true.

Pay immediately after work is done.
What even if Tradie doesn't ask for that?As he didn't.

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