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50% deposit?

3 replies

NewJerseyHousewife · 02/01/2014 11:59

Is this normal? I have had a quote from a carpenter to do some work. He said he wanted a 50% deposit to cover materials. He is doing a bespoke wardrobe and fitting solid wood flooring. I am supplying the flooring and underlay. He isn't even making the wardrobes with wood. He has quoted £1,500 to do the job. He wants £750 deposit. I queried that the £750 was far more than the materials for the wardrobe and he told me that he wanted the deposit as well as people let him down at the last minute and it gives him holes in his schedule so he asks for money up front. I also queried the fact we agreed it was a wardrobe made of wood and that was not what was quoted, he has ignored this issue. Internal alarm bells are going off, not sure if this is normal or not?

OP posts:
Butterytoast · 02/01/2014 12:03

Sounds very suspicious- go with your gut!

PeterParkerSays · 02/01/2014 12:09

That sounds reasonable to me, half in advance and half afterwards. Have you got a written quote from him for the work?

wonkylegs · 02/01/2014 13:09

I'd be going with my instinct - he's not quoting for what you asked for - this would be the main issue for me and if he ignored my concerns in this I'd walk away and talk to somebody else.
We are having a handmade oak kitchen from a joiner - we paid 1/3 upfront, 1/3 on start of installation (all cabinets made in workshop) and will pay the final 1/3 on satisfactory completion.
I was happy with this arrangement as we had a contract, he has a physical place of business (workshop) and he came with glowing recommendations from people we knew.

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