News - Paying upfront not a good plan
April 28, 2007 by kotoman
Watch out for home improvement deals where you have to pay everything upfront.
That’s one of a series of tips issued by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to try to curb the problem of homeowners being left with unfinished work after paying for the supply and installation of a fitted kitchen or bathroom.
Which? has long highlighted that it can be difficult to get a job finished properly once you’ve handed over the entire fee - there’s less incentive for the company if you can’t hold something back until you’re happy with the job.
B&Q, MFI, Moben and Dolphin
The OFT has said that it’s unfair for consumers to pay everything upfront if installation is part of the job, and it allowed B&Q, MFI, Moben Kitchens, Dolphin Bathrooms and Kitchens Direct to take full payment only if they promised to refer customers’ complaints about such problems to an independent adjudicator.
The watchdog has just finished a review of whether this is working in practice. Some companies have agreed to improve the way they tell consumers that they can use the adjudication scheme, called Qualitas.
If you complain to Qualitas, it will hold 20 per cent of anything you’ve paid while your complaint is being investigated. And, if the dispute isn’t resolved, Qualitas can provide a conciliation service and ultimately adjudicate, making a decision that’s binding on the company.
Another tip the OFT has suggested is paying for goods or services that cost more than £100 with a credit card. Under the Consumer Credit Act, you can claim against the card company if something goes wrong and the seller fails to honour the contract.
source: Which
News planning
Having been in the fitted Kitchen industry for many years I beg to ask the question ‘What about the customers who deliberately find fault just to delay or acquire a refund’ This is the main reason that companies in the home improvement market ask for full payment before completion. No respectable trader deliberately walks away from a problem, yes there are cowboys out there and let the customer beware, do some homework before committing. The industry cannot survive when a large percentage are not paying the full amount and it seems that the public are becoming more educated to getting something for nothing. We keep hearing about work not being completed or not to standard but when one investigates the complaint further you find it was caused through several areas. Mainly the lack of communication or the client not hearing or understanding at the very beginning. Another reason is the clients expectation of the type of product purchased, the old saying ýou get what you pay for’ comes to mind on this one. If you go to the less expensive end of the market and expect a finish like an upmarket quality, then one will be dissatissfied with the finish, generating a complaint. It seems to myself that its a bit one sided out there, yes the client has rights but so does the retailer. Not only do I speak as a retailer but also as a customer in the home improvement market, which I have ventured into on many occassions and have had a few small problems but they have been sorted, even if the word eventually comes into it. The reason these problems were dealt with is mainly due to the way in which I approached the companies involved, being firm but polite and asking for commitment. Not swearing shouting and threatening that only gets the person on the other end stressed, then further mistakes can be made. On that rare occassion one has to go higher with your complaint, that happens and until the human being becomes perfect we will have to accept that situation.
That’s a very valid point and we’re always happy to hear from the industry and how they feel.
I think you ‘hit the nail on the head’ regarding communication. A healthy relationship between client and supplier is based on the client understanding what they want before work starts and the supplier advising when needed. I wouldn’t take my son to the doctors and then not listen to his advice, as I wouldn’t ask a builder around and then advice him on how to build a wall.
On payment I would always prefer a 3 stage payment scheme. The first payment is the deposit, the second stage is paid when 75% work completed and the final stage paid when all is ’signed off’ and I’m 100% happy.