Buywithconfidence.gov.uk

[lutonlagerlout]

i saw this in my local paper today and was dismayed at the scheme,here is an edited copy of the letter i sent them:

Dear Sir/Madam,
I noticed the advert in today's paper, I entered a Luton postcode and was dismayed at the lack of results locally.
There are a lot of schemes like this nationwide but the problems I can see are thus:
We ( L L L building contractors Ltd) have been trading for 25 years, in that time we have never had to go to arbitration and have always treated people fairly, we have completed upwards of 300 extensions,loft conversions, and refurbishments in that time,and happily have had a lot of personal recommendations from it.

We have worked extensively at luton schools, and with social services, and are on luton borough council's approved contractor list.

So in a nutshell, we are the type of reputable company you speak of, so surely the firms on the council's list should be added by default to the list??

Also any scheme that requires payment (however small) denigrates from the value of the scheme,the "bodger the builder " type you so artfully stereotype, will surely sign up for the scheme as an access point to the weak and vulnerable., a wolf in sheep's clothing you might say.

My final point is the £75 job tariff

Is a VAT registered builder going to send an employee,who he has to pay tax and NI contributions for, plus public liability insurance,in a vehicle that must be fully legal to a job say 15miles away,then buy materials (small perhaps) carry out the work, clean up , drive home and charge £75 ??

A much more realistic minimum charge would be up to < £150 + VAT

As someone who works with plasterers,carpenters,painters etc on a daily basis this would be more likely to ensure an efficient and effective job.

I applaud the initiative behind this scheme and wish you all the best with it, but i do have reservations

regards lutonlagerlout.



I cant help thinking that even the CRB checks wont work,joe bloggs will just use his brother's name in scotland or whatever.

plus as i said,exactly what can you do for £75 effectively and make money?
we are a business not a charity,TBH if a job is worth peanuts and we like the people (cuppa tea etc.) then i would rather do it free than charge £75 (and have done in the past)
things like unblocking a loo or cleaning out a back inlet gully that sort of thing

what do you think?

LLL
???

[Tony McC]

There's an ever-growing number of these schemes: trustmark; fair trades; and the rest, but they all suffer from the same basic flaw, which is thorough vetting. They can't vet a company properly for less than around 400 quid, and you can multiply that by 10 for firms with more than 6-8 lads, and so it becomes uneconomic to run properly vetted schemes.

Then you have the problem that a contractor is only as good as the people working for them. You get the good 'uns to the front for the vetting, then when there's a bit of a downturn in business, lay them off and bring in a load of chancers working for beer vouchers, yet the company is still 'approved'.

I honestly don't know what the solution is. I'd like to see VAT removed from all building work, so that the advantage enjoyed by "cash traders" is removed and we're all playing on a level field. That would be a start!

If they can give gazillions of quids to useless bankers, why not remove VAT and give the building trade a bit of a boost?

[lutonlagerlout]

yes ,VAt is a mystery to me,when people have paid income tax on their hard earned ,then have to pay VAt on materials, why do they have to pay it on labour too?
if there was no VAT you wouldnt get the constant nudges and winks about "cash" jobs
just another racket to keep the rich ,rich
LLL

[danensis]

Surely its not just VAT, its income tax as well?

[GB_Groundworks]

no vat on new build, or at least that was the last few years we but 13 new houses up on an new estate and no vat on materials.

[Tony McC]

I'm sure we'd all be delighted if they scrapped income tax for the paving trade, Danensis, but I can't see it happening for a while yet. However, removing in iniquitous VAT is possible and would even-up things to some extent.

[Rich H]

IMO VAT is one of the reasons that keeps much of the building trade in the black economy. It wasn't helped by the scrapping of the marginal corp tax rate for small companies, either, but NO ONE wants to pay VAT. On top of that, I resent being forced to be an unpaid tax collector for the government - they don't even cover the postage cost of the return anymore.

[worldofpaving]

Rich, I'm now using their online submission for my VAT return, it's very simple and you get longer to pay this way. You have to register first so allow a couple of weeks before your return is due.

WOP