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Never mind the rogue builders: Pricing website starts rogue customer list

19th January 2019
builders tools
  • HaMuch.com
    to compile list of debtor customers, complainers and con-men
  • Builders report increase in non-paying
    customers, rogue complainers & cancellations
  • Some customers hire tradesmen with no intention
    of paying quoted price

We are all used to seeing rogue tradesmen on early morning television shows, BBC’s Watchdog and regional news shows, but what these programmes never portray is the number of rogue customers that builders and other trades have to deal with.

Are customer who fail to pay up rogues too?

Building work-pricing website HaMuch.com is now attempting to redress the balance by compiling a list of customers who have failed to pay up, cancelled major jobs at short notice or consistently made unjustified complaints to get significant discounts. This list of nightmare customers will be compiled via feedback from plumbers, electricians, roofers, bricklayers and other tradesmen and tradeswomen who use the unique pricing website, before being made available to trades who sign up for the service.

“For far too long, the emphasis has been on the occasional bad builder,” says HaMuch.com founder Tarquin Purdie. “We hope that this list of bad customers can do something to redress the balance. A small number of customers have no intention of paying a quoted price in full and will pick and pick at work until the tradesman just gives in. It is certainly on the increase. Perhaps the BBC will even commission a show from Matt Allwright called Rogue Customers.”

Keep cost clear to avoid rogue customers

Purdie estimates that his users will have lost tens of thousands of pounds over the years to rogue customers. He cites cases of builders who have had to sue customers who refused to pay for an extension, one who paid for the kitchen but none of the labour to install it and another who cancelled a loft extension on the day work was to start, with all materials purchased. The list will help tradesmen and tradeswomen to avoid customers who are likely to cause them similar problems.

“I founded the site to help clean up the industry and create more transparency,” says Purdie. “We have made labour costs clear for all customers across the UK and we always act when we hear about poor tradesmen. So, this is the next step to creating a fair industry for all. We all need builders, plumbers and carpenters to work on our home and they need us. So these exchanges should always be fair and above board. We think this list will help to achieve that.”

Upgrade Your House | Twyford Bathroom Solutions

16th January 2019
e100 bathroom suite

When it comes to renovating your bathroom, there are several important elements to consider at every stage of the process, from designing, buying and installing a new bathroom suite.  

Perhaps the most daunting decision for a homeowner is settling on a bathroom suite that both looks beautiful and performs flawlessly, while keeping in budget. Twyford bathroom ranges feature a host of ceramics and furniture solutions ideal for any space or style. From mirror cabinets, and other storage solutions to toilets, basins, and showers, form and function combine to create the perfect modern bathroom.

Practical & Durable

Whether it is the striking design of the Moda range or the combination of curves and square of the E100 collection, a Twyford bathroom is both practical and durable, stylish and stunning. Available in a range of finishes from bright white to natural wood, the wide range of furniture solutions will perfectly complement your choice of ceramic and declutter your bathroom. Complete with contemporary mirror cabinets in several convenient sizes, features include internal shelves, handy fold-down storage compartments and optional external lighting.

Space Saving

The floating effect of Twyford’s wall-hung toilets offer a sleek aesthetic and increase the sense of space, as well as providing easier cleaning for homeowners. Likewise, thanks to clever behind the wall technology, cisterns can be concealed behind the wall meaning even greater space can be created and flush plates can be located away from the cistern – perfect for smaller bathrooms. Toilet options also include a unique combination of Twyford’s cutting-edge Rimfree® and Flushwise® technologies for an ultra-hygienic, clean and green solution.

Much as you’d expect from a name built on outstanding service and exceptional bathroom solutions, Twyford’s expert team ensures smooth and efficient running of your project from start to finish, working closely with your installer to create the bathroom of your dreams.

To find out more about Twyford bathrooms, visit www.twyfordbathrooms.com.

Builders and Plumbers in the southeast 25 times more expensive

16th January 2019

Regional / local: The UK’s cheapest tradesmen are in Birmingham / Nottingham / Nuneaton / Blackwood / Doncaster

  • North-south divide in builder costs as much as £240-per-hour
  • Surrey and London most expensive for tradesmen/women
  • Midlands offers best value to homeowners, according to HaMuch.com

A new data survey by building work pricing site HaMuch.com has revealed the stark differences between the southeast and the rest of the UK when it comes to the cost of building work. The divide appears to be drawn at Watford Gap, with the Midlands offering best value, whilst Surrey and London have the most expensive tradesmen.

The spread of prices for common household jobs across the recently-launched website’s 12,000 tradesmen ranged from £10-per-hour to an incredible £250-per-hour, with builders in Surrey charging as much as 25-times more than their counterparts in Nottingham. Plumbers in Surrey also charged an eye-watering 20-times more than those in Caerphilly. Meanwhile, hiring an electrician in London could cost you £250-per-hour, compared with a bargain basement £10-per-hour in Birmingham. 

The startling prices were uncovered by the data processing team for https://www.hamuch.com as part of their efforts to ensure that homeowners know the cost of jobs up-front. The website lists a labour cost for each tradesman/tradeswoman listed on the service and allows homeowners to search trades in their area by cost, so that no one busts their budget building an extension to having a boiler serviced. So if you are searching ” heating engineer near me “

“We knew there was a wide disparity in charges between the southeast and the rest of the UK, but we were shocked just how wide that was”, says HaMuch.com founder Tarquin Purdie. “The prices show that the market can take a lot in the southeast, whereas rates in parts of the Midlands and north may not have increased for several years. It is certainly something that will make the industry and even government ministers sit up and pay attention.

“We are committed to making sure homeowners and renters alike know the cost of a job before they even approach a plumber or a painter. Not all builders and trades will like it, but we think that the best are only too happy to be honest and up-front on costs.”

The most inexpensive painter and decorator and carpenter both charged £10-per-hour and were in Nuneaton and Doncaster respectively. The most costly were in Brighton and Islington, at £150 and £100. 

The full breakdown of low and high prices is as follows:

Building work: Cheapest, £10-per-hour in Nottingham, East Midlands. Most costly, £250-per-hour in Camberley, Surrey.

Electricians: Cheapest, £10-per-hour in Birmingham, West Midlands. Most costly, £250 in Edgware, London. 

Plumbing:  Cheapest, £10-per-hour in Blackwood, Caerphilly. Most costly, £200-per-hour in Addlestone, Surrey. 

Painting and decorating: Cheapest, £10-per-hour in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. Most costly, £150-per-hour in Brighton, East Sussex. 

Carpenters: Cheapest, £10-per-hour in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Most costly, £100 in Islington, London. 

Builder pricing site launches ‘How to Speak Builder’ guide for its customers

9th January 2019
Trades language
  • New 10-point guide aims to make customers and builders more comfortable
  • Includes advice such as ‘you don’t have to drop your aitches’ and ‘not all of us take three sugars’
  • HaMuch.com guide details everything from breakfast times to the meaning of quotes

A new guide to speaking to builders from tradesman pricing website HaMuch.com is seeking to bridge the divide between home-owners and builders, starting with the common language that divides them. 

One common problem highlighted is the tendency of men to try to imitate a working-class accent, say ‘mate’ a lot and drop the names of random tools into conversation, in an attempt to appear knowledgeable. 

The Chameleon Effect

We are all guilty of what psychologists refer to as the ‘Chameleon Effect’, where we mimic the speech patterns of those we are speaking to, but this is most noticeable amongst middle class homeowners dealing with tradesmen. But builders are, it seems, just as fed up of having to engage in a chat that starts ‘what about the City game last night, eh?’ as the homeowners who feel obliged to engage in it.

“Part of this need to adapt your language is down to not wanting to be ripped off,” says Tarquin Purdie, who is MD atHaMuch.com – which offers up-front labour costs for all trades. “One of the reasons I founded the website was so that we could stop this charade, where customers feel they have to reel off names of wood, plastering techniques or the Premier League players they know. It makes it a lot less stressful for all concerned.”

“We naturally feel rapport and connected to people who mirror our body language, tone and the essence of words that we use,” says Mamta Saha, psychologist at Living Potential International. “We have a natural drive to be liked and subconsciously apply a tinge in our accents or an adjustment in our body language if we feel it is going to bring us closer to someone ‘understanding us’ and as a result they may feel we ‘understand them’ better, bringing us closer and more connected.”

Becoming fluent in tradesmens language

“We naturally feel rapport and connected to people who mirror our body language, tone and the essence of words that we use,” says Mamta Saha, psychologist at Living Potential International. “We have a natural drive to be liked and subconsciously apply a tinge in our accents or an adjustment in our body language if we feel it is going to bring us closer to someone ‘understanding us’ and as a result they may feel we ‘understand them’ better, bringing us closer and more connected.”

HaMuch.com founder Tarquin Purdie has also been speaking to the plumbers, electricians and roofers who use his website to advertise for work, finding that the main bugbears of builders in our homes include people assuming they are uneducated, people standing over them as they work and homeowners who never offer so much as a glass of tap water. 

Although some admit that they can get confused by homeowners asking them to copy the latest design trends without so much as showing them a picture of what they would like. 

“I’m called Tarquin, so as you might guess it did take a while for me to be native in the language of tradesman,” says Purdie. “But I like to feel I am fluent now that I have been running a plumbing business for more than 10 years. Hopefully this guide will help both sides of the deal. Householders will feel more comfortable and builders won’t have to drink an endless supply of oversweet tea.”

The full guide is published below. 

  1. Don’t feel the need to call us ‘mate’ or change your accent, it’s a just a bit odd. Chances are we can work out how well off you are from the house we are working on. We won’t be asking you to prove yourself with any power tools, so you don’t have to name all the ones you know. 
  2. Don’t stand over us as we work. It won’t make us work any faster. It just makes us nervous. 
  3. If we’re talking we’re not working. We’re happy to spend the day discussing the big boxing bout from the weekend or the best way to saw a piece of wood, but don’t forget that you’re paying for our time and holding up the job. 
  4. We don’t all like football. Don’t feel that you have to pretend to. Just be careful about saying ‘didn’t they lose 5-0 last night?’ when we are wearing our team’s bobble hat.
  5. Don’t silently put up with a mess. We always tidy up as best we can at the end of the day and properly at the end of a job. If our standards of cleanliness are not up to your own then please tell us. 
  6. If you’re kind enough to offer us food or go out for sandwiches for the team then do ask us first. Yes, many sites do run on bacon sandwiches, but Dave’s Jewish and Igor is trying to lose weight. We even had a vegan on a job once. 
  7. Yes, we would like a cup of tea, thanks. Although not all of us take three sugars any more. Greg prefers coffee, although it doesn’t have to be a single estate cold brew. If it’s hot then a pint of squash every hour or two is much appreciated. 
  8. A quote is just that. A guesstimate, based on the time we think it will take and the materials we think we will need. The final price may go up (it may even go down) as the job progresses, especially if we hit a snag or you ask us to do little extras. 
  9. Don’t be surprised if we down tools around 11am and go the local café for breakfast. We’ve been up and grafting since 7am and this is hard work. Directions to your premier local greasy spoon are always appreciated. 
  10. If you don’t understand what we are saying or doing, or are thinking ‘what they hell are they up to?’ then just ask. You won’t look stupid. We’ve got years of experience in this job, you haven’t. We’ve no idea how to do whatever it is you are doing in the lounge on your laptop all day, and we won’t tell your other half about your afternoons watching Columbo. 

Banish Builder cash-in-hand payments for trades

2nd January 2019
money
  •  HaMuch.com announce New Year’s resolution is no more cash-in-hand for builders
  • Portable card machines have revolutionised payment for tradespeople
  • Does away with the industry’s reputation for tax-dodging

Building work pricing website HaMuch.com is set to put a cat among the building site pigeons by calling time on cash-in-hand payments for plumbers, electricians and bricklayers alike. 

The bundle of used notes was once standard payment for tradesmen, but the website’s founder Tarquin Purdie believes that abandoning cash payments for 2019 will allow builders to fully embrace the 21st century and rescue the industry’s reputation in one fell swoop. He is now calling for home-owners to reject calls for cash payment, even if that comes with a discount.

“It’s not hard to see why builders have traditionally dealt in cash,” says HaMuch.com Managing Director Tarquin Purdie. “They have to buy materials and pay sub-contractors and that was traditionally all done with cash. But now they buy on-account or with credit cards, and their sub-contractors or workers all have bank accounts. Many builders used cash work to stay under the VAT threshold – and I have some sympathy with that for the one-man business – but a good building business should be VAT registered nowadays, withthe accounting wherewithal to deal with that.”

Purdie points to the prevalence of iZettle and other portable card readers among many tradesmen, with modern technology also allowing them to scan receipts and manage their money far better than their forebears. Tradespeople may have been seen as luddites in the past, but they now receive work via smartphone apps, advertise on social media and use WhatsApp to send images to customers. 

“If they are offering you a substantial cash discount, then that is nothing to do with convenience or cashflow,” says Purdie. “HaMuch.com was founded to make pricing clear for customers and builders alike, but we understand some firms may offer a small discount to get the work. However, anyoneoffering as much 10% or 15% cash discount nowadays is asking you to be complicit in tax-avoidance. It is as simple as that. Ask your tradesman for their bank account details, or simply use their card reader.”

Purdie expects the growth of the ‘cashless society’ will see far fewer customers feeling the pressure to pay cash for the likes of plumbing, roofing, glazing or gardening work. Although he recognises that some tradesmen may be reluctant to let go of cash payments.

“There will always be a handful of builders who want to have that roll of fifties to pull out in the pub on a Friday night,” he says. “But more and more home-owners are joining up the dots between that cash discount and how the NHS or local services may miss out on the lost tax money.”

12 Brilliant Festive House Cleaning Hacks

31st December 2018

Christmas can be a wonderful time of the year, but it can also present a minefield of festive household dilemmas. Here are the top 12 solutions from our traders at www.hamuch.com to the most common problems faced by householders over the festive period.

1. Fridge Overload

In the run-up to Christmas, start clearing out the fridge and freezer so that there’s plenty of room for all the festive goodies – especially if, like many people, you’re planning to have house guests.

2. Messy Wrapping Paper

After opening your presents, for a quick-fix solution to clearing up, use a bundle of sticky tape to dab around and pick up bits of polystyrene and other small bits of stray packaging.

3. Red Wine Spills

As with most stains, it’s best to act quickly by using paper towels or a clean cloth to blot away the excess moisture. Then, a good hack to this problem, is by using white vinegar and dishwashing liquid. In a small bowl, pour two cups of warm water. Mix one tablespoon of white vinegar and one tablespoon of dishwashing liquid.

4. Pet Hair

Put on a damp rubber glove and rub it across your furniture to remove stubborn pet hair. The fur will stick to the glove until you rinse it off.      

5. Shoe Polish Solution

Shoe polish can be an excellent solution for scuff marks on expensive leather sofas; this is particularly a problem if you have pets who like to scratch the furniture. Leave the polish to set for 24 hours, or overnight at the very least. Similarly, use baking soda on a fabric sofa – simply sprinkle the sofa with baking soda and then hoover away.

6. Pine Needles

A great way to banish annoying pine needles from your floor is to use duct tape. Wrap a piece around your hand with the adhesive side up, then wipe away those pesky pine needles. It’s more effective than vacuuming and stops your vacuum cleaner getting clogged up.

7. Clean the Oven

Use baking soda to get your oven sparkling clean before it’s heavy duty use over Christmas; and then post-Xmas to get it tip top once again. Mix up a paste of water, ⅓ cup of salt and one cup of baking soda and then spread equally over the oven door, grills and walls. Leave the paste to soak and then thoroughly wipe down with a hard sponge and soapy water.

8. Cloudy glasses

One of the best ways to get your wine glasses sparkling is to wipe them with a cloth dipped in white vinegar, rinse them then dry them with a lint-free cloth.

9. Water & Lemon

A great way to clean your microwave is to fill a glass jug with water and then add half a lemon. Set your microwave to 2-3 minutes, then leave for a further five minutes to let it ‘steam clean’ your machine.

10. Sock it!

A great way to clean dusty window blinds is to use a sock dipped into a glass of water with a few drops of white vinegar. Simply, run your sock-clad hand along the window blinds for a cleaner look.

11. Deep Clean for Showers

Make your shower head super clean to cope with the extra demands from family and house guests over the festive period. Just hang a bag with vinegar around the shower head, and watch as it transforms to squeaky clean.

12. Blocked Dishwasher

Larger bits of foods can block the dishwasher drain and make water flow back up. Remove any food that you find on the bottom of the machine. You can do it easily with a gloved hand. Always remove as much left over food from your plates as possible before putting them in the dishwasher.

Scourge of Festive Veg Causing Spike in Christmas Call-outs for Tradespeople

28th December 2018
christmas tradesman callout

From Brussel Sprouts blocking sinks to red-wine stained carpets and furniture, tradesmen at www.hamuch.com have revealed the most common reasons they’re contacted by panicking homeowners over the festive period.

The poll of 1,000 tradespeople from cleaners to plumbers has also revealed an 18% spike in the number of call-outs over this period, as people struggle to cope with the aftermath of the frenzied festive period.

Pete, a plumber at www.hamuch.com, said: “Homes have suffered over the Christmas period with blockages being a common issue. Dishwashers and sinks regularly need to be unclogged and the remnants of a festive dinner removed from the pipes….People can panic, particularly if they’ve tried to tackle the problems themselves but just end up making things even worse!”

What’s important to bear in mind is that a call-out over the Christmas period, particularly on the big day itself, can result in heftier charges than usual.

Tarquin Purdie, Founder & MD of pricing website www.hamuch.com said: “Accidents do happen and things can go wrong for no apparent reason, resulting in people needing to call in a tradesman.

“Household problems do not confine themselves to times when we are not relaxing at home with the family such as the festive period, and they even seem to spike during this period. This is probably because there is more demand on household appliances, more people using the house, and also there is more leftover food and rubbish to dispose of.”

Tarquin added: “The important thing to remember is that you can get a tradesman out over Christmas, but the call-out charge will be higher. Consumers should factor that in and decide whether any non-urgent issue can wait until after Christmas.”

Here are the Top Festive Aftermath issues identified by tradespeople at www.hamuch.com:

Over 75% of builders have charged extra to homeowners with a ‘posh’ name

17th October 2018
Posh customer with builder
  • Pricing website HaMuch.com survey shows 75.5% have charged customers more when hearing their ‘posh’ name.
  • 81.5% of tradesmen charged more after realising a client lives in a fancy house
  • 79% of builders have charged more when working in an upmarket area

A new survey by tradesman-pricing website HaMuch.com has uncovered bad news for those called Tarquin, Rupert or Quentin, as more than three-quarters of builders admitted to charging them far more than Daves, Mikes and Deans. A slice of class war set in brickwork and cement. 

75.5% of the tradesman questioned said that they have given a higher quote when the customer is a Henrietta, Harriet or Cassandra, with 51.5% saying they have added their ‘posh name tax’ many times. 24% said they had boosted their prices once or twice.

The survey for HaMuch.com, which lets you see labour charges up front for over 12,000 tradesmen and tradeswomen, also revealed that the place where you live could also see you charged more. 

Nearly 8-in-10 of the UK builders, plumbers, carpenters and electricians questioned said that they have upped their prices when quoting for work in what they perceived as an upmarket part of their patch. Meanwhile, 81.5% admitted to having inflated charges when realising the customer lived in a large or fancy house. 

The survey certainly hit home for HaMuch.com founder Tarquin Purdie, who started the site in 2016 to end rip-off pricing and had long-suspected he paid more for jobs around the house than his friends. It allows those searching for someone to work on their home to search by trade, price and area. 

“Being called Tarquin, I have definitely experienced the ‘posh name’ trades surcharge,” says Purdie. “It’s not a big surpriseto me, personally. But our service now means that this can bea thing of the past, as the rates are there in black-and-white for you to compare before you get in touch with a tradesman. Good news for Tarquins and Henriettas everywhere.

“I was genuinely surprised by just how prevalent this over-charging has been, but I hope that more people will now start to research prices up-front and stop themselves being scalped.You will always get unscrupulous tradesmen, but those signing up to our website know that they are setting new industry standards in pricing transparency. It can only be good for builders and customers alike.”

The full survey results.

Have you ever given a customer a higher quote as they have a ‘posh’ name (such as Tarquin or Henrietta)? 

Never 24.5%

Once or twice 24% 

Done it many times 51.5%

Have you ever given a customer a higher quote as they live in what you think of as a ‘posh’ area?

Never 21%

Once or twice 26.5%

Done it many times 52.5%

Have you ever given a customer a higher quote after realising they live in a large/fancy house?

Never 18.5%

Once or twice 25.5%

Done it many times 56%

Sample of 230 tradesmen. 1 October 2018.