Cowboy customers.

[ColJack]

the point I was trying to make is that if he's quoted me ( and subsequently had money up front ) for a pallet of bricks and 2 rolls of cable, and ends up only using 450 bricks and 1 1/2 rolls of cable, then the left overs are legally mine since I paid for them..

 

[securespark]

How did the wine supplier end up being owed £6K??

If a customer did not pay a bill, I would refuse to supply more until the outstanding balance was settled.

Or did he order £6K in one go? In which case ('scuse pun), I would ask for some kind of advance on that sort of order...

 

[Bilioustrumpstaine]

Sometimes you have to go with a gut feel with customers and if I don't feel 100% about a client I will just leave the job alone. (this works in reverse for clients and tradespeople)

If you are starting to argue over money at the start of a job then you will be in a world of trouble at the end.

A lot of people think that you make a load of money out of materials, this is not true in a majority of cases. Any discounts are often eaten up in time/fuel etc in sourcing and collecting or paying a delivery charge.

I am more than happy for clients to provide materials but should there be a problem with a bit of kit (wrong size/wrong colour/won't work/damaged etc etc) then the client will be sorting that out, not me. Also 6 months down the line and there is a problem and it is with the kit not the install then I will charge to uninstall and refit and it will be the client who pursues money from his supplier.

 

[noseall]

the point I was trying to make is that if he's quoted me ( and subsequently had money up front ) for a pallet of bricks and 2 rolls of cable, and ends up only using 450 bricks and 1 1/2 rolls of cable, then the left overs are legally mine since I paid for them..

If he "quoted you" then the excess materials (as far as you are concerned) are irrelevant.

Maybe on a labour only quote, yes.

On a labour and materials price, absolutely not.

The amount of materials bought, regardless of quantities stated, is is irrelevant. If he says it will takes 1500 bricks to build the wall and it takes 1000, then so long as he builds the wall the size that you asked for you have no claim to extra materials bought. It is a counting error on his part.