Martyn James: How to avoid construction destruction

Oh, and every time I cover this on the television or radio, I’m contacted by legitimate tradespeople dealing with rogue customers, litigious clients and people refusing to pay for the work they’ve commissioned.

Well I have good news for everyone! The prime minister has announced new plans to help you find trusted tradespeople and a new government-backed app is launching that will help you manage your construction project.

What has the government announced?

Andy Burnham has just announced a series of measures to target cowboy tradesmen.

Firstly, an app called Trusted Payments has launched to protect your cash and help you ensure your project meets all of your deadlines. The Trusted Payments app helps you to plan all the key parts of your building project – and most importantly, payments are made through the app only when key project milestones are reached.

If you watch a lot of American television, then you may have heard about ‘escrow’ accounts. This is where you pay money in to a financial holding account run by an independent third party. This means the provider of goods or services can see the cash is there, but the person paying can ensure that the money is only released when the work is done. The app works in the same way. The builder can see you’ve got the cash at the start of the project rather than acting on ‘good faith’. You both agree to the terms, then the cash is released in pre-agreed stages.

The app is also insurance-backed and people using the site will be able to go to an independent dispute resolution service if a complaint arises.

The government is also working with a number of Approved Code schemes so you know when you hire someone they will “be able to demonstrate that they meet higher standards of customer service, transparency and dispute resolution”. These will include organisations like TrustMark, Buy with Confidence, Scottish Trusted Traders and more.

What do you need to think about before starting a construction or repair project?

I asked James Walker, from Trusted Payments, for his top tips on what you need to think about before you get the builders in.

He told me: “When you’re planning home improvements or repair work, it can sometimes feel a bit overwhelming. However, all you need to do is to take some time to think about everything you want from the project”.

Here’s James’ checklist of the essential things to include in your planning:

· Make sure you have a clear and detailed description of what it is that you are expecting from the project.

· Set out clear timescales for completion of the job. This is where you can use the app to pay when milestones are met.

· It might seem obvious but include detailed plans and designs. Don’t sketch out your plans roughly (remember Stonehenge in Spinal Tap!)

· When agreeing the final price make sure you’ve included every aspect of the work, including materials and insurance.

· Set out what days and hours the tradespeople will be working on the job. This will help you avoid problems with people working on multiple projects at the same town.

· Find out where all the materials are coming from, including manufacturers. You might want to pay for these yourself in case there are problems with quality or delivery.

· Don’t forget to set out rules around tidying the site and removing waste on completion and throughout the process.

· Check the insurance your tradespeople have – and get your own cover too. You could consider public liability cover – and tell your home and contents insurer too. They can let you know if you need to extend your policy for the duration of the work.

So stick to tradespeople who are signed up to a recognised approved code scheme, and you make it clear what you want from your project: there’s a very real possibility we can drive the cowboy builders out of business!

Martyn James is a leading consumer rights campaigner, TV and radio presenter and journalist. Read more from him here.