Unknown Company

[Curvey Burrs]

Hi we did a quote for a company who are converting a house and there are ded trees to come out, 2 months later they have responded saying to go ahead. However since sending the quote we have heard that they maybe bad payers, they (or the guy we are dealing with) owe one local company money and the neighbouring estates said to watch out, I have checked on riskdisk and the record is good. Has anyone used riskdisk and been burnt? What would you do ask for half the quote upfront, ask for all upfront or just walk away, there is a hire in equipment charge involved.

[Treewarrior]

If it's a decent earn. Get a lawyer, draw up a contract, and agree bank transfer of funds into lawyers account. If not, walk away. Not worth the risk

[18 stoner]

If it's a decent earn. Get a lawyer, draw up a contract, and agree bank transfer of funds into lawyers account. If not, walk away. Not worth the risk

 

 

Plus if its a small earner walk anyway:thumbup1:

[Curvey Burrs]

Well not really a cheap job about £2.5K, so would be good but not sure, think we'll go for up front if he says no then walk away.

[gibbon]

I did a 13K clearence job earlier this year. Was warned about the company during the works and ended up in a battle to get paid. The consultant behind the job called me today to say he's going to county court to get paid by the same firm now.

 

From my experience I would break the job down into sections, say fell 1 large tree and ask for payment before moving onto the next stage. Just make this clear in your revised quote. No one wants to turn down a £2.5k job, just limit your damage if they are crooks.

[Curvey Burrs]

Not good hope you got paid Gibbon, did you do any checks on the company before hand? As I said earlier the Riskdisk web site came back with them being OK so not sure which I should believe.

[Highland Forestry]

Curvey.... how about asking for 40% up front and the remaining 60% on completion?

[Highland Forestry]

As an afterthought.... you could put terms in place such as a 10% credit surcharge which is added on-top but deductable if paid within 30 days...

[arc]

We use riskdisc and its not let us down in providing infomormation on a company (although it is s little slow to be updated I believe).

 

They may have a good rating and avoid county court judgments but the people who have warned you about them may not have laid their terms down clearly in writing and the client may be captilalising on this.

 

If your quote is clear and to the letter with stated payment terms and and they give a written order you are much more likely to get paid on time an if not any solicitor will get it for you for a nominal fee. Providing the client doesn't go into liquidation first which is what happened to us recently when we were took for nearly £5k

 

Talk to them, let them know they have reputation and you have concerns and ask them to explain, it won't do any harm imo.

[ACUF]

I have been asked to manage a small (>1acre) property that nestles up to a forest preserve. The project started off being a little loose ended, and with the agreement we had, the customer demanded I take 150 cash up front in "good faith", before anything was formally discussed or proposed. This is something I never do. He also said "money is not an object", "don't worry about the paperwork, just get started", "I trust your judgement, etc"

 

So, against better judgment and my normal standards of practice, I began flagging valuable secondary trees, and tagging undesirable ones and even clearing some honey suckle before I realized we hadn't really drawn up any real terms. I knew I had to put my proposal/specifications together before anything else was done.

 

He had asked for my hours for the surveying days, and the beginnings of the thinning process so I had even more of a reason to sit down and begin the proposal process. I usually don't reduce my affairs to an hourly wage, and bid entire projects for one final price, but I went ahead and created my current hourly rates along with the project proposal and the current invoice.

 

Well, he didn't like my prices, and there in lies the problem. It's obviously best to have all of the terms clear, in writing before anything starts.... And this is a perfect example of how these problems snowball. Anything done.. even as simple as marking, is at risk without clear terms.. It was my time and knowledge that I was risking.

 

I will now invoice this project so I am getting paid every week, for an agreed upon hourly rate on the ground. Proposals for large removals, climbing , or technical applications, etc. will be invoiced seperately. I will be cabling a Beech for example, for a set price as a whole project.

 

All the terms can be designed they way you and the customer want them, so take advantage of communicating the desired outcomes, both parties perspectives, and will most likely find the agreement somewhere in between.

 

ACUF