Wise Up Wednesday: In A Trade Body? – You Should Be Fuming!
This edition of Wise up Wednesday focuses on the fact that Contractors are simply not paying their subcontractors properly, and are using every trick in the book to avoid paying you what you are rightfully owed! It’s nothing short of payment abuse.
According to Construction Enquirer “Trade contractors have been highlighting “endemic” payment abuse among some tier one firms following a recent spate of specialist collapses.
One leading specialist trade body said: “Our members feel that payment abuse is endemic with certain tier one contractors. Specialists are funding work undertaken for nearly six months when you add up all the tricks and turns the tier ones use.
Specialists have also highlighted the growing use of Pay Less Notices, contra-charges and contract amendments”
So What Are They Doing About Payment Abuse?
It is fairly apparent that Build UK and its Trade Association members are quite simply failing to protect Specialist Contractors.
Trade Association members should be outraged at this news, because it’s once again clear evidence that your Trade Body is making no progress whatsoever.
In August 2018 (yes 15 months ago!) Build UK Chief Executive Suzannah Nichol MBE said: “… the leaders within the sector are serious about changing the way they do business.”
Clearly they aren’t and despite Trade Bodies trotting out this “things are changing” BS for years, nothing has changed!
Trade Associations should be absolutely incandescent with rage at the lack of progress because it is destroying Specialist Contractors by the day, and dismantling the industry one firm at a time.
But they aren’t. So why not?
If you are a Trade Association member I suggest you ask them.
I have asked them to engage with Streetwisesubbie.com and barring the odd one and it is literally one, they are not interested.
The offer to talk remains open, but in the meantime we are getting on with the job of protecting specialist Contractors.
Last Week We Asked “Do You Need To Up The Ante?”
If you “up the ante”, you increase your demands or take a different course of action in a situation in order to achieve a better result.
So why not up the ante with your Trade Association too and demand that they make change happen, otherwise what’s the point of paying your membership fee?
StreetwiseSubbie Takes Action And Delivers Results
Also last week we reported on the fact that we met one of our Buddies and took action to help him resolve an under valuation of over £140,000 pounds and non payment of what the National Contractor had agreed to pay.
Well here is an extract from the email I got from our Buddy last night;
“As an update I have this evening spoken to xxxx (he actually called me)
He has put a payment on the system for payment 6th Dec £145,000.00 being the current under valuation with a further payment of £30,000.00 + to be paid on the final date for payment for valuation 29 on 26th December”
Instead of just suffering, we helped him up the ante and helped him to take a different more effective course of action.
So Why Be A Payment Abuse Pushover – Why Not “Up The Ante”?
Why be a pushover when taking a different course of action provides so many other better alternatives?
So, whether it’s getting paid, agreeing terms, or finding better opportunities and people to work for, or helping you with over 40 other aspects of your business, please feel free to give us a call on 01773 712116 email via this link or the contact form.
I do hope that you enjoy Wise Up Wednesday and that it’s subject matter of payment abuse gave you some food for thought. If you wish to receive a copy via email, then you can request one using this email link.
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