52
JULY 2015 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
TRADESMEN URGED TO SIGN
UP TO GUARANTEE SCHEME
The Home Improvement Guarantee (HIG) scheme has received an avalanche of publicity in
national and regional papers in the last few months and is now seeking to expand its network
of approved builders and tradesmen to accommodate the soaring demand for builders.
The scheme offers tradesmen an immediate competitive advantage through
protecting customer’s payments. What this means
is that customers commit
money into an independently regulated account ahead
of the tradesman doing any
work.
This ensures that tradesmen are
protected from “cowboy customers” who commission work they
cannot afford.
The HIG requires that member
tradesmen undergo a background
check, with a small fee, which is
refundable from the income paid
on their first two jobs provided by
the HIG network.
HIG is a Trading Standards approved scheme which involves the
head office sourcing builders from
all over the country to quote for
jobs ranging from kitchen/bathroom projects to entire rebuilds/
renovations.
Almost 300 builders have already
signed up to the scheme, which
works like this:
First, the work is split up into
various stages, and a timescale or
deadline is agreed on for completion of each stage, and the whole
job.
Builders still have access to a
deposit which is insured by the
scheme and ensures that the
tradesman can get on with the job
with no disruption to cash flow.
Then the money for the first
stage of work is placed into a
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
regulated holding account, and is
released to the builder or installer
only when the consumer is happy
with the work and agrees to release the funds.
The customer then places the
money for the next stage of works
in to their client account and the
builder or installer can continue
with the next part of the project.
“By placing the money in an
independent account the consumer knows that their money is
safe, and the builder knows that
the customer has enough money
to pay for the work. This is about
protecting builders from nightmare customers just as much as
it is about protecting customers
from unscrupulous tradesmen”
said Harvey Ellingham, founder of
the HIG.
Once all the stages have been
completed, and the consumer
is happy with the work that has
been done, the final payment is released. If any extras crop up along
the way, this is put on a separate
worksheet which the homeowner
signs and agrees to before the
works are carried out and the
money paid into the independently held account so that the builder
knows they can be paid for.
If there is any disagreement
about the quality of the work,
HIG will mediate to resolve the
disagreement and, if that is unsuccessful, an independent surveyor
is called in to make a ruling that is
binding on both parties.
Finally, the scheme also offers an
insurance-backed guarantee which
provides additional security over
and above the tradesman’s own
guarantee. It is valid for up to 10
years and insures the homeowner
against the tradesman going bust,
disappearing, or problems with
the quality of the work.
The guarantee also covers deposits for building work to cover materials or to show commitment.
In return for membership and
referrals, the builder pays a levy
equivalent to 3% of the net value
of the job (i.e. net of VAT) to
HIG.
“Builders get enormous kudos from being members of the
scheme” says Ellingham.
“It shows that they are prepared
to be accountable for their work
and are confident enough in their
abilities that they do not mind
standing up to scrutiny. Such
builders are in relatively short supply and are difficult for members
of the public to find.” Ellingham
adds.
Interested builders, tradesmen
and contractors should contact
HIG on 01375 489744 or visit
[email protected]