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Be thankfull he hasn't cashed the cheque.
Hi
We had the same issue some years back, I took advice and threatened the artisan with legal action to cancel the devis, he turned up two days later, they are working on the fact that you are a job in their pocket so to speak, they can chase other work but yours is always there to fall back on. I would find someone who can speak french and get them to make the call, it may work wonders!
On the deposit front, I think most brits would expect to pay, it's how things are done in the UK where I came from, no issue as long as the devis and timescales are honoured.
Panda
I have paid a roofer a deposit in June, in good faith with a signed devi to start last october, His pet slug has died his pet snail, its too wet its too hot. he assures me the price will not change when he does start....
My french neighbours tells me the french pay the deposit the day they start the work.
This is how I will employ my artisans in future.
It's not all doom and gloom. We contacted a local builder to quote for a few odd jobs around the house, he came, tackled one there and then and prepared a quote for us. It arrived a week later than planned, but all looked good, so we contacted him and asked how he wanted to proceed.
He simply said, I'll be round next week to start (no signature required, no deposit). Ok, so he didn't turn up a few times, but he did fit us in here and there when he could. Only waiting for one part to fix the roller shutter and he'll be back to install that and finish off a window sill. No a cent has exchanged hands yet, and all in all he's completed all the jobs within 4 weeks, worked like a man posssessed and cleaned up after every job.
All that's left is the invoice and to see how much it may have drifted from the original quote as there were a few changes along the way.
Naps79 Deux Sevres
It is a difficult time to get work done with most artisans having full diaries, some of my contractors are spending a couple of days on my house and then returning the following week.
I am however quite lucky, I have no practicle skills at all and on the recco of the surveyor used the architect as a project manager.
All work is being completed on time and I have paid no advance payments however I am required to make staged payments in line with the % of work completed as per the schedule of works.
somme man wrote: It is a difficult time to get work done with most artisans having full diaries, some of my contractors are spending a couple of days on my house and then returning the following week.works.
It is a difficult time to get work done with most artisans having full diaries, some of my contractors are spending a couple of days on my house and then returning the following week.works.
That is very true in our area. Work on our house has been rather slow as each of our artisans juggle several jobs. However, only 1 of the 5 artisans has asked for a deposit before beginning work (and that one is English!).
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