East Dulwich on Cowboy Builders this Wed (Feb16)

[Jeremy]

Money up front for materials is pretty common.

[DJKillaQueen]

It is swings and roundabouts....there are bad customers as much as bad tradesmen. It is normal for some kind of up front fee to be agreed and on average companies ask for 30%...others more, others less. The key is have agreed terms that you are happy with and a contract in place that explains what is agreed.

A builder that takes all the money up front can rip someone off as much as the customer that never had the money to pay their hardworking builder. There is an element of trust on both sides. I think it's perfectly reasonable for a builder to cover the building materials costs with an up front fee, and for the customer to pay in stages as the work is completed. That is how most large building contracts are set up.

Binda is a con man...and a con is a con whatever the service being offered.

[peterstorm1985]

In the wider construction industry it is commonplace for contractors to be paid on a monthly basis for works done to that date (measured against an agreed schedule), rather than a single cheque at the end. But in the first month there is often a payment for "set up costs" which may include monies for materials. The most important thing for any purchaser is to have a written contract that details what monies are to be paid when and for what. However, the difficulty for the home owner is being able to judge what part of the works carry what costs and ensuring that they don't pay the most money for the least expensive parts of the work. Unless you are confident reading drawings and specifications then it's a good idea to get an independent professional to have a watching brief.

[Lollipop]

In defence of Stuart and his wife - Binda did not come across at all like he does in real life. He is incredibly persuasive. Because he claims to have been architecturally trained unless you have used an architect it is easy to think his methods are OK. He has done other work ( some are reference sites) which are fine. I rate him as a con man rather than a cowboy. He's perfectly capable of doing a decent job. He just chose not to with those of us who appeared on the programme. I think that makes him particularly dangerous.

[Underhill Toad]

We had extensive building work done by Andrea Binda over four years ago. We quickly discovered major problems with the electrics and central heating he had installed; both were very dangerous and had to be re-installed. Although this work was disruptive and costly, we comforted ourselves with the thought that his building work, which included a large kitchen extension project, passed muster in the opinion of a structural engineer. Unfortunately, we were kidding ourselves. Today, the builder who came to our rescue after Binda had vandalised our home uncovered some shockingly inept structural work. The job was so badly executed as to be almost deliberately incompetent. Suffice it to say that we will require extensive reinforcement of our kitchen extension. We are facing many weeks of disruption and tens of thousands of pounds of expense; and this more than four years after we initially ejected him from the site. I agree with what has been written about about how charming and superficially plausible Binda is capable of seeming. I disagree strongly regarding his ability to do decent work. All of the people I know who have employed this man have encountered substantial problems. I only hope that they have discovered the true extent of the damage he is capable of. We certainly had not. Please, please do not use this dangerous, wilfully negligent fraudster.

[Lollipop]

Since writing my piece, my new builders discovered highly dangerous wiring and a completely botched central heating installation which leaked underneath my kitchen floor. Needless to say - extra costs to rip out the existing floor and replace it. I only hope that the Cowboy Builders show manages to persuade Trading Standards to prosecute him.

[LoveFruit]

Businesses can go bust overnight depending on executive decisions. Then consequences can affect people not originally connected to your business, and occasionally the carnage can be monumental. I've known Binda for a couple of years. Personally he's never been anything less than courteous and encouraging. I'm not making any statement, nor judging. I hope all concerned get compensated, but I don't see any malice in Binda. Here, he lookes particualrly ignorant and evil, but T.V can do that...

[Tim Lund]

I've just seen a Linked-In request from "Anrea Binda, FRSA", currently "Director at Valued Properties London Ltd.", which a check on Companies House shows to have been incorporated 30 Nov 2011. I'll be emailing the Director of Fellowship at the RSA to check if the FRSA is genuine.

[woodrot]

LoveFruit Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Businesses can go bust overnight depending on

> executive decisions. Then consequences can affect

> people not originally connected to your business,

> and occasionally the carnage can be monumental.

> I've known Binda for a couple of years.

> Personally he's never been anything less than

> courteous and encouraging. I'm not making any

> statement, nor judging. I hope all concerned get

> compensated, but I don't see any malice in Binda.

> Here, he lookes particualrly ignorant and evil,

> but T.V can do that...

This post smells somewhat