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Had 5 quotes for some series landscape gardening work - quotes all around the £14 - £16k mark. We have settled with one company as we got on well with the owner, his advice and ideas are exactly what we envisioned and we feel he will be flexible if we or him have some slightly different ideas whilst the garden is being done.
So, we are just about to instruct him but he has said that he would need a 10% deposit of £1600 to secure the booking. This requirement is due to experiencing customers cancelling a day before he was due to start a job in the past. Completely understand this; however, deposit to be paid by bank transfer.
The guy seems legit, he is the only one to put the quote down as a a formal fee proposal on letter headed paper etc and he has been around the house 3 times now to discuss the brief, materials etc.
Am I being overly sensitive after hearing horror stories on daytime tv etc or am I being sensible?
Offer him deposit in an escrow account.
Put it in a hedge fund.
😂
id say its reasonable
Reasonable ask IMO.
Most builders do the same thing.
Most shops ask for deposits on goods of a higher value to hold them for you.
Most car dealerships ask for a deposit too.
Not too sure why the question is being asked.
what does £16k of landscaping get you?
Sounds pretty standard. I usually ask for 50% up front, different industry though
Get a contract set up with him. Get it in writing what he intends to do, how much each item of costs and clearly stating that you will pay the deposit - refundable if he doesn't turn up. This just makes everything clear.
Send not money until you get this in writing signed by you and him.
It's very common to ask for a deposit.
10% is cheap.
I would expect him to ask for more when he starts, usually to pay for materials, then have a final payment on completion.
Make sure you get his bank details from him in person in writing, it's a common (in terms of being scammed) scam for hackers to email fake bank details for trades especially, so make sure you're both covered by knowing exactly where those details came from.
Make sure you've got a contract, make sure you get a receipt for the deposit.
Otherwise I'd have no complaint, certainly I'd be more worried if they wanted paying some other way, it's the 21st century after all. Who pays anything in terms of non recurrent bills by anything other than bank transfer these days?
Fair point about scams (or even typos) above. For large amounts I pay a random small amount in, say 87p, phone to check they have it then pay the rest.
You can also pay him weekly as it progresses?
You're forking out £16k on your garden and you're worried about a deposit to secure the services of the preferred contractor, have a look at yourself.
But take the anti-scam advice
Certainly reasonable for a job of that undertaking
For the benefit of everyone on lofty equines, I think the OP's main concern was whether the bank transfer was risky rather than questioning the deposit itself. That's the way I read it, anyway.
Can we have a before/after photo?
Ask him if he has a local client you could visit to see the work done and discuss the process. I was a garden designer for a while and it's normal for the contractor to get some money up front, though of course bytthat time my clients had already worked with me for a while and I'd introduced the contractor as a known quantity so they had some security. When vetting new contractors I'd always go and see work they'd done before asking them to price a job.
Oh and 16k isn't by any stretch a big job for most decent contractors - a constant battle was that clients thought 5k would be enough to completely strip and rebuild a couple of hundred square metres of sloping garden, including retaining walls paving etc.
For the benefit of everyone on lofty equines, I think the OP’s main concern was whether the bank transfer was risky rather than questioning the deposit itself. That’s the way I read it, anyway.
Exactly this - not questioning the amount of the deposit but the fact that I basically have no fall back after I have transferred the amount and wanted some advice on how best to cover myself.
Oh and 16k isn’t by any stretch a big job for most decent contractors – a constant battle was that clients thought 5k would be enough to completely strip and rebuild a couple of hundred square metres of sloping garden, including retaining walls paving etc.
My experience aswell - all 5 quotes in the same ball park for the brief which includes;
80m2 of concrete to be ripped up and replaced by sandstone patio and assoicatedslot drains
Dig out 10m3 and add 10m of retaining wall and k render
40m of 6 / 7ft fencing
Removing 35m2 of turf and installing same area of 32mm artifical turf
Together with some garden lighting.
Happy to hear peoples thoughts on the price?
Just make sure he's using a sbr/cement slurry primer and solid bedding the sandstone or come winter it'll be ****ed! Price seems ok, artificial grass is more expensive than carpet for the decent stuff!
Where are you btw, I know someone very good in Derbyshire.
Happy to hear peoples thoughts on the price?
Rip off! I'd do that myself over a winters weekend in between other odd jobs.
You get what you pay for with jobs like that, go cheap with a dodgy contractor and you regret it later when everything moves, cracks and fall apart.
Just make sure he’s using a sbr/cement slurry primer and solid bedding the sandstone or come winter it’ll be ****! Price seems ok, artificial grass is more expensive than carpet for the decent stuff!
Yes quote makes specific reference to this method.
Where are you btw, I know someone very good in Derbyshire.
N.Wales but thanks for the offer1
Rip off! I’d do that myself over a winters weekend in between other odd jobs.
Many thanks for that feedback
Tommy Walsh with his 4 wee dabs mortar,a few squirts of squeezy liquid to kill the surface tension in the water and braw fatty mix
Removing 35m2 of turf and installing same area of 32mm artifical turf
Together with some garden lighting.
Nice.
what does £16k of landscaping get you?
Get him to raise a pro forma invoice for the deposit, stating that it is a holding deposit. That way if he doesn't show up then you have something to take to small claims to get your deposit back.
Different industry but we generally won’t start a project until contracts signed and 25% up front paid. No idea whether you can trust your contractor though, but their approach seems reasonable.
No. A good builder won't want any cash until either a some ground works have happened, or some materials are at your property. Be wary imho
quotes all around the £14 – £16k
first world problems....
Stealthy-est humble brag post eva!
Chapeau
"What does £16K of landscaping get you?"
For the benefit of everyone on lofty equines, I think the OP’s main concern was whether the bank transfer was risky rather than questioning the deposit itself. That’s the way I read it, anyway.
Exactly this – not questioning the amount of the deposit but the fact that I basically have no fall back after I have transferred the amount and wanted some advice on how best to cover myself.
Then get the garden service company to put the deposit into a client account, he can’t touch it there or get a solicitor to hold the deposit as a bond.
Obvz, is afterall Very Obvz.
Seems reasonable enough to me. Common practice in the landscaping world. Even the deposit seems on the low side. He will have quite a few expenses to pay before he even turns up.
What can go wrong? He can only run away, or not turn up. You know where he lives and as you presumably trust him enough to give him the job you must have checked him out beforehand.
A dose of reality wouldn't come amiss!
Stealthy-est humble brag post eva!
Chapeau
Many thanks pal!
What can go wrong? He can only run away, or not turn up. You know where he lives and as you presumably trust him enough to give him the job you must have checked him out beforehand.
A dose of reality wouldn’t come amiss!
I think the majority of the comments have reassured me that its pretty common practice for the deposit side of things but my apologies for not dealing with landscape gardeners every day!!
How does the contractor know that you will pay him at the end of the job?
You are as much of a risk to him as he is to you.