Is your local painter and decorator hiding something from you?
Is the paint they use all it’s cracked up to be?
Are there some things that the trade do not want the public finding out about?
We lift the curtain on your local decorator with some surprising facts.
While it’s important to respect the skills and expertise of professionals, it’s also worth noting that the field of painting and decorating generally involves a combination of well-known techniques and craftsmanship.
However, professionals may have certain trade secrets or tricks of the trade that give them a competitive edge.
Is your house painter hiding anything from you?
Fist off, we are not suggesting that all painter and decorators are scammers or something!
That’s not the case, but a painter is a supposed professional who you trust with your largest asset, your house.
Most decorators are good people, they work hard, and know what they are doing, but not everyone is on the same page, and hopefully the information here will help you to make an informed decision on who you choose to paint your house this year.
As Jimi Hendrix once said, “….Are you experienced?”
Anyone, literally anybody, can call themselves a painter and decorator, even if they have never done it before, there are no formal qualifications required to advertise your services as a house painter.
Can you imagine trusting your car with someone who calls themselves a mechanic, but has never worked on a car, never had training, or passed any exams?
Can you imagine going to a new dentist, with zero experience, who started up a surgery “just for a laugh”?
Luckily there ARE qualifications available, such as City and Guilds painting and decorating courses, which have many levels, and are the sure sign of a painter who knows what he or she is doing.
That doesn’t mean someone without that qualification would be rubbish, there are many painters who learnt their trade “on the job”, (such as myself!)
A good way to find out if your decorator is as as good as they say is to view their previous house painting work and maybe speak to a couple of their clients?
That is usually the best way, although with data protection and privacy laws, often the decorator will not be able to give you customer details without their customers’ permission, which can sometimes cause a delay.
If they cannot provide references, or make up some excuse, walk away.
After all, if you have your house exterior painted, and they did a damn good job, you would certainly tell others, but saying that, you would not want a constant stream of strangers, potential customers of your decorator, turning up unannounced, examining the outside of your house every week would you, so there is a balance.
Watch and learn…
If you have selected a decorator, they should have agreed a work schedule, in writing with you.
This would include what work they will be doing (e.g. removing old paint, repairing cracks, apply new paint) and so on, plus you should have the total cost from them, in writing.
If not, that is the sure sign of a cowboy tradesman and you may not get what you were promised if it isn’t in black and white.
(For our readers in the USA, the term “cowboy” is not literal, it means they are a rogue contractor, NOT someone in a ten gallon hat who rears cattle!)
Anyway, if you have employed someone, please don’t be outside all day watching them, from a tradesman’s point of view it is very unnerving, but by all means now and again have a look at what they are doing.
After all, you are paying for it, but please don’t get in their way, for safety reasons if anything.
Is it what was agreed? If not, tell them.
Once again, if you agree work with a house painter, get it in writing before they start.
TIP: Be very wary if they can start “straight away”.
This indicates they do not have any work, or any waiting list, or any demand for their services.
ALL good decorating companies have a waiting list for their services, sometimes only a couple of weeks, sometimes a couple of months. Be patient.
If it is worth having, it is worth waiting for.
And don’t be pressured into agreeing for work before you have checked the painter out.
How to check that a painter and decorator is who they really say they are.
Do they have a website? Check it out if they have. Is it any good? They should be on social media too. If not, ask them why.
Google their address. If it’s a bedsit above a kebab shop, or on a gypsy and traveller site. Well, I will let you read into that one.
Use websites like tineye, to check they haven’t stolen the photos from elsewhere to pretend they have done work which they have not . (It has happened to us before)
Do they have customer reviews, and if so, do they look genuine?
Hmm. the reviews look good. A bit too good perhaps?
It is possible to BUY reviews from dodgy companies online, so take pages and pages of 5 star reviews with a pinch of salt, especially if they have not been trading for long, and especially on sites such as trustatrader or checkatrade, allegedly, from evidence I personally have seen.
Also if each of their glowing reviews has a title that is stuffed full of relevant keywords, that should be a warning sign that a real customer did not write it.
With the increased use of A.I. this is becoming harder to detect.
This again is the same if a review takes up a whole page, again, stuffed full of relevant keywords, and praising them up to the rafters as if having their house painted was akin to the second coming.
It may be genuine but probably not.
When was the last time you yourself sat down and took an entire half day of your own valuable time writing a gushing review of a trader that you had used?
Again, I could show you examples of that, online right now, but I would rather not get into a legal fight with someone.
Luckily, at the time of writing this, The UK government are looking to introduce the Digital markets, competition and consumers bill, which would actually make it illegal to post fake reviews online.
Many consumer websites have banded together to form the Coalition for trusted reviews, which aim to crackdown on the problem.
Recent research estimates that almost 1 in 7 reviews on trusted consumer websites like Amazon and Ebay are fake.
The most effective and reassuring review you can ever get about any company or tradesman is from another person, someone whom you know, who has used their services and are genuinely happy.
(It’s normal to get one or two negative reviews amongst a slew of positive ones. We have 4 of them on Google and not ONE is from a real customer of ours!), but we have 30 other ones from real clients of ours, who were happy with our work.
“We are members of a prestige trade association”
Really? The easiest way to verify that is to contact the trade association directly, just to check.
If you employ them and something goes wrong, it’s reassuring to have someone else to fall back on, although short of booting them out of the association, there is not much they can do.
There are some trade associations, for legal reasons I cannot name them here, who have very weak criteria for membership, some only want evidence of insurance and that is it, the contactor pays the money and displays a badge on their website.
It doesn’t mean that they are any good.
So it is worth checking out the trade body as well as the contractor, just to reassure yourself. After all if you are spending a few grand on a home improvement, the last thing you want is to be ripped off.
Lastly, do a google search to see if anything dodgy, or indeed anything positive, comes up about the contractor you are considering hiring.
It is always best to look before you leap as the saying goes.
Cutting corners. What to look for.
Most people don’t have much of a clue about what goes in to the process of painting a house.
Many people wrongly think they can do it themselves, but painting your own house is fraught with problems and difficulties, especially if it is a large property and/or in poor condition.
Which is why people contact companies such as ourselves to paint their house.
If you get a quote or an estimate, be very aware that the two are very different things.
When we ourselves go and price up a house to be painted, the amount of work, and the total price gets put in writing.
If it turns out there is extra work we never budgeted for, that’s our tough luck. When you get a quote to have your house painted with us, the price you are quoted is the price you pay, and not a penny more.
However, if a decorator turns up at your house, even if you are getting several quotes, and they give you what seems like a very reasonable estimate, it is just that, an estimate, a guess, and you could, and probably will end up, paying a LOT more at the end than you thought you would.
Dodgy tradesmen often give very low estimates just to win the job, so be aware of that.
Paying for home improvements
Staying with the topic of money, if you are looking to finance your home improvement project rather than dish out a lump sum, that’s fine and it is often a good way to manage your budget, however….
If your tradesmen is offering to sign you up on finance as they have an agreement with a provider, be very aware that they will get a hefty sales commission, known as a kickback, from the credit or finance company, for selling you the finance.
They are selling you a product and a service now.
This means they could be earning DOUBLE what they are charging you for the work.
The best way to circumvent this is to take out a home improvement loan from your bank, which will almost certainly offer a better interest rate too.
Fail to prepare means prepare to fail
When a house needs painting, there are various things that have to be done before even a tin of paint is cracked open for the first time.
Whatever is being applied to the walls, paint or a wall coating system, the most important thing in the whole process is the preparation work beforehand.
If cracks are not repaired, if hollow render is not removed and replaced, if flaky paint is not scraped off, the job will not last and you will have wasted your money.
Your local painter and decorator may be just wanting to earn a “quick buck” and may leave out important parts of the process. Cowboy wall coating companies are renowned for doing this.
Stuff like spraying exterior coatings over poor condition walls, as the coating is very thick, it hides the areas they were supposed to render or repair. They will be long gone with your money, leaving you with a worthless guarantee to boot.
A small part of our work involves correcting work like this done by others, and the customer, although always grateful, is usually a bit embarrassed they went with the cheapest company instead of the BEST company.
Like everything in life, you get what you pay for.
They could also be using inexperienced labour to cut costs, or they may have sub contracted the job to someone else, someone that you have not had the opportunity to fully vet.
One tip, do not ever hire someone on an hourly rate, you are setting yourself up for the painter to spin the job out, to take much longer, to get more money from you. Always agree, and work to, a fixed price.
Finally, here are some key takeaways to help you avoid being ripped off.
While it’s important to note that the vast majority of contractors are honest and reputable, there are unfortunately some who engage in unethical practices.
Here are some ways a dodgy contractor might attempt to rip off a customer:
- Overcharging: They may provide inflated estimates for the cost of materials and labour, taking advantage of the customer’s lack of knowledge about market prices. GET IT IN WRITING!
- Hidden Fees: Adding hidden fees or charges that were not initially discussed or agreed upon can be a tactic to increase the overall cost without the customer’s awareness. again, get it in writing before they start.
- Low-Quality Materials: Some unscrupulous contractors may use sub par or cheaper materials than agreed upon, compromising the quality of the project. Look at the tins they bring on site. Is it the quality of paint you paid for, or paint bought from the local pound shop? Make sure the tins haven’t been opened, as a rogue trader will use a quality brand tin and then pour poor quality paint into it.
- Unnecessary Repairs: Recommending and charging for repairs or services that are not necessary is another way to inflate costs. This again highlights the need to always get the job in writing.
- Unrealistic Timelines: Promising a project completion date that is unrealistic just to secure the contract, then extending the timeline and charging extra for delays.
- Fake Credentials: Providing false information about their qualifications, certifications, or experience to appear more skilled or trustworthy than they actually are, which is why it is essential to fully check them out beforehand.
- Skipping Permits: Avoiding the legal process of obtaining necessary permits for construction work, which can result in fines or shoddy work that doesn’t meet building Regs, working on a listed building is a prime example of when the correct paperwork must be in place before work commences.
- No Written Contract: Refusing to provide a written contract or agreement, making it easier to change terms and conditions without accountability. (See comments above)
- Ghosting: Ignoring communication or avoiding the customer once the payment has been made, especially if there are issues or concerns with the completed work.
- Shoddy Workmanship: Completing work to a low standard, cutting corners, or using inexperienced labour to save costs, resulting in poor-quality outcomes.
To protect yourself from such situations, it’s crucial to do thorough research before hiring a contractor.
Check their references, reviews, and credentials, and always insist on a detailed, written contract that includes project specifications, costs, and timelines. Additionally, consider getting multiple quotes to ensure that the estimates are reasonable and in line with industry standards.
What to do if you want a hassle free, fixed price quotation, to have the exterior of your house painted.
Contact us!
You can call us free, on 0800 970 4928 during office hours, Monday to Saturday, with a voicemail service out of hours.
You can also send us an email here