How to Avoid a Bad Builder
If you're a contractor or tradesman deciding whether to take on a job, a bad builder isn't always about payment. Plenty of builders pay fine but are disorganised and uncoordinated to work for. They don't give you a clear brief, they change their mind as the job goes, and they reshuffle the trades in front of you and behind you, which means your job gets harder than it needs to be.
Signs to watch for on-site
A few things are worth paying attention to early. Is the site ready for you when they said it would be. Did they give you a clear brief on the work before you started. Is the site clean, or is it a grubby, disorganised mess. How do they handle problems that come up on-site, do they deal with them properly, or drag their feet. Do the trades and the sequencing keep changing around you without warning.
If a builder is showing all of these signs, slow or dragged-out payment is usually the cherry on top. A builder who's disorganised and uncoordinated with everything else is usually the same one who's slow and difficult with payment too.
If you don't have a contract in place
If you're a newer contractor in residential building, it can be hard to ask a builder to sign a contract or fee agreement before you start, one that sets out the scope of work and states payment terms, for example full payment due within a set number of days. Most builders won't offer this upfront, though some are happy to sign one if asked.
If you don't have an agreement like this in place, word-of-mouth becomes even more important. For a lot of contractors, it's the only real check you've got.
Word-of-mouth is your best defence
The most reliable way to avoid a bad builder is talking to other contractors and tradesmen who've actually worked for them before. Ask how the job ran, how they handled problems, and whether payment came through on time. A background check like this tells you far more than anything the builder says about himself.
An important note
Not being listed on SiteCred doesn't mean a builder is bad to work for, it just means they're not on the platform yet. There are plenty of good builders out there who simply haven't joined. What we can say is that builders on SiteCred with strong reviews and ratings from other contractors and tradesmen have a track record of running a good job and paying on time. We can't vouch either way for a builder who isn't rated on the platform.
How SiteCred helps
SiteCred is built from real reviews and ratings, given by contractors and tradesmen who've actually worked for the builder, on payment, communication and how the job was run. Before you take on the work or hire on for a job, search the builder's name and see what other trades have said.
Keep reading: how to find a reliable tradie, and why we built SiteCred.