After 10 years in a very pretty but woefully modernised coach house, irate husband and I did a deal 鈥� either we moved, or I got a new kitchen and two new bathrooms. Kitchen and bathrooms won, but now we get to the poachers and gamekeepers, because I need a decent builder.
You might think that that would be easy for someone running a contractors鈥� organisation, and I certainly do know plenty of builders. If I鈥檇 wanted to build a bridge or a shopping centre, I鈥檇 have had no trouble at all. I also know some brilliant smaller companies and if I happened to live in Coventry, Hereford or Preston, I鈥檇 know just the person to ask. As I鈥檓 in Surrey, it鈥檚 not a lot of help.
And I am one of the lucky ones, because I know what to do next. Get a list of reputable local firms from the National Federation of Builders, ask neighbours and other tradesmen for recommendations and, once I鈥檝e found two or three, ask for references and follow them up.
What I鈥檇 really like, of course, is a list of quality-marked builders to choose from. Then, I could be confident that someone else had done all the work and that the firms on the list would be responsible, solvent and competent. The DETR got it right when it decided that helping people to choose the right builder in the first place is key to defeating rogue traders.
However, it is not the only thing we need 鈥� and that鈥檚 we, the industry, and we, the clients. I also want a nice, simple domestic contract. I鈥檓 uncomfortable about relying on a simple letter from the builder, and although there was a time when I could recite JCT80 backwards, that鈥檚 no good for my minor domestic project. At least here, help is already at hand, in the form of the recently launched JCT consumer contract.
This is quite unlike any other building contract I鈥檝e ever read. It鈥檚 not only in plain English, it鈥檚 in clear and accurate English 鈥� it鈥檚 so good, in fact, that it has been awarded a crystal mark by the Plain English Campaign. It鈥檚 four pages long, and tells me everything I want to know: when the work will be done, how much I have to pay and 鈥� essential for this client 鈥� what to do if I want to change my mind.
I wouldn鈥檛 take a 17.5% discount of course, but it would be inhuman not to be tempted
There鈥檚 just one other problem: the price. I knew kitchens were expensive, but this one is lining up to rival the national debt of a small South American country. So, what would I do if someone offered me a 17.5% discount? I wouldn鈥檛 take it of course, but it would be inhuman not to be tempted. When it鈥檚 your own money, and the 鈥渄iscount鈥� offered for cash equals the cost of your annual holiday, or your children鈥檚 Christmas presents for the next two years, exhortations not to support the black economy ring a little hollow.
And that鈥檚 what responsible traders in the domestic market have to contend with every day, particularly those who sit just above the VAT threshold. However high quality their work, however charming and reliable their tradesmen, if they are constantly at a price disadvantage approaching 20% 鈥� thousands of pounds on most domestic building projects 鈥� they will lose out on many jobs. Even worse, if the builder that will do it for cash messes it up, that鈥檚 another disenchanted consumer, and another pin in the industry鈥檚 image.
Which is why, if the government is serious about tackling rip-off Britain, if it really wants to squeeze out the rogues, the chancellor must introduce a 5% rate of VAT on repair and maintenance work. This will allow registered traders to claim back the VAT on their materials at 17.5%, but charge the client VAT at 5% of the total price, so they should be able to undercut the rogues 鈥� the biter would be bitten at last.
I understand the chancellor鈥檚 concerns about loss of revenue, but independent research shows that these are unjustified, as compliance with the tax regime would increase, and demand for this type of work would also rise. I know special rates of VAT look messy, and of course there is Europe to contend with, but these hurdles are surmountable. The Construction Confederation has set out exactly how in its budget submission.
Most important, if the VAT rate isn鈥檛 reduced, the chances are that a lot of hard work by a lot of people in government and the industry will be wasted, because the rogues will continue to flourish. In my capacity as chief executive of the Construction Confederation, I think that would be a great shame. In my capacity as a client,
Postscript
Jennie Price is chief executive of the Construction Confederation.
