Had a job booked for 4 hours this afternoon and 4 hours tomorrow
morning, booked at the 'day' rate. Job booked on the 4th. Lady moving house;

E mailed her last night asking for the old & new address's. Got a reply
at 07:55 this morning telling me the move had been cancelled.

I have so much going on at the moment I won't have any problem filling
in the gaps, in some respects it's done me a favour, but for many self
employed tradesmen it could cause a loss of a days pay.

Don't know why the move was cancelled, no reason given. Could have been
a bereavement or just a lovers tiff.

I've mildly reprimanded her for such short notice, but I could have
charged her a late cancellation fee I suppose.

I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that cancelling
at short notice incurs a fee?




--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On 16/04/2013 08:20, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Had a job booked for 4 hours this afternoon and 4 hours tomorrow
morning, booked at the 'day' rate. Job booked on the 4th. Lady moving
house;

E mailed her last night asking for the old & new address's. Got a reply
at 07:55 this morning telling me the move had been cancelled.

I have so much going on at the moment I won't have any problem filling
in the gaps, in some respects it's done me a favour, but for many self
employed tradesmen it could cause a loss of a days pay.

Don't know why the move was cancelled, no reason given. Could have been
a bereavement or just a lovers tiff.

I've mildly reprimanded her for such short notice, but I could have
charged her a late cancellation fee I suppose.

I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that cancelling
at short notice incurs a fee?

You would probably have trouble enforcing it if you don't. You also
ought to be specific about what the fee is and how long 'short' notice
is. You may wish to have a sliding scale and you may wish to include the
option to waive it if you are able to find replacement work. In any
case, the fee should not be more than your actual losses are likely to be.

Colin Bignell

In article ,
Nightjar writes:
You would probably have trouble enforcing it if you don't. You also
ought to be specific about what the fee is and how long 'short' notice
is. You may wish to have a sliding scale and you may wish to include the
option to waive it if you are able to find replacement work. In any

You might choose to waive your cancelation fee for all sorts of
reasons, but there's no reason to mention that in your terms;
it could only become a source of disputes.

case, the fee should not be more than your actual losses are likely to be.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Tue, 16 Apr 2013 08:20:40 +0100, The Medway Handyman wrote:

I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that
cancelling at short notice incurs a fee?

If you don't have such a clause you ought to, you don't have to enforce
it. Trying to enforce a cancellation fee when your T&C's don't mention it
will be difficult.

Only you can judge what is "fair". Waiving it if you can drum up other
work seems fair, but make sure the client knows it's been waived. What to
charge 50% of labour, no travel time/exes etc? What is "short notice"?
I'd say at the very minimum 24 hrs before the work is scheduled to
commence. So if you are scheduled to start at 0900 on the 16th, "short
notice" would be after 0900 on the 15th. I'd be tempted to use 48 hours
(after 0900 on the 14th) to give a chance of drumming up replacement work
without having to be on the phone so much whilst on other jobs. How you
deal with weekends, donno, never been a 9-5 M-F wage slave so
Saturday/Sunday have no special significance to me.

--
Cheers
Dave.

Definitely. I've been discussing this with a cleaner who is always getting
this sort of problem from her clients which of course means she loses money
as she cannot simply go to someone else instead.
However convincing her to actually get terms and conditions in the first
place was hard enough. Some people are just too nice and get taken advantage
of.
Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...
Had a job booked for 4 hours this afternoon and 4 hours tomorrow morning,
booked at the 'day' rate. Job booked on the 4th. Lady moving house;

E mailed her last night asking for the old & new address's. Got a reply at
07:55 this morning telling me the move had been cancelled.

I have so much going on at the moment I won't have any problem filling in
the gaps, in some respects it's done me a favour, but for many self
employed tradesmen it could cause a loss of a days pay.

Don't know why the move was cancelled, no reason given. Could have been a
bereavement or just a lovers tiff.

I've mildly reprimanded her for such short notice, but I could have
charged her a late cancellation fee I suppose.

I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that cancelling
at short notice incurs a fee?




--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On 16/04/2013 08:20, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Had a job booked for 4 hours this afternoon and 4 hours tomorrow
morning, booked at the 'day' rate. Job booked on the 4th. Lady moving
house;

E mailed her last night asking for the old & new address's. Got a reply
at 07:55 this morning telling me the move had been cancelled.

I have so much going on at the moment I won't have any problem filling
in the gaps, in some respects it's done me a favour, but for many self
employed tradesmen it could cause a loss of a days pay.

Don't know why the move was cancelled, no reason given. Could have been
a bereavement or just a lovers tiff.

I've mildly reprimanded her for such short notice, but I could have
charged her a late cancellation fee I suppose.

I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that cancelling
at short notice incurs a fee?





It certainly wouldn't hurt. But how big a problem is it? Is this the
first time it's happened in all the years you've been handyman-ing?

Do your customers get given a written quote with your T&C's on the back
- and do they have to sign something to agree acceptance? If not, adding
extra clauses may not achieve a lot.

Might a cancellation result in costs other than labour? What if you have
bought materials for that specific job which you can't use elsewhere? Or
doesn't that ever happen?
--
Cheers,
Roger
____________
Please reply to Newsgroup. Whilst email address is valid, it is seldom
checked.

The Medway Handyman wrote:

I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that cancelling
at short notice incurs a fee?

I'd be more inclined to say, "If you have to cancel please give me three
days' notice so I can book other work."

Bill

The Medway Handyman wrote:

I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that cancelling
at short notice incurs a fee?

Does the pope **** on bears?

--
€¢DarWin|
_/ _/

In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that cancelling
at short notice incurs a fee?

But how could you enforce it? Sue those who won't cough up?

--
*I can see your point, but I still think you're full of ****.

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 16/04/13 15:00, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that cancelling
at short notice incurs a fee?
But how could you enforce it? Sue those who won't cough up?

take an upfront non refundable deposit.

If they say 'no' then you know they will mess you around.


--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

In article ,
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 16/04/13 15:00, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that
cancelling at short notice incurs a fee?
But how could you enforce it? Sue those who won't cough up?

take an upfront non refundable deposit.

If they say 'no' then you know they will mess you around.

You're joking? I'd think those stupid enough to pay a handyman a deposit
rather thin on the ground. Or any similar tradesman. It's far more likely
they won't turn up when they say than the other way round.

--
*Some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Tuesday, April 16, 2013 8:20:40 AM UTC+1, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Had a job booked for 4 hours this afternoon and 4 hours tomorrow

morning, booked at the 'day' rate. Job booked on the 4th. Lady moving house;



E mailed her last night asking for the old & new address's. Got a reply

at 07:55 this morning telling me the move had been cancelled.



I have so much going on at the moment I won't have any problem filling

in the gaps, in some respects it's done me a favour, but for many self

employed tradesmen it could cause a loss of a days pay.



Don't know why the move was cancelled, no reason given. Could have been

a bereavement or just a lovers tiff.



I've mildly reprimanded her for such short notice, but I could have

charged her a late cancellation fee I suppose.



I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that cancelling

at short notice incurs a fee?


Im finding when I give a quote for a Tv repair, the customer will hum n haw and about half the time refuse the quote but when I give a price for a new aerial installation, I get the job 95% of the time..Monday quoted £50 - 60 for 37" LG PSU repair..didnt get it but got £60 for Sky tv link ext & £85 for full aerial install no questions asked.









--

Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On 16/04/2013 19:01, sintv wrote:
....
Im finding when I give a quote for a Tv repair, the customer will hum n haw and about half the time refuse the quote but when I give a price for a new aerial installation, I get the job 95% of the time..Monday quoted £50 - 60 for 37" LG PSU repair..didnt get it but got £60 for Sky tv link ext & £85 for full aerial install no questions asked.

Anybody with a broken TV will probably be undecided about whether it is
worth paying to get what is almost certainly an older model working
again or to go out and to buy or rent a much newer model. Aerials tend
to be something they need, whatever they are attaching to it.

Colin Bignell

On 16/04/13 19:09, Nightjar wrote:
On 16/04/2013 19:01, sintv wrote:
...
Im finding when I give a quote for a Tv repair, the customer will hum
n haw and about half the time refuse the quote but when I give a
price for a new aerial installation, I get the job 95% of the
time..Monday quoted £50 - 60 for 37" LG PSU repair..didnt get it but
got £60 for Sky tv link ext & £85 for full aerial install no
questions asked.

Anybody with a broken TV will probably be undecided about whether it
is worth paying to get what is almost certainly an older model working
again or to go out and to buy or rent a much newer model. Aerials tend
to be something they need, whatever they are attaching to it.

aerials last longer than TVS and don't change spec so often.
a GOOD Sony TV from the 70's worked right up to the digital age.

Now we have HD, HD ready, LCD, plasma OLED,several flavours of 'smart'....

innovate to obsolete!



Colin Bignell



--
Ineptocracy

(in-ep-toc-ra-cy) €“ a system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 16/04/13 15:00, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that
cancelling at short notice incurs a fee?
But how could you enforce it? Sue those who won't cough up?

take an upfront non refundable deposit.

If they say 'no' then you know they will mess you around.

I believe that TMH already charges a 50% deposit - so he could take any
reasonable costs for his 'lost time, etc' out of that.

I'm surprised that his T&Cs (if he actually has any that make sense) doesn't
already cover such situations - after all he's supposed to know everything
there is to know about his work. *eg*

On 16/04/2013 20:36, Unbeliever wrote:
The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 16/04/13 15:00, Dave Plowman (News) wrote:
In article ,
The Medway Handyman wrote:
I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that
cancelling at short notice incurs a fee?
But how could you enforce it? Sue those who won't cough up?

take an upfront non refundable deposit.

If they say 'no' then you know they will mess you around.

I believe that TMH already charges a 50% deposit

Which goes to show what a thick twunt you are.

I'm surprised that his T&Cs (if he actually has any that make sense) doesn't
already cover such situations - after all he's supposed to know everything
there is to know about his work. *eg*



I'd be surprised if you could understand anyone's terms & conditions -
there might be some big words,

--
Dave - The Medway Handyman www.medwayhandyman.co.uk

On 16/04/2013 08:20, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Had a job booked for 4 hours this afternoon and 4 hours tomorrow
morning, booked at the 'day' rate. Job booked on the 4th. Lady moving
house;

E mailed her last night asking for the old & new address's. Got a reply
at 07:55 this morning telling me the move had been cancelled.

I have so much going on at the moment I won't have any problem filling
in the gaps, in some respects it's done me a favour, but for many self
employed tradesmen it could cause a loss of a days pay.

Don't know why the move was cancelled, no reason given. Could have been
a bereavement or just a lovers tiff.

I've mildly reprimanded her for such short notice, but I could have
charged her a late cancellation fee I suppose.

Quite possibly not her fault. Moving can involve a whole chain of people
moving on the same day and a problem with any one of them can stop the
move for everyone.

I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that cancelling
at short notice incurs a fee?

You should.

SteveW

In article ,
Unbeliever wrote:
I believe that TMH already charges a 50% deposit - so he could take any
reasonable costs for his 'lost time, etc' out of that.

He'd be laughed at round here if he tried.

--
*It's this dirty because I washed it with your wife's knickers*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

I really don't think it's sensible to ask for deposits or penalty
charges for cancellation. Often people cancel because of the actions (or
inactions) or others. Asking for a deposit etc will just annoy them, and
lose their future business.
My own was way of dealing this was to always have an alternative job up
my sleeve. I tried to have a few non-urgent jobs hanging around that I
could switch to at short notice.
My plumber rung on Mon to suggest Weds pm for a little job I have for
him. We'd vaguely agreed 'midweek, sometime'. I couldn't say yes because
we have friends coming and it would be too disruptive. He just said,
"I'll ring you back." Later: "No bother, I'll do yours on Thurs and the
one who I promised Thurs to says Weds will be OK." Thus he demonstrates
that he is an obliging chap, and thus I recommend him to all and sundry.

Bill

On 16/04/2013 08:20, The Medway Handyman wrote:
Had a job booked for 4 hours this afternoon and 4 hours tomorrow
morning, booked at the 'day' rate. Job booked on the 4th. Lady moving
house;

E mailed her last night asking for the old & new address's. Got a reply
at 07:55 this morning telling me the move had been cancelled.

I have so much going on at the moment I won't have any problem filling
in the gaps, in some respects it's done me a favour, but for many self
employed tradesmen it could cause a loss of a days pay.

Don't know why the move was cancelled, no reason given. Could have been
a bereavement or just a lovers tiff.

I've mildly reprimanded her for such short notice, but I could have
charged her a late cancellation fee I suppose.

I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that cancelling
at short notice incurs a fee?

Having something in the T&C along the lines of "we reserve the right to
charge...." etc might be useful. However chances are you would never
actually use it with domestic customers.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Steve Firth wrote:
The Medway Handyman wrote:

I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that
cancelling at short notice incurs a fee?

Does the pope **** on bears?

No, but he is Jewish.

--
Adam

On Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:18:22 +0000 (UTC), Steve Firth
wrote:

The Medway Handyman wrote:

I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that cancelling
at short notice incurs a fee?

Does the pope **** on bears?

Only on Wednesday afternoons in his private apartment

--

The Medway Handyman writes:

Had a job booked for 4 hours this afternoon and 4 hours tomorrow
morning, booked at the 'day' rate. Job booked on the 4th. Lady moving house;

E mailed her last night asking for the old & new address's. Got a reply
at 07:55 this morning telling me the move had been cancelled.

I have so much going on at the moment I won't have any problem filling
in the gaps, in some respects it's done me a favour, but for many self
employed tradesmen it could cause a loss of a days pay.

Don't know why the move was cancelled, no reason given. Could have been
a bereavement or just a lovers tiff.

I've mildly reprimanded her for such short notice, but I could have
charged her a late cancellation fee I suppose.

I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that cancelling
at short notice incurs a fee?

Some years ago I got a call from a tenant of mine in a small flat I
let, asking what to do about a tap which had unscrewed completely and
from which water was gushing out.

This was on New Year's Eve in Scotland, so I told them to shut off the
water and arranged to visit in person the following morning at 9 a.m.

Meantime I made some late-night journeys to collect plumbing tools etc.

Next day, about an hour before I was due to visit, a hoarse voice on
the phone asked to postpone the visit 'because of other commitments'.

When eventually I made my visit, I was told that they had lost the tap
insert!

At which point I said that repairing damage caused by negligence was
their responsibility.

They left not long afterwards.


--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

On 21/04/2013 08:50, Windmill wrote:
The Medway Handyman writes:

Had a job booked for 4 hours this afternoon and 4 hours tomorrow
morning, booked at the 'day' rate. Job booked on the 4th. Lady moving house;

E mailed her last night asking for the old & new address's. Got a reply
at 07:55 this morning telling me the move had been cancelled.

I have so much going on at the moment I won't have any problem filling
in the gaps, in some respects it's done me a favour, but for many self
employed tradesmen it could cause a loss of a days pay.

Don't know why the move was cancelled, no reason given. Could have been
a bereavement or just a lovers tiff.

I've mildly reprimanded her for such short notice, but I could have
charged her a late cancellation fee I suppose.

I'm wondering if I should add something to my T&C to say that cancelling
at short notice incurs a fee?

Some years ago I got a call from a tenant of mine in a small flat I
let, asking what to do about a tap which had unscrewed completely and
from which water was gushing out.

This was on New Year's Eve in Scotland, so I told them to shut off the
water and arranged to visit in person the following morning at 9 a.m.

Meantime I made some late-night journeys to collect plumbing tools etc.

Next day, about an hour before I was due to visit, a hoarse voice on
the phone asked to postpone the visit 'because of other commitments'.

When eventually I made my visit, I was told that they had lost the tap
insert!

At which point I said that repairing damage caused by negligence was
their responsibility.

They left not long afterwards.


So what about a customer that allows a job to begin, involves us in a
couple of hours and a small amount of materials? We have such a customer
we started a job for and broke off as we could not complete as it
required building work(all with the customers prior knowledge). He then
got in some one to complete our our work. Would you charge in this
situation and how much?

Bob writes:

So what about a customer that allows a job to begin, involves us in a
couple of hours and a small amount of materials? We have such a customer
we started a job for and broke off as we could not complete as it
required building work(all with the customers prior knowledge). He then
got in some one to complete our our work. Would you charge in this
situation and how much?

Don't know much about these situations, which I hear are not uncommon.

I suppose it's not so much a question of 'should you charge' as 'would
you be paid if you did try to charge'.
And the question of how much time you would want to devote to the
attempt to get payment.
And the question of the possible effect on your reputation if you try
to take customers to court. (It could be quite unfair to blame you in
that event, but some might try).

Did the customer clearly understand that you couldn't complete the job
until other work had been done by other people?

Even if one other person/company did both the prerequisite building
work and also the work you had to leave unfinished, it seems obvious
that you had expenses and were entitled to be paid.

One wonders if the customer had a SWMBO who told him he had to act in
this way. (Or a HWMBO, if the customer was a she!).

People can be very bloody awkward sometimes.


--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost