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Making Sure You Get a Fair Price and the Final Bill Won’t Exceed the Quote
Our customer surveys have taught us that pricing is a top concern. The National Association of Consumer Agency
Administrators’ most recent consumer survey said the home improvement industry received the highest number of
complaints across the board. Many of the consumer complaints related to overcharging.
This is where you can get caught by scams and here’s how they work: a
contractor or repair company will give you a low-ball price to get your job
and then do a poor job, use substandard materials, ask for more money after
the project is started, or after getting your deposit, skip town and not do
the project at all. You know a local company with no BBB complaints and
advertisements in the phone book is not going to skip town with your money.
Don’t ever hire someone who comes to your door offering you a “deal” because
they had a job cancellation or available time in their schedule they need to
fill. They could be one of those operations that gets an up-front deposit and
then disappears.
So how do you protect yourself without being an experienced contractor
yourself?
If you are looking for a large-scale project, make sure you get a written
quote on the letterhead of a local company specifying exactly what will and
will not be done, get a written guarantee of performance and a guarantee
the final price will not exceed the quote.
At Handyman Matters, we price our jobs on a “Time Plus Materials” (T+M) basis.
This ensures you will only pay for the work we complete and any materials we
purchase, and at any time you can stop our services. All of our craftspersons
and employees are members of the local community and have been appropriately
screened, tested and trained. Additionally, they are held accountable by the
local and home office for their actions and measured by customer satisfaction
feedback forms. To save money on all your projects, you should be aware of the
pricing methods in the home repair industry and what they mean.
Questions to ask:
Do I get a written quote (for larger projects) and how is it calculated?
Will you help me make a materials list so I can buy my own materials to save money?
