Homeowners are costing contractors a massive £860m a year, according to new research.
Online home improvement service Improveline has quizzed 200 contractors, 27% of whom say that more than 50% of homeowners they deal with are time-wasters. Many ask for quotations as they want to assess the effect of home improvements on the value of their homes. And 49% of contractors say that work often fails to come to fruition as the homeowners cannot afford to have it done.
Improveline managing director Phil Smith said: ‘This kind of behaviour is extremely frustrating for contractors and, as our figures show, can make a real impact on their bottom line.’
Another problem revealed by 51% of contractors is that, on average, homeowners underestimate the cost of home improvements by between £1,000-5,000. They also underestimate the amount of time a project will take to complete by between 30-50%.
Mr Smith said: ‘We spend a lot of time highlighting the problem for consumers of cowboy contractors. but we are also very aware that ignorance on the part of consumers can cause significant problems for contractors.’
Improveline has 150,000 vetted contractors on its database. It claims to have helped to generat more than £140m worth of business projects for them. Six per cent of the contractors are carpenters and 2% are involved in timber/laminate flooring.
Homeowners are costing contractors a massive £860m a year, according to new research.
Online home improvement service Improveline has quizzed 200 contractors, 27% of whom say that more than 50% of homeowners they deal with are time-wasters. Many ask for quotations as they want to assess the effect of home improvements on the value of their homes. And 49% of contractors say that work often fails to come to fruition as the homeowners cannot afford to have it done.
Improveline managing director Phil Smith said: ‘This kind of behaviour is extremely frustrating for contractors and, as our figures show, can make a real impact on their bottom line.’
Another problem revealed by 51% of contractors is that, on average, homeowners underestimate the cost of home improvements by between £1,000-5,000. They also underestimate the amount of time a project will take to complete by between 30-50%.
Mr Smith said: ‘We spend a lot of time highlighting the problem for consumers of cowboy contractors. but we are also very aware that ignorance on the part of consumers can cause significant problems for contractors.’
Improveline has 150,000 vetted contractors on its database. It claims to have helped to generat more than £140m worth of business projects for them. Six per cent of the contractors are carpenters and 2% are involved in timber/laminate flooring.
