According to research by Dispute Assist, 43% of home improvement contractors are spending between two and five hours per month dealing with disputes.
A total 17% of contractors admit to spending between six and ten hours a month liaising with customers over disagreements and 11% spend more than ten hours a month.
Only 7% of contractors said that they spend no time at all dealing with disputes, suggesting that they are a regular feature in the professional lives of most home improvement contractors.
Assuming a contractor’s hourly rate stands at £35, they lose the equivalent of £70 upwards to £350 on handling disputes alone. According to a statement, these disputes have the potential to significantly set back a home improvement business financially.
Despite the financial and reputational damage a trip to court can create, uptake of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services to prevent disputes from reaching this stage remained slow, it was added.
Scott and Caroline, of Castle Windows, said: “We partnered with Dispute Assist after one of our customers refused to pay and would not allow us to rectify any problems.
“We didn’t know if we would get our money back, but after our first meeting we were left feeling that we would get a resolution. ADR helped us to successfully resolve the dispute without having to go to court or shell out on expensive legal fees.
“The process was quick and painless, allowing us to get on with our jobs and continue to offer quality customer service to our clients.”