Sam Kavanagh, a Hull-based locksmith, recently faced non-payment from a customer in Grimsby. Kavanagh, who manages Unlock Auto Locksmith, was summoned late at night by a customer who had inadvertently locked his keys in his car boot. Once the locksmith had successfully retrieved the keys, the customer refused to pay the required £160 fee, leading Kavanagh to lock the keys back inside the car.
Kavanagh highlighted that the fee was warranted because of the travel distance and the out-of-hours call-out time. He noted that the customer’s refusal to pay based solely on the job’s short duration was unfair. This occurrence underscores a burgeoning issue confronting tradespeople, which is increasingly prevalent in Lincolnshire: growing instances of non-payment for completed work.
Nick Colley from Trusted Tradesman compared this situation to the practice of ‘dine and dash’ where patrons walk out of eateries without paying their bills. He attributed the rise of this behaviour to the escalating cost of living, which provokes some individuals to dodge paying. He advised tradespeople to maintain clear and detailed communication with customers to minimise such incidents.
The Federation of Small Businesses stated that non-payment heavily burdens sole traders and small business operators by exacerbating financial pressure. It urges companies within Lincolnshire and beyond to establish firm contracts to ward off such disagreements.
This story was adapted by The Lincoln Post from the original reporting found at www.bbc.com.
