Building confidence for firms and customers...

an extension, but did not build it to comply with building regulations. It ended up with a demolition notice being served.

“That got me to thinking that there’s got to be a better way to conduct business with regards to building projects.”

The solution was to devise a system whereby the builder and customer agree a contract stating the price of the job, what work will be done, at what stages money will be released for the builder to buy materials and how the work will be independently inspected once it’s complete.

Said John: “Most people don’t have a contract – but even with a contract you can still get ripped off.

“The aim is to get everything in writing and protect the money so that no one gets paid until everyone is happy.”

The Honley-based business teams seasoned contractor John with Daron, who designed the firm’s website and logo and has since worked with John on fine-tuning the way the firm operates. It took 18 months of work to get to the stage where Assured Bricks could be officially launched.

It works by a customer booking a consultation with Assured Bricks who will check the customer has the funds to pay for the work they want doing; that the project has the correct planning permission; and to ask if the customer has a builder in mind to do the work.

John said: “People often choose a builder going by word of mouth, a recommendation on a website or a listing on a ‘trusted trader’ site.

“That doesn’t guarantee that the builder is going to do the job correctly.

“We will check that the builder has the correct insurance and the correct experience and make sure they’re up to the job.

“Both parties fill in a form and are asked to come up with a staging plan for the work – from the initial digging, creating the footings, work up to window height, work up to roof and eaves, roofing, plastering, electrical installation and so on.

“The contract will stipulate at which stages the builder is due payment and the money to pay for the work is held in an assured account. Once each stage is completed the builder will ask for payment for the next stage, so the builder always has the money to purchase the necessary materials. At each stage, we check that the customer is happy with it, then the builder gets a payment.”

John added: “It means everyone is protected. If there should be a disagreement the builder and customer can’t resolve, we would instruct a surveyor to look at it to assess how much the builder is due.”

Assured Bricks make its money by taking a percentage of the value of the contract.

John said the company had huge potential in offering its services UKwide.

“There are 400-plus local authorities with planning departments passing hundreds of planning applications every week,” he said.

“People are gambling thousands of pounds. We are providing peace of mind.”