happyinfrance

Oh dear.. As a registered artisan in France , I always ask for a minimum of 50% of the devis or the cost of materials up front. There are several sides to every argument but as the old joke goes "I have an agreement with my bank, they don't do building works and I don't lend money" Some projects can involve up to 15,000 euros worth of materials which I have to purchase, and bitter experience has taught me to get paid for the materials before starting work. If I get stitched for the labour then c'est la vie, but my suppliers want paying promptly for the bits and are not very sympathetic to late payment. Most house renovation projects in France seem to take a year or more to complete, and the local supermarket won't give me food on credit for 12 months. The various bodies removing large sums of money from my bank account every month (social security charges, donations to the french national debt etc etc) also won't wait. Small jobs no problem, labour only no problem, but please have some sympathy for the small businesses who need to keep the cash flowing