EPHG Contractor Guidelines

If you're a contractor, who is registered with EPHG, or has just accepted a job from EPHG, you should know that, as a contractor, you should act responsible and professional, for the work, you provide, from the start, to the finish, and just below, we have the contractors guidelines.

Engineers Guidelines

Here is a list of common questions asked from time to time, from the contractors attending the call-outs.

What is the first thing I should understand when doing contract work for EPHG?
How has the client accepted EPHG terms, if i'm doing contract work from them?
Once I get a call from EPHG, what is expected of the contractor?
How long do I have to get to the property, and what do I do in the event of a delay?
Does the client also receive a text message, after the contractor has received a text message from EPHG?
Once the contractor arrives at the property, what should the contractor do?
What happens if the client doesn't agree to sign the contract upon arrival?
How far into the job MUST I make contact with the client, in order to keep them updated?
What happens if the agreement was verbal, and the client won't pay, apart from what is in evidence?
Once I finished the work that has been agreed to, how do I end the contract, before providing a copy of the invoice?
What is the process of asking for payment from the client?
What happens if the client doesn't sign the recorded post for the invoice?
What happens if the client doesn't pay because of a despute?
What happens if there is no resolution, in either being paid, or the resolution of the complaint?
When dealing with such a case, if I feel this is not my fault, how should I act from start to finish of the contract?

What is the first thing I should understand when doing contract work for EPHG

The first thing you should understand when accepting work from EPHG, is that you're doing work for a reputable company, and by doing this, you should understand the process of our clients before we contact you, and by accepting call out work, you accept the contract under our terms.

How has the client accepted EPHG terms, if i'm doing contract work from them

When a client makes contact with EPHG, the terms from all avenues are covered from the advert, to the terms being held on the website, where they are linked together.

For these terms to be held together, we have to send our clients the confirmation and for them to reply back to us confirming receipt of the terms being sent to them.

If a client confirmed receipt of terms but ignores them, that is out of our hands, however, it shows at this point, we have done everything legal to get an agreement.

If we are fully aware that our clients choose to not accept these terms, and has made it clear to us the terms have been ignored, it is likely we would'nt give a service.

Once I get a call from EPHG, what is expected of the contractor

At the point of the contractor getting a call, it is likely that the call out fee deposit has already been taken, and it is then the contractors duty to accept the job or not.

If the contractor accepts the job, you will receive a text message from a member of staff, who is employed by EPHG, and it is only courtesy to call us, if you do not receive the text, just incase there's an error on the network sending, or receiving text messages.

After the contractor receives a text message, with most of our clients details, the contractor will also notice an ETA (estimated time of arrival), which you should get to the property, within the located time. By not getting to the property could mean the contract being broken, unless the client agrees to the contract time being extended.

How long do I have to get to the property, and what do I do in the event of a delay

The ETA is the time we give you to get to the property, and if for any reason, you're going to be delayed, it is very important you make contact with our company, firstly by texting an EPHG staff member, and then getting in contact with the person who sent you the details, or failing that, another member of staff by calling 07720247247.

If you're making contact with our client directly, it is important to text the client with a reasonable explanation, explaining the reason you have been delayed. Basically, you're covering yourself, from clients accusing you of neglect.

Does the client also receive a text message, after the contractor has received a text message from EPHG

Once the contractor has received a text message regarding the job details and their agreement, the client will then have a text message sent to them, that includes the contractors first name, their contact number, an update to the ETA, a reminder to the terms given and also audio terms, however the text sent to our clients, does not form the terms, the text is just a reminder to the client and could act as further evidence.

To get evidence of the agreed time, this could be done by a text message to the client, saying arrived at property, however, getting a signed document to the time of arrival by the person in charge, being the buyer, is the better option.

Not only do you include the agreed time, you also include a job description for the client to agree to, and again, this will cover any accusations, if any are to arise.

What happens if the client doesn't agree to sign the contract upon arrival

When a client doesn't agree to sign the contract document upon arrival, it is the duty of the contractor to contact EPHG, and explain the buyer doesn't want to agree, and it is also best to send the person in charge, being the buyer, a text message, asking them why, they won't sign any agreement for the work to commence.

It is also very difficult to give a clear answer to this, as there are many reasons why a client won't sign a document, so we just take this on a case by case scenario.

How far into the job MUST I make contact with the client, in order to keep them updated

It is very important that you make contact on or before the hour, to let the client know that the work is going to go beyond the hour, so that they are fully aware, but more importantly, to get evidence, that this has been agreed, rather than a verbal agreement.

It is very common, that a contractor can go over the hour by a verbal agreement, and the client saying, I've never agreed to this, even though the contractor believes otherwise, giving the importance, of an agreement, in evidence.

What happens if the agreement was verbal, and the client won't pay, apart from what is in evidence

If the client admits to verbal agreement, then this can act in evidence, however, if the clients doesn't admit to any further agreement, and is not happy, then the contractor would default in law, to what has been agreed to in evidence.

Once I finished the work that has been agreed to, how do I end the contract, before providing a copy of the invoice

Once you have finished the job you were set off to do as within the agreement, you need to provide a report on the work either on the invoice or separate including the time you had finished and get a signature with a copy going to the client.

Once you have finished the job given in the agreement, for best practises, you should provide a report of the work, either on the invoice, or separate report document, including the time you had finished, and get a signature, or an agreement using a durable medium, with a copy going to the client.

If the client won't agree or sign, then it is best to send a text to the client, saying 'you won't sign the end of job agreement', and we would also strongly advice you to send them an email.

What is the process of asking for payment from the client

The process of taking payment from the client is, that you write out an invoice with immediate payment due, however, if the client is unable to make immediate payment, as agreed, you have to include the option, on the email, for payment to be paid, within 7 to 14 days.

You should never expect payment before any invoice being offered, as the client could accuse the contractor of wrong-doing, or/and not acting within the customers consumer rights. This could also be reported to the HMRC.

Evidence is also crucial, and in the event of the client not paying, it is then important, to send the client, a recorded copy of the invoice, with payment due within 7 to 14 days, of the letter being signed for.

What happens if the client doesn't sign the recorded post for the invoice

If the client doesn't sign the recorded delivery, in regards to the letter, it is important that the client is investigated, to make sure they live in the property, and send another copy of the invoice, with warning to a small claims court, which could end up in further costs to the client, if the invoice is not paid within 30 days, or there is no response

What happens if the client doesn't pay because of a despute

If the client doesn't pay due to a dispute, it is up to the client to cooperate, act within the terms, the law of the agreement, and then it is up to either EPHG, or the contractor, depending on who the dispute is with, to act according, to the terms, in order for the dispute to be resolved.

All disputes should have evidence between the client, the contractor and EPHG, that the dispute has been acted fairly.

In many cases, verbal or emails, are not the best way to act out a dispute, unless accepted, by all parties, and can sometimes mean that, the dispute has to be dealt with by a recorded letter posted.

What happens if there is no resolution, in either being paid, or the resolution of the complaint

If the dispute is just the payment, it then goes down to what evidence the contractor has against the client, upon the contract agreement.

If the contractor decides to take this to a small claims court, it is likely the claim will go in favour of the person/organisation that has shown, they have acted within the law, who can also show, they have done everything correctly.

When dealing with such a case, if I feel this is not my fault, how should I act from start to finish of the contract

From the start, and to the end, of the contract, you should never show us, or our client, any aggressive behaviour, and act professional, at all times.

By showing a professional behaviour, and by treating clients respectfully, even when they are wrong, it is likely you will be more successful in your claim.

By not acting professional, you could also lose the support of EPHG, in trying to assist you, when it comes to a claim, that you believe you are entitled to.

The process of the terms accepted by the client, starts from the advert, or an agreed durable medium, leading to the home page of this website, that links to the terms.