BiKBBI offers members financial protection

The British Institute of Kitchen, Bedroom and Bathroom Installation (BiKBBI) has launched a new scheme to offer more security to tradespeople and consumers when carrying out a job.

The scheme guarantees that consumers get what they were promised and gives them peace of mind, and that retailers and tradesmen are paid what they are owed.

To launch its new financial protection product, the BiKBBI has partnered with European escrow provider Transpact.com.

Following a written contractual agreement to commence work, the consumer transfers the contract fee for installation services into a secure escrow account managed by Transpact.com, which is authorised and regulated by The Financial Services Authority.

An escrow is a financial arrangement, where a third party holds and regulates payment of the funds required for two parties involved in a given transaction.

Both the consumer and member will have full visibility of the funds, which are instantly protected by the escrow.

It guarantees that the consumer will receive everything agreed in the contract or get their money back if they don’t.

For BiKBBI members, it guarantees 100% payment once a job is completed, helping to combat the “frustratingly” constant problem of tradespeople being unfairly ‘out of pocket’ when a job has been completed.

BiKBBI membership manager Lynsey Easom said: “While an escrow service may not be necessary for all situations, it is another great tool for our members to use with prospective customers. It’s the first of three financial services products we’ll be launching to members over the next few weeks.

“Our members are operating in a fast-moving climate. Consumers are being advised to look for payment protection schemes when appointing tradespeople, so this product will certainly help our members meet that demand, while helping them to commercially stand out, win more business and protect their own income.”

Andrew Kaye, chief executive of Transpact.com, commented: “We already have tradespeople who use escrow for every job they conduct, to secure the 100% payment due to them – instead of the often 85% payment the client believes is due at the end of the job. These tradespeople increase their actual take-home revenue by use of escrow by a significant amount over a year.”

Home > News > BiKBBI offers members financial protection