Things are that Bad...!!

[Twinsetmad]

Hi... my firm of plumbers had 200 guys on just before Christmas....and a £1,000,000 per month turnover...

Now.... were down to 48, with a really good chance to company is going down. The remainder had a letter today, me included...

Saying, that as the buisness is still in so much trouble 10 more have to go. So we're all up at the office at various times this week to plead for our jobs..

The credit crunch.... there having a laugh, we're in full blown recession. Its not the firms fault, the builders can't sell whats been built already, and sp have walked away, for now anyway all ongoing works. All the builders have layed off site agents and staff....

So... we'll just have to wait and see..

[PeeBee]

Fingers crossed for you.

[sas steve]

That's very worrying.

Any thoughts on going it on your own, There is still a demand for emergency call out plumbers isn't there? as well as the small domestic work.

Good luck with the outcome.

Steve

[MCFastybloke]

Its grim for bricklayers too (me) I wonder round my garage at looking things and thinking if i sell that how many mortgage payments will it make, it looks bad and for a good while yet

[Gary K]

the only dept taking on staff with us is the insolvency dept!

luckily we don't get involved in resi, but I know of loads of commercial schemes that have been halted

[Diving Dude]

The ressidential market has been going steadily downhill for about three years.

This is the first year for the last seventeen years that we haven't had work booked for the rest of the year by March. l'm pricing about a tenth of what l was pricing two years ago.

l am now being forced to do what l never wanted to do and that's cut the price just to get the work and load the extras to get it back.

[Tunicates]

If its any consolation there should be more work available for UK workers over the oncoming months......

.....as for the first time there are more Poles returning to their home country than there are arriving here. Recession and carp exchange rate makes going home an attractive option for them.

[SilvaFish]

Plenty to be done around here, but can I find a reliable tradesman? Can I heck...

[yazzyfooty]

I am in my 2nd week of redundancy leave, another 2 weeks then I can hopefully start my new job. Apparently you cant while you are in your notice period.

Its not often that independent hospitals have to close but ours did for a variety of reasons 1) health authorities were bringing their patients back to locality and 2) new marketing strategy was to focus on difficult to treat client group but required agreed 3-5 year funding, and no health authority was able to give those sort of assurances.

[Paulus]

Plenty to be done around here, but can I find a reliable tradesman? Can I heck...

Thats what customers tell me, but that don't mean they wan't to pay when they do find one (I'm not saying that about you SilvaFish ). The cowboys and jobing "builders" set the rates round here and give the rest of us a bad reputation.

I'm not actually making anything like a grown mans income as a full time self emplyed electrician presently. Yet I know a bloke who has been living on various health related benefits for 15 years who earns more than me some weeks doing electrical work. His customers most likely assume that he's giving them a good price and a good job "on the side". No insurance, No van to run, no Part P scheme memebrship, no certificates and no idea.

When my savings run out I'll be looking at the dole because there is little real world work round here. Then I can play him at his own game.

I saw my accountant on Friday and he can't understand why I'm keeping going

Paul

Edit: I know one self employed plumber who left the trade a few weeks back and another one who is now claiming benefits because he has no work.