user5941

Actually no they can't. No contractual obligation arises for signing for reciept of materials.

480sparky

Maybe in your state, but if my signature is on the invoice, they can collect from me.

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robnj772

That doesn't make any sense at all. That is like saying everyguy on here that works for someone else can be made to pay for material if his boss doesn't? Back when I worked for someone else I signed for all the stuff I picked up! How could they legally go after me if he didn't pay? I am sorry but I just don't buy that at all.Unless the person signing the invoice is listed as a payee on the account in question that would never stand up in court no matter what state your in.

On another note keep in mind also I am sure you GC is being charged more for the material then you should be able to get it from the same supply house. Non electrician accounts are always marked up more then ours are.

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user5941

signing for material creates a bailment and is seperate from a contract for sale. A bailment creates no liability for payment but obligates the bailee to do care of the material.

mattsilkwood

Yea, Joe Blow that works for XYZ electric does not have a credit agreement with the supply house, XYZ electric has a credit agreement with the supply house. All old Joe is doing by signing is stating that he received materials, for XYZ electric.

Now if old Joe gets materials and takes them to wire his neighbors garage then his employer can go after him, but the supply house can only hold XYZ electric responsible.

macmikeman

All those other answers were wrong. This is a dream come true. Go get an extra pallet of romex right now on his ticket, no make that one pallet each for 14-2, 14-3, 12-2, 12-3, 10-2. amd 10-3. Scribble where you sign so it is unintellegable. Do the job for him. Demand immediate payment. If he pays as agreed and including all change orders with no fuss, then return the balance of his materials. If he don't pay as agreed, you win. It comes down to a simple overestimation of quantity of materials required to do the job, something he knows all about....

TOOL_5150

wow, you write your address, phone number and SS number on the receipt as well?

How the heck are they going to hunt you down from a signature?


My signature is close to being just a scribble.

~Matt

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dawgs

I would weigh this decision on how bad do you need this work right now. If you need the work take it, and mark your labor rate up a bit. If your busy already, tell him your terms for doing the work, if he doesnt like it tell him to take a hike.

user5941

I work with a contractor that wants purchases on his account and we have had no problems with it. We get everything from romex staples to fixtures on his account and he pays our labor rate plus a daily trip charge.

amptech

I have a few accounts who operate this way. I haven't ever had a problem with any of them. The key to doing it successfully is to have a detailed contract agreement beforehand. You also need to have a discussion with your account manager if you and the customer are using the same supply house. Keeping him/her in the loop will help avoid mistakes in billing and keep the supply house aware that you are connected to x$ of material sales to this customer. My arrangement is an additional $8.00 per hour to cover the transporting of material and time. Also, when working for a customer that supplies all material, the clock runs port-to-port. A couple of my customers who have this arrangement are school corporations. This really saves me the hassle of the sales tax mess.

480sparky

There's a huge difference between being someone's employee and a subcontactor. Totally different set of laws. Let's put it this way: If a builder doesn't have you sign lein waiver at the end of the job, does the supply house consider you an employee of the builder and not go after the homeowner if you don't fork over the money for the material you haven't paid for?


Uh, most counter guys know me.

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Russell1200

It is not that unusual of a setup.

Obviously you have to be careful to cover your overhead, in addition to your profits. If you can increase your margin on the (more variable) labor side, it should be worth at least giving a try.

user5941

We have the material delivered to the job site and anything that needs picked up the GC sends one of his guys.

Trey4u

Not sure if this is the same thing but it sounds similar. My credit was lousy and I couldn't get an account at a supply house. I bid jobs with a GC and when I got the job I bought material on his account at the supply house. Each month he deducted from my invoice the amount of material I had purchased for a particular job. I still had my mark-up on the material since it was a firm price contract. If he paid them early and got a 2% discount, good for him. I never had to worry about scraping together money at the end of the month to pay for materials. This works extremely well on firm price jobs. I did this with several GC's on jobs from 6K up to 350K. Imagine a 99K generator hits the job and even if you can get it in your invoice to the GC, he's gonna hold 10% retainage. But if you're charging by the hour I can see how you're ****ed.

mcclary's electrical

I work with a contractor that wants purchases on his account and we have had no problems with it. We get everything from romex staples to fixtures on his account and he pays our labor rate plus a daily trip charge.


These statements contradict each other.

user5941

How???

nolabama

When i worked at the refinery earlier this year, I noticed that Murphey oil was the account holder at the supply house; not the electrical contractor. I believe that Brain John states that this is the case with most of his clients. I would mark up in labor if it where me. Just a thought.

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