Tradesmen divides opinion after shutting down customer who asked for breakdown of job

People have been split after tradesmen gave their opinion on customers asking for a breakdown of how much a job would cost.

It all kind of kicked off when a tradesman on social media decided to start posting something he called 'A Tradesman's Diary' where he'd share 'stupid s**t customers do'.

Starting off with what is apparently a classic in the profession, they posted a message from a customer asking or a breakdown of costs.

Only they framed it as someone asking 'CaN i HaVe A bReAkDoWn' in that text which accompanies a picture of SpongeBob SquarePants.

The tradesman's message told the inquisitive customer 'the cost to do the job is £2545, the cost not to do the job is £0'.

The post is clearly supposed to mock the bloke asking for a breakdown of costs, but plenty of people responding sided with them instead.

Lots said it was 'a valid question' and the tradesperson was 'showing what a whopper you are' by making fun of the request, though the person who posted it isn't either of the people in the texts.

"Lol you thought this would be different didn't you," someone else wrote.

There were some who sided with the guy, including one person who reckoned the people insisting on seeing the costs were like Jez in Peep Show telling Big Mad Andy 'I'm the boss, you're the worker'.

Still, a majority of those reckoned it was entirely reasonable to ask how much a job was going to cost them.

This question also popped up on MyBuilder.com, with a tradesperson saying their client wanted to see a breakdown of costs and asking whether they should be worried.

A reply from an Edinburgh-based architect told the tradesperson 'they aren't entitled to see YOUR costs, only what things cost THEM'.

They wrote: "The key thing is that they agreed your charges, and you provided them.

"They paid for your expertise in selecting the most suitable materials and services, not necessarily the cheapest."

So yes, it sounds like the customer is well within their rights to ask for a breakdown in how much it's going to cost them.

Meanwhile, Citizen's Advice reckons if you're getting some building work done you'd better get a quote and get it in writing.

In that quote they tell you to get a fixed price for the job that needs doing, along with a breakdown of the work that needs doing and the materials for it.

That should be comprised of separate costs for each material and part of the work.

Basically if there's going to be information that the customer needs to rely on at some point, and figuring out how much to pay definitely qualifies for that, then it needs to be put down in writing.