What is a cashie?

We all have a tradie mate that has offered to do some work at our house for cash in hand (Cashie). This sounds like a great idea, It will save you money and give work to your friend.

A win-win right? 

Wrong, next to any person you ask will tell you a cashie horror story. In these situations clients experience misquotes, incomplete work, corners cut and insurance claims rejected. We will go over all the risks of cashies and why to avoid them!

Financial risks

Commonly unprofessional tradespeople will offer a cash-in-hand payment option, this will be ‘off the books’. These prices will be lower as they are not declared to The Australian Taxation Office and don’t include a Government Sales Tax.

Though a lower price may be attractive, don’t be fooled. It is common for cashies to be grossly misquoted. Cost predictions without using a pricing matrix are just that…a prediction.

The longer the job goes on the more likely that there will be unforeseen expenses for materials, tools and man-hours. Take a plumbing job for example, a plumber from a reputable service company will always be upfront about all costs, accounting for all expenses that will occur during the job. Also, you will not receive a receipt for the work, which comes with its own complications.

As a case study, this Melbourne mother was robbed of a $14 thousand deposit for an incomplete job by a tradesman.

Click here to read the 9 News article

Quality of work risks

In the service industry, you get what you pay for, If you are being offered a low cost for work that will result in poor quality of work.

In order to achieve a cheaper price, cashies will use cheap materials and incorrect installation methods. It is likely that the work will need to be revisited within the first 6 months – 1 year to have maintenance performed.

Here is another case study in which a pensioner was tricked by a dodgy tradie offering a cashie job who was not licensed.

“I trusted in the person that referred me and it never occurred to me that he wouldn’t be licensed because he told me this chap had a lot of experience in roofing.”

Click here to read the ABC article

Regulation & Certification 

In working with an established tradesperson you can trust that all work is certified and performed to an industry standard. Assuring your tradesperson is also fully qualified is a necessity, working with an established company essentially assures this, if this is ever in question ask to see your tradesperson’s certifications.

When working with a tradesperson doing a cashie, there is no record of their work, thus it is uncertified and unregulated. This will void all potential warranties given by the company and brand of installations. 

If there is a dispute with the tradesperson this lack of certification will make it impossible to go to the tribunal.

Insurance risks

When accidents or disasters occur and you wish to claim insurance, the first thing that the insurer will assess is if there are any unregulated installations that could have caused the problem. If the work was performed cash in hand, there will be no invoice, receipt or proof of work. This makes claiming an insurance claim very difficult. If you have proof that the work was carried out by a licensed and insured tradesperson, you have an additional layer of protection that their workmanship guarantee and their professional insurance will likely cover the costs of repairs caused by the work they originally completed.

Relationship risks

If the tradesperson offering the cashie work has a personal relationship with you or your family this can come with issues. Working with friends and family can create problems, arguments and misunderstandings. To avoid these difficult situations it is important to have your work performed by an impartial professional.

What to do if a cash job hasn’t worked out as you expected

First thing is to ensure that the work is completed in a safe manner. Contact a local tradesperson that is reputable. Make sure you tell your professionally backed tradesperson that you have had work performed as a cash job.  This will assist them in knowing what to look for.  They know the shortcuts that can be taken when there is no risk of having to honour a warranty and it will help them to quickly check the shortcuts that are taken (cheap material, less than perfect parts and components, rushed finish, missing waterproofing, etc).

It might cost a little more to correct the mistakes that the previous work has left behind but, you’ll have peace of mind that the work has now been done correctly and if another problem occurs, you’re backed by a professional warranty!

Work with the experts 

For all repairs and maintenance that call for experts like a plumber, look no further than Service Today. We are renowned for our plumbing, electrical, heating and cooling expertise.

Our team of experienced, highly skilled licensed technicians can be at your house the same day for any job no matter how big or small.

Call us or book online today. See for yourself why thousands of Australians have given Service Today their 5-star tick of approval!