I had a distressing letter in August from a member who has been badly treated by a cowboy client. The member is a contractor who carries out repairs and alterations to domestic property who has worked for many years for decent clients. But recent years have seen a big change.

The client in question was a company director, a substantial person who resorted to crude tactics to get something for nothing. The contractor agreed to do extra work to get an interim payment released. When he did the extra work, the client then withheld the final payment, worth over £30,000. Some hold a view that this is good business practice: make a deal then renegotiate when the other party is at their weakest. The member thinks this is blackmail and extortion. I agree with him. Unfortunately the police on this occasion deemed it a civil matter. The advice from the solicitors is to write it off as recovering the debt would be prohibitively expensive.

The tragedy in all of this is that the country is crying out for reliable competent builders particularly in the domestic sector.

Does it have to be like this? Well the answer is a resounding no. The recent hurricane devastation in Florida made me look at what goes on there. There is a comprehensive licensing scheme for contractors with severe sanctions for misbehaviour, including jail time for the worst. But as well as protecting the public, the scheme also protects the contractor and his supply chain.

Florida law lays down a specific warning to owners, which must be included construction contracts, to be printed in 18-point capitalised and boldfaced type. If the homeowner fails to pay a contractor, or if a contractor fails to pay its subcontractors, the injured party can look to the homeowner’s property for payment. This could mean selling the house to pay outstanding bills.

Perhaps our government should take a broader view of what consumer protection is about. With provisions like this then we may see more good firms wanting to work in the domestic sector as the cowboy contingent is driven out.