From the Front Line

So, proof in black and white that builders collude on contracts. Not all builders, by any means, and certainly not on all contracts.

But a report just released by the Office of Fair Trading (you can see it for yourself here) lists, in shocking detail, the levels at which builders speak to each other to portion out building jobs and, so the OFT argues, keep prices high.

What basically happens is this - someone puts a job out to tender to, say, five firms. The five firms then speak to each other. Three might be too busy to do it; one can't be bothered. But rather than not responding or declining the work, they submit a very high price for the project which, by definition, makes the one builder who does want the job's price look relatively modest (which it probably isn't, in reality).

The good news for self-builders and renovators is that, for most firms, we're small fry when it comes to the riches to be enjoyed in big commercial contracts.
However, as someone who experienced a massive variation in tender prices on my own self-build project, I can't help but wonder whether it affects homeowners more than we think.