Bray Roofing

 
 

Bray Roofing are or were a small roofing company based in Maidenhead (I think). They won’t pay the money they owe us. We sold them some hedge plants last March, since when they have disappeared off the radar. It was stupid of me not to take payment up front – I don’t know anything about Bray Roofing. Their website looked credible and it was only a relatively small order. Perhaps I also remembered the song affectionately. I’m very sympathetic if Bray Roofing are having problems, but they won’t reply to messages or pick up the phone so I don’t even know if they can’t pay or won’t pay. I’ve even got a court order against them, but the address on the Bray Roofing website turns out just to be for mail so the bailiffs are useless. I’m not going to get upset about it any more than to write a blog about it and warn Bray Roofing’s other suppliers and the trade organizations who currently endorse them.
It has been remarkable that this is only the second problemmatic account we have had in over three years’ trading, despite the recession. Given that our margins are so small bad debtors were one of the things that really worried me when we set Habitat Aid up. I was determined to pay our suppliers on time. It could be our superb credit control(!) which has helped. More likely it shows how honest folk are in the horticultural trade (unlike roofing companies!). That’s despite many of them having to cope with really difficult cash flow issues while they handle larger contracts.
So the main point of this blog is not to talk about the one exception, but to thank all our customers for being so well behaved. Apart, of course, from Bray Roofing*.

*and Bray Roofing, if you’re reading this, our bank account details are on the invoice.

A happy footnote:thanks to Trading Standards, who have been incredibly helpful, I have not only been in touch with Bray Roofing, but they are starting to pay me (in installments).