Can't watch this as i get too frustrated. I was a jobbing builder for 15 years and never once took upfront money. I did explain that if there were particular expenses such as ordering steels and the like then the customer would have to pay for them , themselves afterI had done the walk through with the str engineer.. Also I made it fully clear that monies would be expected every Friday I did get stiffed on a couple of jobs to the tune of a couple of thousand...shows there are bad clients as well as bad builders

I don’t think you’ve done a video on this before? Would be great to go through a number of tips when hiring a tradesman. These conmen and cowboys are ruining the reputation of good honest workers like you!

We got ripped off by a Lanscaper and then found out a lot of other people have been ripped off by him too. He is still working around our area (Warrington, Cheshire and Merseyside) and his name is Oliver Booth. So if you come across him quoting for any landscape work, please be wary. (Also goes with the name Greenscape Garden Creations). I hope this crooked builder gets his comeuppance soon.

I was a bricklayer by trade, I had a building company and would never dream of ripping anyone off. On the contra, There were plenty of clients that wanted to rip me off. Most builders do a good job in my experience, I get pissed of reading how a few bad apples get us all tared with the same brush. Never pay up front, if they want you to pay for materials you order them and get them delivered. Or let them order them and pay for them when they have been delivered. Always agree a payment schedule, making sure they are owed money. With the final payment only being paid when the job is finished. That way you will both be happy. PS. Any extras, because there will always be extras, should be agreed at the time, and paid for when complete. I always did a lot more work for the stage of payment that i had reached. I am retired now and live in spain, i used to do the odd job for only friends. For the simple reason to keep my hand in. I got the feeling that even charging next to nothing, they felt i was ripping them off. i do nothing for anyone now, just let them pay the going rate. 10 euros a hour i would charge them, what a mug i was.

Shocking to hear. This scam builder is the type of person that makes customers suspicious of real quality builders who do their job well and honour their costumers.

We need to start naming and shaming these crooks! Kevin Elliott from Addlestone, Surrey is another one who did the same thing to us during 2020.

Sadly, an all too common scenario. I run a small Roofing business in South Yorkshire and we do not ask for payment until all work is completed to the customers satisfaction., we don't even ask for a deposit because we don't need one. I pay my suppliers promptly, so don't need money upfront, all we ask in return is that our invoice is paid swiftly upon completion (into our business account). Be wary of any tradesman asking for money upfront.....

Really sorry to hear this. Makes me so angry that people out there can not only steal from you but also ruin ur home and your peace

Thanks for both the SB team and Rajiv for sharing this. Good information to spot some of the tricks out there.

My heart really goes out to this man. I've had three bad experiences with builders from MyBuilder and Rated People but nothing as atrocious as this man's. These builders play on the fact one doesn't know what needs to be done and what they should and shouldn't do.

as a recommended builder throughout leeds this is so frustrating to hear, im sorry to anyone who falls victim to this but one piece of advise i would say is, pay in stage payments ONCE each stage is complete. We have accounts with building merchants which we pay off monthly we do not need payment for works we have not began apart from a small percentage deposit before any works start for materials which protects us at the very start of the job but after that you only pay after each stage

I'd have heard alarm bells when a builder told me he was "a qualified architect". At the very least, I'd have checked with RIBA that it was true. What you should always have is a SPECIFICATION OF WORKS which gives minute details of every stage of construction and materials to be used: that will get you realistic quotes and should weed out the wide-boys. Getting your architect to produce an SOW may cost a few hundred more but it will save you time, hassle and - most important - thousands of pounds. My own extension was built under budget, finished ahead of time and is a superb job.

Great video. Couldn’t bear to watch it all brought back to many bad memories from similar so called builders I’ve learned the hard way from. Thanks Roger for putting this video out there. Hope it works out for the fella in the video. I’m now a super skilled but slow jack of most trades as a result.

One of the big lessons to be learnt, never recommend a tradesman until he's finished the job to your satisfaction, this happens all too often

Its a horrible state of affairs, and this country really needs to look at who creates companies and force more liability on the directors and owners. I was subbing for a guy as an electrician, he ended up owing me £12k, took him personally to court and it got thrown out. I knew the company had no money though so there was little more I could do. He knew what he was doing as well.

With my extension the sole trader builder ordered the materials from household named trade suppliers and I paid the supplier myself. The builder and contractors were paid on a regular basis so they "could live". Job finished on time.

You can look up limited company records for free online at companies house.

I can't understand why we don't do what the Germans did, back in the 1990's to set up a limited company you had to deposit 50,000DM into a bank account that you couldn't touch, it was a safety net for creditors if you went under. Not sure what the rules are now, but it certainly stops a lot of the fly by nights.

Dealing with trades can be a nightmare.

We had a similar problem. We reported a potential fraud to the local police in 2016. The builder was on licence at the time having recently been released early from serving a prison sentence for fraud. The police refused to interview us or investigate. Complaints to the Chief Constable, Police and Crime Commissioner and the IPCC were all rejected. No wonder the police are held in contempt - other than by criminals of course. PS the builder was on Checkertrade with 5 star reviews!

Good chat, plenty of intel, straight to the point. Nice vid.

Would like to see a video on cowboy customers. Builders always get a bad reputation, Bottom line anything that seems to be cheap should have its concerns. Great video love this channel 👍

Very informative video and sorry to Rajiv for the terrible experience and related £££ loss that he went through. Rajiv did the research and positioned himself to the best of his knowledge to protect himself and he still ended up getting knocked. I've been knocked before on a smaller scale, but that's another story. It's left me with a bad taste in my mouth and a general mistrust of supposed professionals in the building game. On the plus side, I've learned how to do a number of things and saved myself £££'s.

As a self-employed Joiner, I would never ask for upfront payment on labour, maybe part payments as the job goes forward to keep everyone fair and square - Never a payment for work yet to be done. On materials over an amount I don't see anything wrong with asking even if you have a credit account, you're taking just as much of a gamble on every job as the clients are really. Been stung by clients in the past that have no intention of paying you but let the job get to a certain point where they can finish it and come up with excuses not to let you finish it and ignore your emails when you send a bill. Although - what has happened to Rajiv is terrible and I hate this term but "cowboys" like that trader really give proper tradies and craftsmen a bad image and something should really be done about rogue's like that.

Good watch 👍🏻 shame about people like that

And us honest builders that take real pride in our work also get tarnished as rogue builders. All because of these scammers.

That is such a terrible situation, I hope he can find some resolution to this nightmare he has to deal with, but I am grateful for the experience being shared the builder using his own money to kick it off and then hitting the customer for cash I would have fallen for that for sure!

Thanks for sharing….. hope they get it sorted

I'm so sorry to hear this story!!! Personally cheap quotes always terrify me. Hope this home owner gets justice but more importantly ends up with an extension that will help him forget all this hustle

Feel for you. Had a roofer recommended by a neighbour. Roofer was really terrible. One of the jobs was to replace the garage gutters but the downpipe didn't fit into the gully. The chap thought it was job well done...

Can't understand why a decent builder would require money up front, stage payments as you go, yes but not up front. What about contacting Trading Standards if you haven't already?

I felt so sorry for this man up until he said that he undercut a quote by near 30k. Unfortunately if you pay cheap you’ll pay twice. Most of us have made that mistake including myself, it’s just a learning curve. But when you’re spending that sort of money, go with recommendations of previous work etc. If a quote undercuts other quotes, steer clear.

You can go through the 'local builder', 'good reputation', 'recommendations' route and still come unstuck. My prospective builder (of a two floor extension) gave me names and addresses of several jobs he'd done before, and I went round and spoke to the householders who showed me his work and were well satisfied. A few years later large cracks began to appear as my extension started to subside and my insurance company refused a claim because their investigations showed the footings hadn't been dug to the specified depth. Local Building Control had passed them but Local Authority Building Control can't be held legally responsible for something they miss (and yes, I have checked on that). It cost tens of thousands to have the extension underpinned along with crack stitching. I went back to the builder who did at least agree to cover the cost of underpinning, but I'm still going to be out-of-pocket over the years in increased buildings insurance costs, and it will affect the value of the house when I come to sell. So even due diligence doesn't always pay off.

It’s sad to hear people having issues. I hope justice gets done.

Had sympathy until he mentions he went for the cheapest quote. If someone is 50% cheaper than everyone else that should set the alarm bells ringing straight away

As a Bricklayer I have never asked for money up front but I have asked for a progress payment which covers my outlays.And then payment on finish. Any builder that asked for money up front is a cowboy

As soon as I saw the video title I knew My builder or Check-a-Trade or Rated People would be mentioned somewhere. Just a case of which one ...

Did this guy say at 1.01 that the builder's a qualified architect? What are the chances of that? I suspect there's another side to this story and I would reserve judgement until the other party has at least been given an opportunity to respond.

Excellent channel. These are the things most lay people need to know about.

The bitterness of poor workmanship is long remembered. after the sweetness of a cheap price is forgotten

When ever I do work and being a limited company. 1. I never take on anything that will put me under if the client won't pay, and if offered payment in advance refuse until the job is complete. As a human, not sure why, but if you're paid before you do the work it feels like you are working for nothing and don't want to do the job. If the job is long term then I accept payment for completed work, If you're asked to pay for materials upfront, tell the builder If you don't have the finances to fund the project then I'll supply the materials, and you cost me for labour. If he says no, tell him to fuck off. An out lay of £15,000 for an established and honest contractor is peanuts.

Great video! We have been done a few times in the past. Once in a very similar way to the tune of 25k and other builders leaving jobs half completed and never coming back even without owing us money. I am just about to embark on renovation of a 1900s house for my family home and for this reason will be subcontracting out all the work myself, and purchasing all the materials myself.

For this size job, the appropriate JCT would not allow advance payments. The contract can only protect you if you act in accordance with it.

Honestly I have seen/heard more of this since the "Great British Lockdown refurb" started. It wasn't that difficult to see what was going to happen - as the good/reputable firms got booked up and started turning down work, higher value work started to filter down to the shit firms/individuals who are either incompetent or just cowboys. There's LOTS of dodgy electrical work to be fixed by Kenny the Kitchen fitter and Bobby the Bathroom fitter. Shame.

37 years in the building trade and nothing has changed.. people are still being conned by so called builders. .!

this has happened to me also in the past 2 months. The builder put himself up as Ltd company however all the money was paid to his personal bank account. Not responding to phone calls or emails. Would love to speak to Rajiv to see what he has done or others reach out with advise.

Unfortunately, many customers seems to choose contractors mainly based on price, when a large amount of money is at stake, a proper checks should be done by potential clients, with all of our projects, our payment terms are 20% deposit and 60% divided into the numbers of weeks then 20% balance, this creates enough funds to start the project and a healthy cash flow, the client can see what progress has been done since the last payment, and any concerns can be dealt with in good time without having to pay a large chunk of money and little progress,

I think you put your finger in the best step to choose a contractor: check references. Second is probably multiple quotes (which was done) with the corollary that if it’s too good to be true is probably isn’t - although this builder seems to have had convincing reasons for why he could come in low. Nothing intrinsically wrong with a low bid, just a warning sign that requires extra precautions. In the US the officers in a limited liability company are still responsible personally - and criminal behavior adds complications. Hindsight. Frequently perfect.

Thank you for sharing

Honestly I think the whole building work industry needs to be better managed and heavily regulated. I've only brought my house 3 weeks ago and have been scammed out of £500 by a builder who asked for a deposit, but luckily cancelled now fighting to get my money back for work that hadn't started. I've then chosen new builders who seem to only work 3 days a week and haven't shown up since last Friday (so over a week) come Monday is when he said he will be back. Its such a stressful thing we have to deal with as home owners or anyone who wants work done there is Honestly no honor in this industry.

I used a builder on recommendation but that builder sublet it to his worker/builder without my knowledge. Then when we had issues the main builder said it was nothing to do with him! And both walked away!

This incident is the scary part of having works done. Cannot trust any of these builders, giving the trade very bad name

It sounds like Rajiv was also eager to pay tradesmen low rates. This is why he’s found himself down this rabbit hole.

This was informative

so many people knocking bad builders please praise good builders We do exist

Our builder started work last June 2020 for a 6 x 6 metre kitchen extension. Contracts drawn and tweaked and payment schedules agreed. Once the brick level to dpc level was done he asked for 3.5k extra as he said material prices had sky rocketed. We said no as thsts his lookout. He then said he will agree to stick to same contract price and take a hit but needed 3.5k to cover additional material costs. After the walls went up and he was paid for that installment, he did a runner and we never heard from him or our 3.5k despite over 30 calls messages. Builders don't like taking over half built work and quotec silly money to finish off. its cost us 10k above what he quoted to get work done including a lot of family help who are DIY enthusiasts and dabble in building work. Without their help it would have been another 10k sting.

One thing that gets me about this is that Rajiv clearly explains that he accepted the cheapest quote and you can be told what you like about how they're going to cut cost but really they aren't going to save you £20,000 on scaffolding. It seems like Rajiv told himself he's doing everything right but ignored the simplest bits - Get recommendations for builders people you know have used. - Ask to see their previous work if possible. -Get multiple quotes. -Don't go with cheapest quote. -Work out a payment schedule. -Don't give people large amounts of money up front I've seen this happen near me so many times with different builders where one bloke conned around 10 customers and almost everyone was like "WeLL hE SaiD hE coULd dO IT chEApeR tHaN aLL thE OthEr BuIlDeRs" Obviously they aren't to blame completely as this type of builder is complete scum of the earth and will knock every person they come in to contact with, whether that be customers, trades or suppliers. (edited spelling)

We had cowboy builders do our extension. His name was Lee Murray, and he was a Welsh guy based in London. Everything started well, but everything just went sideways and we had to sack them from the job. Didn’t lose too much money, but I still think about it every day. It’s a corrosive experience that you don’t ever recover from. Had it again recently in our new house. Asked plumbers for a quote to switch our system boiler to a combi, connect an annex to the water supply, and change three radiators. Two quotes came in at 4-5k, and one came in at 10k. The 10k guy wanted 7k labour for three days work. The tradesman industry is full of complete scum, and as a result, I just do most of the work myself and hire a professional only when legally required to do so.

Shocking story. Of course its always good to use a builder that's recommended but that's not always possible. Clearly a lot of the "Trusted Trader" web sites don't cut the mustard. Bit of a minefield to say the least! Great video Roger, as always.

My heart goes out to this guy. Would love to see a video on customers that don’t pay builders.

This sort of thing is shockingly common! I am surprised the law isn't changed to give more protection to the customer , including tightening up LTD Company law and liabilty. The police aren't interested even though I thought fraud is criminal! It brings the building trade into shame , but it applies to other trades too , where conmen are rife!

This is still going on. Getting addresses of jobs builders did and going and seeing the work done locally may be a way to check before you go ahead with work. Great advise about Ltd company's positions and insurance contracts in the video. Deep shame for family's left in this situation.

I've also noticed these days no-one is willing to put forwards builders who has done work for them before, they seem reluctant so it shows the sort of impression these builders are leaving behind them

Roger, can you do a video on how to work with traders? It would be good to hear your thoughts on what to look for in a fair transaction between both traders and clients.

Sounds to me like he went with the cheapest quote. It’s not nice to see things like this happen but you get what you pay for. Cheap labour isn’t skilled, skilled labour isn’t cheap

Knew MyBuilder would be mentioned before I watched the video!!

Why aren't you naming and shaming him?

My advice would be to stop using builders if possible. Contract manage the works yourself. Bring in the trades on labor prices and supply materials yourself. Whilst it's stressful and time consuming, you won't lose large sums of money because you'll pay wages each week and you'll pay for materials as needed. If you ask around, you won't have tuns of trouble getting tradesmen recomended to you. Unless you live in the woods, I gaurentee at least one person in you street has had good work done recently. I'm a 58 yr old brick layer and Ive been doing this type of work for more than 30 years, I always price brickwork jobs labor only and expect to be paid weekly rather than up front. I always estimate the materials for the client which takes half an hour and In 99% of cases, our work is checked by the local authority. And to be honest, its not that difficult to identify shoddy brickwork and sack the chancer's as we call them. That's not true for all the trades because some stuff is hidden, like electrics ETC. When doing a job like this, always be on site the day the LA inspector is coming and make sure he checks everything. And don't be scared to ask them questions. in my experience they love a cuppa and a chat. Contract managing your own build can be rewarding in the long run. I hope this fella gets it all sorted because I've seen the affects this type of thing can have on people.

Rajiv sounds like a smart guy so I don't know how he ended up going with someone who priced a third lower than other contractors. In a way, I feel like he really should have known better.

A terrible tale and I'm sorry to hear of another rouge trader. But the information about putting the contract in the builders name and not his limited company as worth it's weight in gold - thank you for sharing this advice.

There are some jobs where we've had customers front the cost of materials, no profit but so they've got them onsite in case either party decides not to continue. We don't mind getting bumped on labor but as long as materials are covered and in the customers hands we're happy. Regular customers and jobs it's just stage payments though, difference being we only deal with word of mouth so there's already good knowledge of our work history and ethic.

I’ve herd some crow boy builder stories...but this guy sounds clever how he’s done it to his customers, hope they get their money back but he’s very smartly covered him self

When hiring a contractor, get references, visit the places where work was done and talk to the people.

always get comparison quotes , for everything , ask for material receipts , check online reviews

Customers quite often ask me if I need money up front but I never take anything upfront, I think it seems very unprofessional. Especially when most company’s have various accounts as building merchants where the materials don’t have to be payed for over a month. Some times yes it may be good if you personally have to pay for materials you cannot get from your suppliers. But then only charge the customer on arrival of the goods or get them to pay for it in the first place. I don’t see how anybody can try and charge their labour costs before even turning up to a job🙈 You hear so many people who have been scammed like this by paying a lot of money upfront.

We had the same problem with a 'bathroom fitter' , although nothing of this scale. We thought we did everything right, the fitter was recommended from the bathroom place we ordered the items from. What a shambles and crap workmanship that was. The guy couldn't even stop a bathroom sink leaking that he had fitted. He left us with no heating and couldn't get it working again ( I managed it from KZfaq videos).The silicone looked like an 8 year old had done it. I even phoned up the bathroom place to complain and they said, "well we can't understand that as he does all our in-store displays". Mmm I said, but they're not connected up to a 'live' supply (it looked shit anyway).We ended up knocking a fair chunk of the bill after paying him for the work that was 'reasonable' and paying a 'proper' fitter to finish it off.

Doesn’t anyone see the builders professional indemnity insurance. Also another avenue could be to use a conpany called transpact who hold money from A to send to B only when they mutually agree that the promises/contract is fullfilled.

I presume it was a JCT minor works contract which allows for monthly interim payments. What's the point in drawing up a contract if you're not going to follow it.

This is why I recommend going on courses on how to do architecture design, foundation laying, brickwork, plumbing, electrics, roof building, flooring, plastering & decorating. Source all these throughout you're lifetime knowing exactly what to do, I guess, the amount of satisfaction from this is, you'd feel like a king!😊 A driving license will also help tremendously!

I personal avoid putting materials on my trade accounts and always ask for materials to be paid before I order them. That way if the customer doesn't pay for whatever reason I'm only down on labour and not out of pocket in materials.

Well, last time I heard the law states you pay no more than 10% of the total for the builder to buy the materiel and no more than that. then when the building is finished and a structural engineer has okay the work and you also happy then you pay the remaining money! NEVER pay out lots of money to any builder or company only the 10% so they can't con you.

There is nothing stopping someone naming the directors as co-defendents when taking a limited company to Court. If you win, then you can take a High Court writ against both the Director and the limited company.

Should always get recommendations and check out previous work.

Really tricky this. Would be good to hear from some seasoned builders on how people can avoid this shit.

Whenever I've used tradesmen I buy the materials myself and to be fair most of them have never had a problem with that. They give me a list, they name any brands or specifics they need, I source it and it's all there waiting for them Monday morning. They work all week, give me an invoice for that week's labour and I pay them via bank transfer there and then before they head off Friday afternoon. All agreed up front, no advances, no dramas.

This is so tragic. I’ve just retired, never taken money up front. Often struggled, always short of money. But honest as the day is long. Love my work, do a good job and always finish. This thug builder puts all that reputation down the loo. I really feel for this poor client. My sister needed a builder for work I didn’t have time to do. We both sought a builder on ‘My Builder’. I can’t speak for all those on that site, but honestly, it’s almost trying to choose from a criminal line up. I wouldn’t touch these guys with a barge pole. A serious tradesman wouldn’t use such a site to advertise. For me, these guys hide their ability through this site. Don’t use this site I say! It’s not got the reputation for being able to be accountable to the client. Are they actually tradesmen? Have they actually had formal training with papers to prove ability? do they have public liability? do they hold a driving license? And if not, you’ve got to ask why not! Non of the above when I got a response! However, I know it’s very difficult, especially if you’re not intuitive of this kind of business, to know how to get a reliable builder. Even more difficult if you are a single female. I eventually managed to find an excellent tradesman through a friend. And yes, this is also a bit of a risk too, I’ve been there myself. But at least you’ve got something to go on. It’s not always possible, but I wouldn’t part with any money without seeing some serious commitment from the builder. Some work undertaken before parting say in payed Phases for work done. I’d be suspicious being asked to pay up front. Again, pay in to the company account, not his personal account. You must have a detailed blow for blow quote if you can get it of what he is going to do. Ensure you get a handle on what you are getting and what he’s not going to do. You may need to get someone to look over the contract with a bit of extra eyes as it were. In saying all that, what a terrible situation some folks have to face just to contemplate whether a, you can find a decent builder, but also, can the builder be trusted. But this isn’t just builders, it can just as easily be those professions considered more respectable. For those who may want to find real help not just for this situation, but for all of life, I want to commend a web site called “Living Waters”. Here is a resource that can help you get right with God. Yes, you heard me right. Listen, if you become a child of God, God is your Father! And, He Will help you not just regarding your eternal destiny and how one gets there. God promises to help you now! To turn to God through Jesus Christ as Lord Will not necessarily end all your troubles, it’s not an easy life, but it is a blessed one. The bible says, “taste and see that the Lord is Good”. I’ve tasted for near 38 years, and yes, the Lord is indeed good! Get back to me!

Just my humble opinion and current process (as I see fair for all involved) Point 1- I really don’t think there are that many “cowboy builders” incompetent builders/businessman yes and often cowardly in nature, resulting in them getting in deep water and walking away from jobs. Point 2- there are just as many cowboy customers as there are builders. Point 3- there needs to be more regulation in this industry to control both builders and homeowners. Point 4- our process… we have and will always use the following pay structure, it’s fair for all involved and I can’t think of a single example of builder customer relationship breakdown that it wouldn’t solve. We take a small deposit to book a project, we then divide the project costs through fortnightly payment until the completion of scope, any unforeseen or addition to spec is quoted for and invoiced separately. If you miss payment, we stop work. If your unhappy, you stop payment. Quite simple really and our customers love it this way

we had a case when i was asked by friend to step in as person was quoted half price for loft conversion, obviously didn't happen, people need to understand there are is no way that you can build for half a price maybe 5k difference not 50-80k.

Sorry to hear this. Where somebody is fraudulently (or wrongfully) trading, I believe the law allows you to look through company “piercing the corporate veil” from a recourse perspective. I’m sure you’re speaking to your solicitors so do ask them about this one to see if there is any scope.

If someone is using a limited company I always look at the Companies House website to see how long that company has been around. If it's only a year or two then it may be innocent or they may be jumping between companies like this person. The website also allows you to look into the person registered against the company to see what other companies they've been a director of and you can sometimes see a pattern.

I've said it many times before on here people think ALL tradesmen are of the same quality 🙄 and LOWEST PRICE WINS EVERYTIME 🤦‍♂️🔨

Wow..feel bad for this gentleman, great insight to dodgy tradesman.

Real laws need to to be put in place to protect people , so they can't run off and get away it that easy

this is a common legal strategy sadly, used here in the usa too. The ltd or straw company actually owns no assets, they often "lease" or "rent " all equipment and tooling from a third party (often owned by a holding company that the orig owner owns or has interest in indirectly. ) all the legal contracts and permits are nothing more than a money maker for the government.

I might sound a bit naïve about this but in most transactions involving payment for services/goods isn’t payment usually withheld until said service/goods are received. I don’t see why anyone would need money upfront if they are honest.

Get the materials specified and quantified, pay for them yourself, employ the builder on a labour only basis and pay for that after a satisfactorily completed stage of the build. How hard can it be - just sound common sense.

I always had a contract with stage payments, no money up front. I only came unstuck once when a customer tried to not pay the VAT that was clearly itemised on the quote.

Pay in small bits, don't ever pay in big chunks. Lessen the damage if there is fraud

Its crazy how the system doesn't protect homeowners or trademen from dodgy people hiding behind certain loopholes in the law. It just leaves it open to exploitation and causes so much damage. With such huge sums of money involved there should be guarantees in place if it goes south, and these people should be held accountable personally.

Nothing is ever signed off by building control until you have a final certificate, up until that point it is only inspected for compliance.