FOR PAINTERS · BEFORE YOU BID
Project auction rules
The work price is already agreed. Your bid is the fee you are willing to pay to secure the project. Check the work, dates and costs before you commit.
Updated 24 October 2026 · Version 2026-10-24-v3
No card required to bid. Only the winner pays the final allocation fee, after the auction.
Private client details unlock once the winning fee is paid and your uploaded ID has office approval.
Collect the stated work balance from the client. Materials are separate and your fee is a business cost.
1. Who provides the platform
The platform is operated by Nick Horncastle trading as Decorators Today, Jhumat House, 160 London Road, Barking, IG11 8BB. Contact Nicky@decoratorstoday.co.uk or 020 4569 1983. These rules apply to painters using auctions to obtain decorating work in the course of their trade or business. The accepted listing supplies the project-specific scope, dates, balance and payment terms. Read the full listing before bidding. Registration, viewing a listing and placing a bid are free; only the winning painter pays the final allocation fee.
2. Eligibility and a commitment to do the work
Use your own registered painter account with a verified email. No saved card or uploaded ID is needed to place a bid. A disabled, suspended or otherwise restricted account cannot bid. Confirm you have the skills, capacity, equipment and ability to complete the scope on the stated dates. The bid is a commitment to pay the final fee if you win and to take on the stated project, subject to payment, identity approval and confirmed allocation. An initial high bid does not itself release the address or authorise attendance.
3. The work price and client balance
The work price is already agreed with the client. You are bidding an allocation fee, not a new decorating price. Decorators Today retains the recorded client deposit; the client pays the listed remaining work balance directly to the appointed painter under the project payment terms. Your winning fee is paid separately to Decorators Today. The displayed balance after that fee is before labour, travel, equipment and other costs, not guaranteed profit. Do not add your allocation fee to the client’s agreed price. Decorators Today does not hold the client-to-painter balance in escrow or guarantee a client’s future payment.
4. Materials and potential extra work
Paint and materials are paid separately by the client. A materials budget is an agreed rough guide and is not included in the listed work balance. Agree specification, purchasing and any increase with the client before spending. A possibility-of-more-work badge is not guaranteed work or authority to charge extra. Additional work needs a separate agreed scope, price and programme; notify the office where it affects the original project.
5. Your private maximum and the winning fee
Enter the highest allocation fee you are willing to pay. The system bids only enough to keep you ahead, up to that private maximum. The highest eligible maximum ranks first; equal maxima are ranked by who reached that amount first. The final fee may be lower than your maximum. Other painters cannot see it. Each increase is a new commitment under the displayed rules. You may increase a maximum but cannot lower or withdraw a binding bid yourself. Contact the office immediately about a genuine error; a correction is not guaranteed and must be handled fairly with an audit record.
6. Auction timing and extensions
The server’s recorded time and accepted bid determine the result. A screen countdown or pending request is not proof that a bid was received. Competitive bids in the final two minutes extend closing to two minutes after that bid, subject to a hard stop two hours before the job starts. Increasing only your own leading maximum does not extend closing. Check the displayed closing time after a bid. Delayed alerts or a disconnected device do not change the recorded deadline.
7. Winning and paying the fee
Bidding does not charge a card. After winning, use the payment action in My jobs to pay the final fee through Stripe by the displayed deadline, normally 30 minutes after the award and never later than the applicable job-start limit. We verify payment on the server. Do not pay again while a payment is processing. If payment is not completed in time, the office may reallocate the job. No client attendance should take place until allocation is confirmed. A checkout return page alone does not prove payment or allocation.
8. Runner-up offers
An offer to a runner-up is a separate invitation with its own displayed fee and deadline. The recipient must explicitly accept before paying. Declining or ignoring that invitation does not itself authorise a charge. An accepted offer still requires payment, identity approval and confirmed allocation before private client details are released.
9. ID approval and release of private details
You may upload ID after winning. Your final fee must be paid and your uploaded ID must be approved by the office before the exact address and client contacts unlock. Uploading alone is not approval. An existing valid office approval is reused; do not upload again unless requested. Review may require clearer or current evidence and is not instantaneous. Do not send another person under your account or use someone else’s document. If approval cannot be completed, contact the office promptly so allocation and any refund can be resolved. ID checking does not by itself prove qualifications, insurance or legal work eligibility.
10. Competence, insurance and site requirements
You must meet applicable legal, competence, insurance and site requirements for the work you accept, provide accurate evidence when requested, and have suitable cover for the activities undertaken. Do not take on hazardous or specialist work beyond your competence. Agree any team or subcontractor attendance with the office; everyone attending must be authorised and meet the applicable checks. Work safely, protect occupants and property, follow product and waste requirements, and report hazards, incidents and damage promptly. These rules do not remove health and safety duties placed on other parties by law.
11. Delivering the agreed project
Carry out the accepted scope with reasonable care and skill, attend as agreed, keep the client and office updated, and provide appropriate invoices and receipts for direct payments. Do not unilaterally increase the work price, substitute products or reduce the scope. Raise hidden conditions or a disputed instruction before doing additional chargeable work. Cooperate with reasonable inspection and correction of defects and observe the client’s statutory rights. Your own business is responsible for its records and applicable tax obligations; using the platform does not create an employment status contrary to the actual arrangements.
12. Client or platform cancellation
If the client or Decorators Today cancels the project, your paid allocation fee is refunded. The office handles the cancellation and refund record; do not attend or make a fresh payment against a cancelled job. We will arrange the fee refund promptly, normally within 14 days of confirmed cancellation, using the original payment route where possible. Bank processing can take longer. Client deposits and any sums the client has paid directly to you are separate and must be resolved under the relevant project terms and legal rights.
13. Painter withdrawal, non-attendance and changes
If you cannot carry out the work, tell the office immediately so it can protect the client’s appointment and assess reallocation. A request to withdraw is not an automatic cancellation or guaranteed refund, but neither is a paid fee automatically forfeited. We will consider the reason, services supplied, any actual avoidable or unavoidable loss and applicable rights, explain the decision and allow you to challenge an error. No automatic penalty or unlimited recovery of losses applies. A materially changed project needs fresh agreement rather than forcing you to perform different work under an old bid.
14. Fair bidding and technical corrections
Do not collude, create duplicate identities, bid against yourself, manipulate the price, submit fictitious work or bypass a suspension. The office may investigate suspicious activity, remove ineligible bids, correct a proven error, pause a project or cancel an auction where necessary. Decisions must be proportionate, recorded and explained where lawful. A technical fault does not permit arbitrary price changes or a charge above your accepted maximum. Contact support if the displayed result appears wrong; do not rely on a screenshot as proof of server acceptance.
15. Confidentiality, sharing and notifications
You may share the public auction link. Do not share private client contacts, the full address, property files or another painter’s information. Use information released to you only for the accepted project and authorised follow-up, not unrelated marketing. Email and SMS alerts support dashboard records but may be delayed or fail; keep contact details current and check time-sensitive offers and payments yourself. See the Privacy notice and general account terms for data handling and acceptable use.
16. Practice jobs and no guarantee of earnings
A job clearly labelled practice, private test or simulator is a non-binding demonstration. Simulated bids, fees, ID approval and client information do not represent a real award, payment or identity review. Real jobs must be identified as such. Neither registration nor an illustrative materials or profit figure guarantees work, margin, client payment or future opportunities.
17. Complaints, liability and versions
Contact Nicky@decoratorstoday.co.uk with the job reference and relevant records. We aim to acknowledge within five working days and respond substantively within 20 working days or explain a delay; these targets do not override legal deadlines. Each party remains responsible for its own breach, negligence and lawful obligations. Nothing excludes liability for fraud, death or personal injury caused by negligence, or anything that cannot lawfully be excluded. Applicable statutory rights remain. The version accepted for an existing bid or award is retained; updates apply prospectively and do not retrospectively alter it. English and Welsh law applies, subject to mandatory protections and court rights that cannot be excluded.
Contact Nicky@decoratorstoday.co.uk with the job reference. Do not bid on work or dates you cannot fulfil.
Previous auction rules
The version recorded for an existing bid or award remains available.
Download rules dated 23 October 2026