re: I’m hiring a contractor to replace my fence

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usual bullshite reason to get upfront payment is to buy materials. Tell him to give you a list of what he will need and that you will buy it using your credit card (easy to return and/or cancel) and have it delivered to your house the day before he plans on arriving to do the installation.

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Great idea. Short of actually building a new house, this is how I handle any construction/renovation project. It also assures that quality products are being used.

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The usual bullshite reason to get upfront payment is to buy materials

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Unless you're using a shady "contractor", this is not a bullshite reason. Any licensed and bonded contractor will ask for a deposit from an unknown customer.

I have an open book policy with my customer. I also let them know that I will only use preferred vendors. I let them see my quantities, my mark up for insurance coverages and the extra items that I don't buy from my vendors because I already have them in my backstop.

I cannot and will not install some shitty materials because you got a better deal finding a bunk of lumber (or fence slats in this instance) on Facebook or Craigslist.

Y'all must have some shitty contractors and an extremely incompetent Contractor's Board in South Louisiana if so many of y'all have had bad experiences with "contractors"

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Tell him to give you a list of what he will need and that you will buy it using your credit card (easy to return and/or cancel) and have it delivered to your house the day before he plans on arriving to do the installation.

Now comes the trickier part, paying for the labor. If it is a one day install, then use a very old form of payment called a check. If a 2 day or more job, give him a check for the pro rata ortion less 10% each day. That 10% insures he will return

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You seem like a major pain in the arse to work for and the only contractors/companies who take on work for people like you are either fly-by-night guys who are about to go out of business, or scam artists who are going to squeeze you for whatever then can then run off anyway. Most of them are going to get to the point to where you pay them check-by-check less 10% then “get too busy to come back”. Bigger, successful companies aren’t going to let some random homeowner be a pain in their arse for 3 days and try to order their materials, etc. and they’re just going to tell you to kick rocks.

Just hire someone reputable like Scott and save yourself the headache of trying to outsmart some piece of shite like this guy has apparently done his entire life. If you have to come up with some intricate plan to not get screwed you’re using the wrong company.