Thanks guys, My dad was really stressed about this (he can't take much pressure nowadays) so it's nice to know a law abiding citizen isn't going to get stung. However, I do feel for all those that weren't so lucky as me to come across this great forum that are paying out on a daily basis. I'm definitely going to write to Sainsbury's MD and tell him what I think. It really is poor that they allow this sort of thing. Warm regards, Gurjit.

Hi everyone, My elderly father parked in Sainsbury's in the disabled bay but made the honest mistake (he's old and forgets things!) of not displaying his blue badge. Now, my brother sent a letter in with copies of the blue badge but euro car parks have demanded my dad still pays. My dad has told me to deal with it (after my brother's success) and I've done some research and read up on the forum. I understand the main advice is not to get in touch with them. Well, we have but do I have a case for not paying? I think most reasonable people would say that it was a honest mistake but, after presenting all facts, my father did have the permission to park in the bay - he just made a mistake - we are all human after all. Should I ignore any further letters or should I pay the £50 fine? Regards, Gurjit.

Thanks for your reply. He has used the fact that an issue was found on day 1 of the schedule with the house that meant the removal of the load bearing wall wasn't as straight forward as we all had planned. This required for another contractor to be hired as it wasn't within the builder's scope nor did he say he was qualified as it required a specialist. As a result, works in the lounge work was put on hold. He has firmly placed the blame with me and meant he could not fulfil the works in the original schedule. He has said (after he received 75% of payment) that his costs have increased. Is this fair? Surely, he should have recosted and warned me of rising costs as soon as the issue was found?

Hi, I am end the end of my tether with my problems with my builder. I shall try to summarise as concisely as possible. He was recommended to me by someone I trust - he had done a lot of work for him and he came across very professional and personable so I hired him. A lot of communication was done over email including estimates, banter about the scope of works etc so though we didn't have one definitive list describing the scope the sum of emails pretty much clearly states what was agreed. The scope was to pretty much: • decorate the hallway and landing • skim and decorate the lounge • remove a load bearing wall in the lounge • decorate the dining room • install a few new sockets in the areas above and put new faceplates on all sockets. On the outset I paid 50% up front as a sign of goodwill. On the first day of works, an issue was found with the house that meant the removal of the load bearing wall wasn't as straight forward as we all thought and so I had to investigate getting another contractor in to remedy this issue. As a result, the lounge work was put on hold. 2 weeks later, another 25% stage payment was made. At the time, no real issue was raised from the builder regarding scheduling the lounge works in - they said it wouldn't happen straight away but as long as we were flexible, it would be fine. A week or so after 25% payment was made, noises started to be made by my builder that they couldn't fit the work in for months. Also, that because the works didn't adhere to the original schedule, the project had cost them more than originally quoted for. They suggested, to get the project finished sooner, I get someone else in to finish it. The builder stated that he was going take 66% of the balance to cover the works he had done to date (which is only painting the hallway and landing and first fix of electrics – no way 66% of the work done). He said this was a fair representation of how much the work had cost him to date and he said the fault lay purely on my shoulders because of the original problem found in the lounge. He also said if I ask them to come back in, then they will have to recost the whole project. They have done this, and the costs have jumped up significantly (over 50%). Works stopped a few weeks ago and the builder is suggesting I get a decorator that has recently left him to finish off the decoration work. Removal of the load bearing wall is up to me. His last communication to me was saying that he would send me the difference between what I had paid and what costs he had incurred. This was a few hundred pounds owed to me. That was over 12 days ago and I have heard nothing. In the last couple of days, I have found out that the structural issue highlighted to me by the builder is a very different (and much bigger) issue than the actual issue that was communicated to him by the planning officer from the council. He has either misunderstood what the planning officer said or he has deliberately misinformed me. As a compromise, I have asked him to sub contract the work to the chap that has left him and that I shall bear the cost of the removal of the wall as long as I am refunded what he originally quoted for this part of the work. I am still awaiting a response but I know it’s going to be in the negative as other requests I have made for him to sub contract the work have fallen on deaf ears because he says "he knows noone else he would trust to sub the work out to. It's best you get someone to do it." My view is that he under costed the whole project and is now looking to get out. On a personal note, I have 2 elderly parents that are sitting on garden furniture in the lounge, electrics exposed, obstacles all over the place and I want to get this sorted asap as the works originally commenced in early June. I have never been down the legal route before but I just wanted some general advice as to what avenues are open to me now. Can I get someone else to come in to finish the work and get the original builder to pick up the costs? If he says he can come back in in a couple of months but it would cost me more then what should I do? What steps would I need to take before being able to go-ahead with another builder? Am I in the wrong in any way other than paying him too much too early (I hit myself about this every day!) All advice greatly appreciated. G.