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Ripped Off By Builder


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Hi I'm not sure if i'm in the right place with this query but I was wondering if there was anything I can do regarding a builder I had.

In 2004 following a serious house fire in which I fell from the bedroom window ending up in ICU for 2 weeks. At 7.30 am my parents who live round the corner from me got a knock at the door & it was a man who had been to my house asking neighbours did I have family near by as they told him we were all taken to hospital. He told my dad that he worked for insurance companies & sorts out rebuilds & accomodation whilst work is done. He led my dad to believe he worked for the Halifax (My mortgage bank). He told my dad that the insurance company would pay for the whole build & all rental on temp accomodation. As the biggest worry at the time was me & my family my dad put him in touch with my partner a couple of days later. He was ill himself & worrying over me, & believed everything this man said. When I came out of hospital a month later we had a 3 bed house 5 miles away rented. This guy who was sorting it told me that Halifax would pay 6 months rent in advance & if it was not ready one month at a time. (When I came out of the coma apparently I had signed a note about him taking control of the Halifax money). I didnt remember this & my partner is not business minded at all & believes everything he is told.We were told it would take 6 months. After that date the landlord starting hassling me for rent so I rang up Nick (builders name & pursestring holder) & he said he was awaiting Halifax check. Long & short is it went on for 6 months until in the end we had a repossession order served so we had to move out. With no where to go & my home still not done after 1 year the only way I could get in was to agree to signing I was satisfied with the work & accepted a check for £1400. It was only when we moved back we noticed that the house was falling to bits, shoddy workmanship etc. Then the landlord of the rented house wanted £5000 in rent, Nick would not pay it saying it was my fault as I kept changing my mind thats why it went over in time, (not true).

I have been told because I signed off the work I have lost the right to sue him (He was given £48000 by the Halifax & spent about £20000 max). What I would like to know is could I still sue him for the rent as the landlord has now taken me to court for the £5000 & now has a 2nd charge on my home. It was not my debt the builder left me with this & a house falling to bits. It also happened in 2004, I have not done anything yet as since the fire I was left disabled & cannot walk without great pain if I take painkillers I end up asleep. Also in 2006 I lost my teenage son to renal failure then I have been in & out of hospital myself since. I just hope its not too long.

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Hi,

 

Sounds a horrible situation to be in.

 

Albeit I'm no expert, if you have written evidence regarding the rental deal then dam right take him to court. It was part of the deal. Also his crap workmanship was not part of the deal. He should go back and finish the work, whether it was initially signed for or not.

 

You buy a oven, looks ok, then a week later the door falls off. It gets repaired of replaced. Surely it's a similar thing.

 

regards,

 

D

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Hi Ditman

No nothing was signed for ever I now know in hindsight he was too clever for that, due to everything going on around us & he knew we had no contents insurance so every penny mattered, we took him at his word I did not believe someone could do this knowing what we were going through. He did seem genuine at the time even when at the beginning when he said it would only take 6 months to do, he did not even go in the place for the first 3 months. When I rang he said he had an urgent matter to deal with but not to worry, he would do the house to high spec & again he said if work went over the rent would be covered.

When all this was going on I rang the Halifax to report him, that was when I was told they had nothing to do with it as I had signed the money to him, I told them about the rent & the £5000 debt they said they only ever pay up to 6 months & again down to the builder/purseholder. They also mentioned that all payments to the builder were made before work even started, paid in 4 instalments to the tune of £48,000. I tried the Halifax insurance (Dax I think) & they said the same it was my fault. I still have a lot of paperwork but nothing on were his promises were made, it was all done face to face or phone. I asked him loads of times to give me things in writing especially the rent payments so I could show the landlord & he kept saying he would put it in the post or he would sort the landlord out. Nothing in writing ever materialised. Only thing he made certain of been in writing was the sign off.

When the landlord took me to the count court re. the rent I did not attend as I was ill & at the time didn't understand the paperwork & when I did send it in it was too late. I tried to get it to appeal, but was refused at appeal to have the charge removed. They said someone had to pay for the rent & I had nothing to prove what I had been promised. It is the time frame that now worries me & whether I would get legal aid with it not being a criminal matter.

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I have just been reading about someone else who has a judgement against them & now I'm really worried. The lady says that judgements over £5000 have interest applied is this true in all cases? I dont want to be forced to sell & I cant remortgage as I am now unemployed.

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