Thank you. So a chartered surveyor should be sufficient. I have done some reading around but I cannot seem to find if a written statement is sufficient or would they need to attend court as a witness so the claimant can cross examine?

Thank you for all your advice so far. I have an email from Velux stating that any pitch less than 15 degrees is unacceptable, and this is also freely available on their website. I also have emails from the building inspector stating that the pitch was less than 15 degrees. The Owner of the company actually contacted the inspector which resulted in him copying me in the response to the owner of the company. Will I still need an expert witness, as surely it is not difficult to measure the pitch of the roof with a spirit level etc? (this has already been done). I've been stressing about the whole situation as this extension has been difficult as it is, without having to deal with all these issues. The roofing contractor under priced me, which is partly why I believe he is behaving the way he is. Any quote to rectify the work is likely to significantly exceed what he is claiming. Does that mean I will be able to claim for the difference, as surely it is not my fault that he failed to price the job correctly? After the defence is filed can things be added, or is it final? Can this be settled without a hearing or will a complex case like this likely require a hearing? Thank you.

A little under £3000

Thanks for the reply Mike_hawk. I don't really understand what you mean? Is that not the full particulars of the claim?

Here is a copy and past of one of the emails I received prior to signing the contract. Mr xxxx, Points discussed this afternoon; The quotation included all labour as well as theinstallation of 3 x velux windows in accordance with manufactures specification As discussed with myself and Mr xxxx, payment will be madeafter a building inspector approval, however this must fall within our 5 daypayment procedure. We will commence work tomorrow, Thursday 31/10/13 and weintend all work to be complete by Saturday 02/11/13, however I must stress Mrxxxxx, this is on the condition we can get 22 lengths of timber cut to thedrawing previously sent. The weather way also add additional time to the works. Many Regards

I have incurred extra costs due to hiring a skip to remove their waste. I have not appointed a roofer as of yet, as I did not want it to go to court and for the judge to rule against me saying I did not give this company sufficient opportunities to put right their work. Now I have received the court papers from the owner of the roofing company I have been ringing around to get quotes and get the work repaired. I have suffered a months delay to my extension due to this roof, as I cannot start the work on the inside until the roof is done properly; it may have to be completely removed and redone. The building inspector seems clueless. He is willing to sign off a faulty roof ONLY if a warranty is provided by the company. What if the company went bust next week? I think I have no choice but to counterclaim, especially as my flashings for the windows were damaged and I am one month behind schedule etc. I just don't know how I quantify my losses and how I present my defence and counterclaim. Do I write my defence from a personal perspective like in my original post or do I just state the law and facts? It is all very confusing and I cannot afford the £500 I have been quoted by a solicitor for their assistance.

I think the attachment should work now that I have ten posts. Thank you for all the help so far; it has been very friendly and helpful

I am in the process of waiting for a reply from the chief constable to have all information cleared from my file, after I was arrested as a child but not charged. This link is useful but slightly out of date. http://www.yourrights.org.uk/pdfs/dna-what-to-do-april-2011.pdf The police now have to delete DNA, photographs and other sensitive information after a certain time period and dependent on the offence, due to the new protections of freedom act 2012 after DNA retention was challenged in the ECHR. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-freedoms-act-2012-dna-and-fingerprint-provisions/protection-of-freedoms-act-2012-how-dna-and-fingerprint-evidence-is-protected-in-law

Shouldnt cycling on the pavement be acceptable if it is done in a safe and considerate manner. It makes women and children feel safer and more confident and can reduce frustration drivers can feel when they are stuck behind slow cyclists.

Its the protections of freedoms act 2012. You can write to the chief constable of your local force to request destruction under "exceptional circumstances." This is explained in a PDF document on the internet. I will try and post the links when I have enough posts on my account

Yes that is correct. I am trying to post links to help you but I do not have enough posts on my account

I am in the process of waiting for a reply from the chief constable to have all information cleared from my file, after I was arrested as a child but not charged..

Thank you for your prompt replies. I have already registered with the "money Claim Online" website and stated that I intend to defend the claim in full. Regards

It annoys me how so much money is wasted on perscriptions and medication which is never used. In hospitals when they use one tablet from a blister pack for one patient, they have to bin the rest and cannot give it to another patient.

Issue date: 26th November 2013 Particulars of claim: Unpaid invoice xxxx Issued xxxx for roofing works. The defendant is in breach of contract and therefore full payment was required. Amount due £xxxx plus administration charge of £xx (I am sure this is an unfair penalty and cannot be charged) plus interest to date. I will provide the defendant with separate detailed particulars within 14 days after service of the claim form. The claimant claims interest under section 69 of the county court act 1984 at the rate of 8% a year from 19/11/2013 - 25/11/2013 on £xxxx.xx and also interest at the same rate up to the date of judgement or earlier payment at a daily rate of £0.64

Thanks for the replies, I have tried to message "dx100uk " but it is not letting me. It must be due to my low post count

Maybe sunglasses for cyclists? or goggles?

Hi, I have been a reader for a while, but I am now posting for some reassurance and advice. I signed a contract with a roofing company to erect a roof of 15 degrees on my rear extension. It was agreed via a written contract that the pitch should be 15 degrees and velux windows should be within manufacturer specifications of 15 degrees. The work was scheduled to be completed in 4 days but the roof is still incomplete 29 days later today. The company erected the roof at a pitch of 13 degrees and as a result all three windows have started leaking. Furthermore they have not removed all their waste which was agreed in their contract and they have damaged my windows, flashings and tiles in the process. The owner of the company became involved after his workers did not turn up and we later found out one of his employees had subcontracted some work to people he had met in the pub. This employee had damaged a window of ours and had been very rude and aggressive with us. It was because of this worker that the roof was erected at the incorrect pitch. The owner of the company then apologised and personally guaranteed that he had done rooves at this pitch with velux windows with no problems at all. This employee had agreed extra work to be included but then went back on his word. The owner of the company then arranged for all the extra work to be done within the agreed price and apologised. The next day the roof was leaking heaily and the owner of the company sent a roofer to replace some screws. The next day all three windows were leaking. I tried to contact him but he would not answer. After eventually contacting the elusive owner, he stated that he was going to charge us a call out fee to look at the roof and that I had deliberately tampered with the roof. He came to inspect the roof and said we had sabotaged the roof and that was why it was leaking. The building inspector inspected the roof and confirmed that the pitch was not appropriate. He did say he was willing to issue a certificate if the company guaranteed the work. How a company can guarantee an inherently faulty product I do not know. The owner of the company is basing his entire argument on the building inspectors word. A few days later after email exchanges, when we stated that we were only willing to accept a roof of 15 degrees (as confirmed by the manufacturer to be the bare minimum) the owner said he was only willing to repair the flashings around the window or take off the whole roof and walk away. We told him neither was acceptable, especially as we were not willing to accept a faulty roof (as per manufacturer specifications and contract) or walk away without any sort of compensation. Since then we have received stamped county court papers showing a claim amount plus an administration charge. I have had the roof inspected and my brand new velux windows have dents and scratches. Tiles have been cut in situ resulting in circular saw marks and damage. Hammers have been used on the flashing and whilst the windows have been installed correctly (according to another roofer) there has been no care in their installation. In the roofer's opinion and Velux themselves, the low pitch is the culprit. I have some basic knowledge of the law. I believe this comes under the sale of goods act and contract law. I now have to prepare my defence in the county court and I am a bit worried that I may do something wrong. Do I definitely have a case here? How am i supposed to word the defence? Will it go against me if I do not quote law, or does the judge interpret the law after reading the facts? What happens next after I submit the defence? Will it definitely go to a hearing? Any help is much appreciated as this is my first experience of court and I am very worried about losing money to this horrible company. May I add that this is a very large company with contracts for the council and housing associations. I have attached a copy of the drawing which accompanied the written contract Thank you in advance.