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  1. Hello, I employed a builder to do a loft conversion, and renovate my house which I had just bought. He quoted £72,000 to do the work including all electrics, plumbing, plastering etc. The quote was itemised and he visited the property twice and priced up materials etc before emailing it to me. He said that the work would be completed by the end of last summer. He requested an initial payment for materials into his wife's bank account quite a while before any work was done. When he started he told me that he didn't have a lot of money and that I would need to give him money for materials which he would not make any profit on, and he generally showed me receipts. He also asked for 'wages' for himself on a daily rate of £180. I'm a single woman and I realise now after googling that I should have had a proper contract in place and made stage payments; I know now that he took advantage of me for being trusting. I was renting alternative accommodation in another town as the property wasn't liveable. I would pop down once or twice a week or so to see how it was going and progress was slow. Sometimes there would be no-one there at all and most often when I arrived they would be in the kitchen drinking tea. He had decorators, plasterers, electricians and plumbers come in, who he knew and had arranged. He had me pay their invoices. He had initially one labourer working with him, but that escalated to three labourers - he was invoicing me for all of them at a daily rate. The work dragged on past the end of the summer for no reason. The builder told me that he had been diagnosed with leukaemia and I felt sorry for him, but now realise this was probably a lie. I was finally able to move in in November, The main house being finished. The builder seemed reticent to move on the the conversion of an attached brick outbuilding and seemed to be finding odd jobs to do around the house. He asked if I could do a favour and pay his building subcontractors directly as this would mean they would need to pay their own National Insurance instead of him. I made a couple of payments to them in November- the daily rate for the builder and 3 labourers was £500. I also gave the builder £7500 in cash for the roof, which he gave me a receipt for, but he has kept the money and not given it to the roofer as intended. When I started the renovation I had the money needed from the sale of my previous house plus another £20,000. That had all gone and I took out the maximum loan I could from my bank of £25,000. The work continued throughout December when I was away on holiday. I came home after Christmas and it still wasn't completed. I did a spreadsheet and found that I had paid through bank transfer to the builder and various of his contractors £105,000. I also had unpaid invoices from him, his building subcontractors and further other contractors of £12,000. There had not been any extra work requested on top of the original quote, I had chosen the cheapest option wherever I could and the work on the original quote is still not finished. I told the builder that there was a problem with the overcharging and not to return to site until it had been resolved. I asked for a list of his extras and he quoted putting up a shelf in the pantry and other trivial things which in no way add up to the total. The biggest overcharging has been in payments to the builder and his 3 subcontractors - £60,000, the vast majority of which is for labour. This does not include the £7500 for the roof. My house is not huge, it is ex local authority 3 bedroom, outside of London. I refused to make any more payments and had the subcontractors texting, calling round at my house and demanding payments. One morning I found concrete poured on my car, and when I got home that night the front and back door locks have been superglued so I had to call an emergency locksmith. I reported this to the police and bought security cameras. I paid to have letters sent the builder by a building disputes company explaining that he had overcharged me and needed to pay me back the money. Also letters to the contractors stating that any payments they had received from me were made in error because the builder had told me to and that they should get payment from the builder and reimburse me with the money already paid. In return I got seven identical letters back from the builder's solicitor, one for each contractor saying that he was looking into it. That was two weeks ago. I would appreciate any advice please - I am a woman on my own who is finding it hard to get advice which doesn't cost a lot of money. I don't have much funds left and need to get the work finished. The cost of a solicitor is very off putting and I worry that if I take that route I could end up owing more money. I am also a little concerned that the six subcontractors might try to sue me for their outstanding invoiced which are each in the £1000-£2000 range. There are also some issues with the work which has been done - the brickwork for example is shocking and needs re-doing. I have tried calling CAB who referred me to Trading Standards, I called Trading Standards but they said that they would only help businesses in my county and not individuals. The builder is a sole trader and he co-owns his house with his wife.
  2. Builder estimate for renovation work on our house was £7,500. Work included removing window & replacing with patio doors, removing two internal walls, fitting insulated plaster board in bedroom, laying hardwood floor, converting a bedroom into a bathroom, including external pipework. We paid an initial £5000. He took over seven months to do the work, with very long, unexplained absences throughout (the longest was 9 weeks). During the work, we also asked him to fit respatex in the shower, board out the new bathroom with plasterboard (uninsulated), he added coving in the kitchen and supplied underlay for the wooden floor. He has now billed us for the remaining £2,500 of the original estimate and a massive £4260 for the extra work. This seems far too high for the additional work. I have asked for an itemised bill, but think I am being taken for a ride. Any advice much appreciated.
  3. Hello I am suing a builder, without legal representation, so it has been a very steep learning curve! Late November, and most of December 2017 I was ill wilth Flu combined with Shingles - the latter affecting eyesight. I know this was a stress thing. My question really is that documents should have been exchanged on 14th November 2017, i attended Defendant's solicitors (partly to keep my costs down) at the correct time and date and saw defendant's Solicitor's assistant - Solicitor was busy! I duly handed over my information, none forthcoming from the other side. I was not unduly worried as such because I thought perhaps that was how it worked! Around the 5th/6th December I received a large envelope from Defendant's solicitors with paperwork in it, these being the documents that should have been exchanged before. My only real questionable thing about them was a couple of the items included were from MY information, which he did'nt have before my visit to exchange! I received a letter on the 8th December, from the Defendant's Solicitor telling me the case had been "struck out"and enclosing the bill for Defendant's costs! I contacted the CCMCC and was told that I needed to pay £100 to ? (I can't remember the wording). I sent this off, contacted other party's solicitors and told them i had done this. I never knew why it was struck out - only defendant's solicitor told me this. I received a letter from CCMCC saying that the actual cost was £255 (!) so I sent that off. Again speaking to CCMCC it appears that everything is continuing forward so I take it no longer "struck out". Now that I am actually feeling better, I have been able to think things through a little bit more logically, a huge amount of time double checking on the internet - am i too late in requesting this case be "struck out" because of non-compliance by defendant's solicitors? It is entirely my fault that i did not pick up on the "non-compliance" item about exchanging documents - although the more i do think about it, I now believe it was deliberate because i didn't know any better. Any advice would be really welcome
  4. Hello, I had work done by a builder about a year ago, but since then I have had nothing but problems. The beams in the roof have not been installed correctly, causing major cracks in the loft room and below, the windows have not been installed properly and many other issues. Does anyone know if this sort of thing would be covered by a builder's product liability insurance? He built and installed my roof incorrectly and also installed my windows wrong, which in turn has affected by brickwork. Given that he built and constructed my extension, does that mean any faults found after he left can be claimed for, or would he have to claim for each and every fault that I have found. By the way the builder has accepted that he did bad, so I am going to assume that if the insurance company play fair, they will pay out.
  5. I have a potential legal issue with a builder - Is this the correct area to post? To be brief: a (project manager) builder quoted for a job 1y ago, the job was never done but he is now claiming I should pay him for his time to measure rooms and draw plans. I have so far refused on the basis that the measuring and plans he did do were awful and I could not use them. Without correct plans no other parts of his quote could be carried out.... He has now threatened me with legal action - which I wish to prevent - somehow.. which is why I am posting here... To elaborate a bit - The quote was incredibly vague and the cost for each job was not itemised. There were a long list of jobs he would do within his quote and the whole lot totalled apx 3.5k - but as nothing was itemised it was really unclear how he even got to the 3.5k total or if it would rise and rise... He came to the property and measured 3 rooms. He then did some drawings on graph paper showing those existing rooms and what he considered to be a proposed layout. The proposals were basic and boring (my kids could do better). He also failed to include 2 key areas that we had discussed - access to an existing terrace above and creating a new basement below - which meant his drawings were inaccurate and could not be used for any further planning nor for the council planning application, which had formed part of his quote. Including these 2 areas make all the difference to my proposed building project. For the record he is not an architect. I took one look at what he had done and realised that I needed an architect to do the drawing/planning job properly; not a project manager builder trying to draw up plans. He however, has sent me a bill for 2.5k - just for measuring and drawing up plans I can not use. He is threatening making a legal claim against me. There is no way that what he produced is worthy of 2.5k. What he did do was a small percentage of the overall quote. And as he got that wrong the rest of the jobs in the quote couldn't happen. I considered it a pitch - which was unacceptable, not fit for purpose and I don't feel I should pay his invoice. Am I in an acceptable strong arguing position to pay nothing and fight any claim he may issue? Or should I offer him a couple hundred quid for his small time spent on the job and tell him to now go away? Or am I doing the wrong thing by paying something for a job that doesn't merit any payment? To be clear, I have not gone further with my plans as I had to relocate for 1y which meant I couldn't oversee any work, plus I also need to sell something else first to pay for the building work... Any advice? Should I highlight everything that was in his original quote? Be good to have some feedback. I am quite stressed by this situation as I really do not want to have a legal claim arrive on my doorstep.
  6. Hi All, Thanks in advance for any help ! We received a claim from from our builder because we have withheld payment of the final instalment as he as breached his contract with us. He sent a claim form asking for the money to be paid (approx 1667.00). We are now trying to work out the counterclaim and having serious difficulties in understanding what to do. Any help appreciated. problem outlined here. (ignoring court fees and interest at the moment) Final installment withheld by us is 1667.00 BUT this value is incorrect as he is trying to charge us for more expensive tiles than those he installed without our permission. He is claiming that money is owed on his claim form. What we have already paid him is £3865. What we paid Wickes for more tiles directly is £248 The new invoice from another builder who said that the entire bathroom will need re-fitting £6635 (this includes a tile allowance that are slightly higher than our original builders tile costs ). Should we be basing our claim on the difference between what we thought the original builder would have been owed if the job had been done well, subtracted from the higher cost of the new invoice. Then adding the amount we already paid him. OR should we be just saying pay us £6635. (despite the fact we have withheld the final invoice but we are not sure of the value of that final bill and he has breach contract so technically we dont owe him it anyway !) HELP !
  7. I am currently in dispute with a builder over a patio - there have been several attempts to remedy the situation over the past 12 months the patio has been re-laid but there are still significant issues. Last time the builder was on site I unfortunately swore about the situation not directed at the builder. The builder became very aggressive and intimidating - shouting and swearing at me. I asked him to leave the house and he continued. Fortunately, at this point my wife came home with my daughters and she could hear the builder shouting from outside the house. I managed to get the builder into the front garden where he continued to shout and swear at me in front of my wife and 5 and 3 year old daughters. My wife asked him to stop multiple times. We got the children in the house and then he eventually left after a final tirade. In the evening the contractor sent a text to my wife rather than me acknowledging his behaviour had been inappropriate. He is offering to carry out further remedial work but we are obviously reluctant to have him back on site after this situation - he is a big guy. Where do we stand legally if we don't feel comfortable having him back on site?
  8. Hi, I recently commenced small claims court action against a builder who I contracted to do some work at my property summer 2016. Having telephoned him repeatedly about poor and unfinished work, I was finally able to get him to come out and visit me where he agreed he would complete the work by the end of the following week - as I had grown very suspicious of his intentions, in particular the ignored calls I recorded the final conversation on my mobile phone as voice memo without his knowledge as I could perhaps use it or a transcript as evidence should I need to make a legal claim. When he failed to return to site to finish the work, and continue to ignore my calls I sent mail correspondence, eventually seeking a second opinion from two other building firms (the view of both was was what he had done was crap and overpriced), obtained quotes and completing the pre-court action via recorded delivery which was also ignored. I filed the claim against his Limited company using MCOL, he filed a defence at the last minute, which was very poor and largely consisted of personal attacks/insults against myself than anything of substance. He has now missed the DQ deadline and been given a general sanctions order which he also appears to be ignoring. As such I expect to be-able to request judgement this week. I am now having doubts as to whether I should have initiated action against the Ltd company rather than him personally, my logic being: - I have subsequently read that enforcing a judgement against a Ltd company is difficult, he could dissolve the company, transfer what assets he has and move on. - My correspondence with him (quotes & invoices) didn't mention the Ltd company or show the registration number - The bank account that I made payments into, whilst a business current account, was in his name rather than the Ltd company the name. Should I therefore: - Discontinue the claim and re-issue it against him personally - Perhaps list both him and his Ltd company as defendants - Continue with the current claim and if unsuccessful try again with another claim against him personally? Any advice gratefully appreciated! Thanks Abe
  9. Hi i am new to this forum and i have big issue please some one help. i have structure issue in my house have instructed builder to do some work. Builder has quoted me £5000 for full work which include reinstall steel beam, new flooring, electricity and bathroom work. thought its a good deal entered into agreement with him and he started work. one month later when work was still continuing i found out the builder did not install the load bearing beam not correctly i had vibration in my bed room wall on first floor. Now the builder is refusing to look into this matter in more depth and has left without finalising the work. After few days later we had another person at the door asking for money i asked him who is it he said his company did electric work in the house . problem is that we did not instruct this company he was sub contractor from main builder. main builder did not pay him money for work he carried out. this sub contractor send court letter to our address on builder name and asking for more money which i forwarded to builder and he defended the case. sub contractor starts coming to my house and threatning me for money. I told him i am not person, he did not listen me. He visited house when my wife was alone he threatened her saying he will walk in the house and do wrong to her told her he will visit same evening and will kill me. we immediately went to police and report. same day evening sub contractor came to house and start kicking on the door we called police and they caught him in action. But i belive he release in few hours. After few days later i received money claim letter for £13k from sub contractor saying i am main person i have used main builder name to do these things which is not true. I dont know what to do i try to contact main builder but he left country and not returning. He sent me a contract letter between him and sub contractor that letter was signed by main builder. He also sent me email confirming i am not responsible to pay him. I dont know how can i prove myself in court as i am not the person what evidence i have to take with me to rely on so judge can see that sub contractor doing wrong things.
  10. Hi, just found this forum, look like some professional people are here to give help. I want some advice on how to calculation of damages. I am pursuing a builder for breach of contract. Currently a surveyor came and reported that the site have lots of problems -need to come down and rebuilding. I want to ask if I am entitled to claim: contract price is 35000 paid by instalment on completion of each stage of work, so far paid 15000 new contract price for new builder is 42000 demolition fee is 12000 do I entitled to claim: 1. seek to get full refund of 15000 2. demolition fee of 12000 3. additional costs payable to new builder is 42000 - 35000 = 7000 Kindly please advise. Many thanks!
  11. Hi We paid a deposit for a new window to be made in an existing wall, it was £600. The builder has constantly not turned up and is ignoring calls. A review of someone else having the same problem has gone up on google. What do you do when the builder has done nothing at all, other than take your deposit? Thanks
  12. I’ve started a small claim against a builder to recoup money paid in advance for work not done. I’ve sent two letters as per process and he disputed the claim, saying the money paid in advance was put towards cost overruns on other work he did for me. This was not agreed with me in advance. I’ve since hired another builder to complete the work not done. Now legal action has been launched he has decided not to dispute the claim. However, rather than acknowledge the claim he has contacted me directly to say he is selling his house and he is willing for me to have a charge on the property to the value of the claim (including costs) but he wants to do it out of court so he doesn’t have a CCJ against his name. I can’t see the property on the market via rIghtmove.co.uk. That doesn’t mean it’s not for sale though. He has told me that the mortgage company has a charge on the property but there is enough equity to pay the claim after the mortgage. He says he can’t afford to pay the claim outright and can’t get a loan. The claim is around £7.5K so I doubt he has movable assets that could be sold to that value which means, even if I did pursue the claim, the best I would probably get is a charge on the property. I want to settle this amicably as possible. I don’t think he’s a crook, he’s just disorganized, got out of his depth on a large job and let the budget get out of control. We had a good working relationship for two years before it fell apart on this job. So, questions: 1. Does this seem a reasonable proposal and how would I go about implementing this? 2. How can I check the value of any charge the mortgage company may have? 3. How much does it cost to put a charge on a property and how can I do it? 4. I assume I should seek some sort of written guarantee of his proposal? 5. I also assume I should apply some sort of time limit to selling the property at which point I would reinstated the claim if the house is not sold – maybe 3 months, or 6? 6. What should be done on MCOL? Should he acknowledge the claim saying he does not dispute the amount or would that result in a CCJ? Or should I just leave it dormant for three months then request a judgment it if the sale falls through? 7. Would it be safer to decline this proposal and proceed with the claim?
  13. Dear All, I come to this website by searching for some advice for a serious dispute with my cowboy builder recently. Please bear with me with my long nasty story: We hired the builder in late April 2017 and agreed to make stage payments in contract. The whole project was quoted £35k We paid him 10% deposite and the first stage payment £9k in advance (what a mistake I know). The first stage payment is supposed to cover the material and labour cost till bricks are laid up to roof level (which was not written in contract but agreed verbally). I did get 3 references for the builder and one is from a senior employee of the council, for which he was doing a similar extension. However, I had trouble with him right from day 1. He mis-measured our foundation by 70mm short. We did give him a chance (what a mistake!) and he promised he would be more careful. He was not. He was rough all the way and recently I learnt that he was not qualified builder at all although he claimed he had more than 10 years experience. His work was substandard and his attitude was not professional. He was rude, aggressive and intimidating to my family. He swore in front of my family including my children on a number of occasions, when we pointed out any mistake or simply asked him questions. I found no integrity in him at all, there were constant lies and broken promises. The project was planned to take 10 - 12 weeks. Only 3 layers of bricks have been laid so far. Up to date, we have paid him £16k for the work, which is worth only £6000 - £7000 evaluated by two independent evaluators. Last week when we refused his aggressive demand for more money, he stopped all work, refusing even to relay the bricks that were laid with wrong mortar colour and upside-down airbricks, and took all materials away. There wasn’t any chance to negotiate and discuss. He even dug out a newly laid drainage and took the pipes away! He is now issuing us the final invoice, demanding another £4,500 to be paid in a week. We have declined the payment. In summary some facts: - we already paid £16k to complete the first stage of our extension; - Two builders have evaluated the work done as worth £6,000 - £7,000, meaning we overpaid at least approximately £8k-10k; - My builder has asked us for another £4,500 for ‘work that has been carried out’ as final invoice, which we have declined to pay. We search advice from local council, CAB, trading standard. They all seem to be helpless apart from logging a claim for us. We plan to take legal action to recover our overpayments. But before taking any action, could someone please advise me what I should do or not to do. Any advice is really appreciated! Thank you very much in advance!
  14. I needed to get my drive block paved, a friend had just had his done and was pleased. I called the chap and he came over gave me a quote and said he could start in 7 days. Showed me various pictures of work and his FB page. Gave him £1300 upfront via bacs for materials. He gave me his address on the quote and I have various text messages of him discussing the deposit and when he is starting work. He said he would be over on the Friday, then text to say his mother had died so he would need a couple of days to sort things out, then another text saying he was sorting funeral stuff off, final text was he was coming Tuesday just gone but no show and wont answer calls or texts. Found couple of things on the net of him ripping people off. I need the help and advice off CAG please.
  15. About a year ago we had some building work done which has now turned out to be sub-standard. I have tried to get hold of the guy, but his home phone and email no longer work, and I suspect his mobile number has changed also. All I have is a name, a bank account/sort code, and a post code. With the beauty of hindsight I should have never used a tradesman who didn't put his full address on his paperwork. I have done a WHOIS lookup on his website, and I have a registered address from that, which is different (but close) to the "contact us" details on the website. I`ve not been able to find anything on the companies house website - presumably the registered company is operating under a different name? How do suggest I proceed in tracking down this builder?
  16. Thank for taking the time to read. The story below involves a serious case of Builder Breach of Contract/Fraud and Malcicious Damage. The location is East Cheshire. In May 2012 we employed the services of an Architect to design major extension plans for an existing bungalow. These were approved by the LPA in July 2012. By this time we had also employed a Structural Eng and Building control surveyor, all were local to the build. We were recommended a builder by our Architect firm after meeting numerous other builders and we decided to go with the Architects recommend. A contract of fixed price quote was agreed/drafted outling the works/plans/specifications/work programmed/payment schedules etc.... the build time was 26 weeks at a total cost of £193,000. The building works commenced early December 2012. Fast forwarding to April 2013. The builder without reason had walked off site, became uncontactable, left personal possession's on site. Now behind schedule and overpayments made for incomplete works (long story). He had left the property only 30% complete has been paid £85,000, £55,000 remaining, the balance to be paid to window company and personal allowance toward fixtures and fittings. May 2013, the builder was sighted working on his own property with the sub contractor's that were working on our site, still failing to make contact with us. Architect was not paid to oversee the works but as they were associated (recommended and proven business associates) with the builder we felt it their duty to liase, they washed their hands of the situation. With the builder now being away from site for inexcess of 21 days we eventually received an email stating he would not be returning to complete the works. Early one morning he removed his personal possessions, our paid for materials and left the property looking like a war zone. We have agreed to his termination and now hold him in repudiation (breach of contract). Unfortunately he hides behind a Limited company with NIL assest's. Further to this, we have since gained reports from the building surveyor who has written a report condemning the works undertaken by the builder. Also noted that the builder made nil contact with the surveyor for the past 3 months whilst major building works had taken place. To top it off we have now had a visit from an LPA Enforcement Officer suggesting "development in its entirety is unauthorised and in breach of planning control. Due to the builder having deviated from the approved plans without consent. I shan't go into detail of the deviations, but they are of massive consequence, both materially and financially. The builder has not only commited Fraud by taking monies for not completing works and suppling materials for which were agreed, but he is also in breach of contract by terminating the fixed price quote and agreement/contract of his own will. Along with now leaving the property in an unauthorised state by the LPA. The property was left unsafe, unsecure and parts of the roof are exposed to the elements thus causing major water ingress. It's now totally unihabitable, unsellable and unmortgageable. As mentioned, because the builder (Director) hides behind a worthless Limited Company I have been advised suing the company could be a waste of money. Right now, our lives are in tatter's, we are probably inexcess of £100,000 out of pocket (amount necessary to make right the wrong's and complete the extra to complete the project with another builder) and have a "cease work order" over the property by the LPA. We are not chasing sympathy just want to make people aware to be very very careful when it comes to major building works even if it's a builder from a recommend. As it stands we have all but lost strength to carry on let alone the retribution I want with the builder. If anybody with similar severe case of builder fraud/breach of contract has any input it would be greatly appreciated. Various documents/paperwork/reports/photographs/proof of payments, emails/text dialogue etc... is all available as proof against the builder. Oh, the builder under a different company name is currently seeking planning permission to open a Children's Play Centre and this is in association with the same Architects, the Electrician he used on our site, the builder's wife and their Accountant. The Accountant for whom we have since found out was the owner of a property which the builder showed us his previous work before we agreed a contract for him to work on ours. This was not divulged to us at the time. It has also come to light that the same builder commited similar offences back in 2006 under a different company name (Directors - builders wife and same Accountant) which has since been struck off/dissolved. As it stands, as of this date we are in a massive mess and are not sure how we are going to get out of it. To me the law is an "ass". Trader's can hide behind a worthless Limited Company and the innocent client/customer has zero recourse with regard justice against these criminal's. We do not have thousand's of £££ available to sue as whatever we have left need's to be put back into making this "war zone" of a property hopefully one day habitable. Thank you for taking the time to read.
  17. I am taking a builder to the small claims court who breached an agreement arranged by Trustatrader who were useless. I did the application on line and there was only a small section that allowed me to briefly describe my claim. He has been served and I have received a Notice of issue so he has until 27th March to reply. I have seen there is a N1 claim form that seems to have more space to state the claim and you can send extra pages if necessary, this seems to be a postal application. My question is what happens now? He is claiming he is now out of work because he has been removed from the above advertising site so I am unlikely to get anything out of him anyway but I shall give it ago. I have reams of evidence against him from a week in when he decided to walk away and refuse contact with me. There was also a situation that could have killed or seriously injured someone and I have pictorial evidence. When do I get to state all this as I understand your case in some instances can be strong enough for there to be a judgement without a hearing. He has already admitted liability from emails sent and the fact that he signed an agreement to pay me. I know not to contact the court as they don't give out any advice and have tried getting through to Citizens Advice. I think he will defend his case in order to get a judgement that will allow him to pay over several years at least that's what he said in an email. I want to get over in writing before any hearing what this builder did to me and the extra debt I found my self in, not to mention the stress. I also don't want to arrive at a hearing and have to go over it I would rather it was there in black and white so I can have a clear mind to answer any issues that may arise. Any advice greatly appreciated
  18. HI All, I am at my wits end with my builder with whom I signed a contract agreeing the scope of work and duration of work (8 weeks). I am in the 8th week of the contract and the work completion is not in sight. He has delayed the work all along sighting every possible reason and I am genuinely concerned that the work will not be over by the end of the week. Do I have legal recourse against the builder ? Any possible help/guidance you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Happy to provide any more information if required. Many thanks, Swaroop
  19. I’ve had a builder refurbishing a rental property for over a year now. The original work was estimated to be around 4 months. Work has virtually ground to a halt since end of August. The property has been empty for six months and counting so I have lost over half a year’s rent. I have finally lost patience with the builder and obtained a quote from another builder who assures me he can finish the property before Christmas (at quite a lot more expense than the original quote). The problem I now have is that I paid the first builder up front for most of the work. He said he needed it for materials and to pay subcontractors plus I trusted him because he did work for me at other properties which went OK – big mistake. he underquoted the work, spent all the money on subcontractors and has now run out of money and is trying to finish it himself – at a snail’s pace – presumably because he is taking other paid work on to make end meets because this job isn’t paying anymore. I have fixed price quotes and invoices for work that has not been completed that I can prove I have paid for but unfortunately there were no completion dates or timescales on the quotes. If I kick him off site do I have a leg to stand on legally in getting my money back for the work he has not completed? Presumably he could argue he was going to do it, I just never gave him a chance and kicked him off site. Is there a legal concept of a reasonable timescale for completing work that I could argue in trying to claim my money back?
  20. Hello, I'm new here. In April, a builder started a small extension and some internal work to knock through walls. The building inspector visited in May, and was not happy with a number of aspects of the work. The builder did not agree with the feedback, and walked out. I have spoken to a solicitor who advised me to get a RICS survey, which I am currently organising. I will be a litigant in person, but am taking some legal advice at key stages during the process. As the amount is unlikely to be over £10k it will probably go through the small claims. I have paid the builder in advance for work that is not yet completed, and for work I though was completed but needs to be remedied. In addition, he did a couple of other things I have not yet paid for, but the inspector wants these changed, so I have refused to pay. I have asked the builder to try mediation, but he does not reply to this point. Any general advice for me from anyone who has experienced this before? I've never been to court. In particular, I have checked and he does not own the house he lives in. He drives an expensive car, and I've seen the DVLA form for finding the registered keeper, but don't know if I can use this, and in any case this will not tell me the owner. He is a sole trader. Is there anything else I can do to find out his ability to pay? I've checked the .gov website on bankruptcy, and he's not on there. If I win the case and he does not want to pay (which I think might happen), I've seen something on the justice website about getting him to go to court and give details of his bank accounts. Has anyone got money back this was successfully? Also, when I have calculated the value of my claim (which I can't do yet until after the RICS survey then getting builders to quote for remedial work), how long does it take to get to court? He is being really childish, refusing to give me or the architect his progress photos showing what's underneath the floors, as the council has not yet inspected this. Any advice from people who have been through this before?
  21. In January 2009 we hired builders after checking several companies, getting referrals and looking at their work to build an extension. We realized later that their referrals were friends of theirs who were in on the [problem]. We did staged payments and only paid into a bank account electronically. The council's planning department knew early on they were cowboys, but never told us until the builders walked off the job with claims they were being harassed by the planning department. We found out they did not use insulation, the roof was only plywood and the electrics and plumbing put in ran to nowhere. The brickwork was not even straight and the footings were too high. The reason why they walked off the job is instead of using insulation and hardcore they just threw any old junk including planks of wood for the floor. The planning officer caught them halfway through concreting over it and had a row with them. I was told by the planning department I could also be held liable for allowing them to contravene the building regulations! I asked them why they never told me what was happening and was told they do not get involved with such things and their only job is to ensure that the work is done within regulations. The builders took £14,500 of our money and called to threaten us if we did not pay a further £4000. They also refused to return the key for our gate to get into the back. I called the police and never heard from them again. Our livingroom was left open to the elements and scaffolding was holding up the steel beam and the place was a mess. I got a good builder in and it was discovered that none of the walls were even, masonry fell and there was no insulation in the walls. Plus one wall had to be partially redone as it was moving back and forth. In total, it cost us another £15,000 to redo this when the whole thing should have cost £23,000. We traced them and found that the original person we were in contact with has a legitimate business and he was working in partnership with the cowboy. But, it was presented to us that they were in business together as so-called brothers and the contract we did and all dealings were with the legitimate partner. He later tried to say he only introduced us and had no dealings with it, but we have evidence that he was just as involved. He told us he does the tiling and decorating and his brother does the building side of things. The one who does not have a legitimate business was using 3 different addresses and I contacted the insurance company he had. They refused to take any responsibility. I contacted Trading Standards and was told they can record it, but unless they get at least 5 similar complaints against the same company they cannot take them to court. They also said that even if I did take them to court and won I would most likely not be able to collect any money. Shortly after all this I became very ill and nearly lost my life. It took a year to recover and now I am thinking of seeing what I can do. I know that the one brother has moved and is still in business. Can anyone give me some advice about the possibility of suing and was I told the correct information from Trading Standards? I am unable to seek legal advice as I cannot afford and cannot get legal aid.
  22. Hello, Sorry, I really tried to keep the description as short as possible: On 03/03/2016 we called some conservatory companies in Devon and finally made appointments with two of them for the next day for a viewing. In the afternoon we sent them a floor plan with detailed measurements and other information about what exactly we wanted. BTW We had even searched the web for reviews about the companies and found nothing negative - just one positive review. On 04/03 an employee of the first company arrived in good time, and we noticed he had the document (which we had emailed the day before) printed out and ready for discussion! Because the negotiated price was acceptable (£8,060), and because he confirmed that they could complete the conservatory within a month, we decided to enter into a contract immediately. In the contract was stated: "Installation date: 18/03/16, 09.00" As advance payment 1/4 = £2,015 had been agreed: On 04/03 we paid £2,015 by bank transfer. On the same day another employee arrived to carry out a survey (as specified in the contract). He examined the house, took measurements and discussed with us and wrote down the exact positions for the doors, opening windows, roof connection etc.. We mentioned that we had already paid the advance, and he said the required parts would be ordered IMMEDIATELY! 17/03: Since we hadn't heard anything from the company, we sent an email and asked if they had received our advance payment and also asked them to confirm that the works would start on the next day as provided in the contract. No answer. On 18/03 we waited at home the whole morning, but in vain. No one came. No information. We called them after lunch: the secretary said she would talk to the builder responsible for the groundworks. On the same day we were informed that the builder would begin on 22/03, 9.00am. On 22/03 no one came, but the builder called us to tell us he would come one day later, 23/03, 1.00pm. On 23/03 he came, examined the ground, and asked us additional questions regarding the groundworks. Since it is a hillside situation, he recommended insistently to build an additional retaining wall (the rain would wash the garden down to the conservatory), cost around £2,000 (making it much more expensive than other offers we had received before signing the contract with this company). He seemed to be a skilled and competent builder, and to avoid further delays, we agreed in principle and asked to calculate the exact additional costs and inform us asap. We asked when the groundworks will begin finally, but he could not give us a concrete date. On 24/03 we sent another email to the company to declare in writing what had happened so far. We wrote that because early installation was VERY IMPORTANT to us, we were happy that they could offer us that early installation date (18/03). This was the MAIN REASON we decided in favour of their company, cancelled another appointment we had later on 04/03, signed the contract, and immediately paid the advance - just to avoid any delay. We asked them to inform us immediately in writing about when the works would begin and what exactly the extra costs for the additional work (retaining wall) would be. 29/03: Since they hadn't answered, we sent another email in the morning. We reminded them that during our initial discussion on 04/03, before signing the contract, it had been confirmed that the project could be carried out within a month, so we already made plans for the time after the installation. We stated again, that we really needed the additional space, provided by the conservatory, as soon as possible. 30/03: Since there was no reply, we sent another email, stating that it's urgent. Then the secretary called us and said she would send us an email regarding the starting date. 01/04: Again, nothing happened. We sent another email: we asked what had happened in the meantime and why there were further delays. We reminded them that we were waiting for 9 days now to get an answer regarding the costs for the additional works. 06/04: After many many attempt we finally got the manager on the phone. He told us that the groundworks will be carried out "next week". We were very relieved about that. He said he would call us back to tell us the exact date. He didn't. 07/04: We sent another email in the evening: We wrote that we tried to call him several times during the day, but in vain. Furthermore we reminded him, that we would also need to know what would be the costs*for the additional works. 08/04: The secretary called and informed us that a skip will be delivered on 13/04. We asked again, if they would already know what the additional costs would be. She just answered "not much". On 13/04, as announced, a ridiculously small skip arrived, and one worker, without any machines, dug out some earth and moved it into the skip. A day went by, but this method was not suitable to make progress. On 14/04 the employee who visited us on 04/03 for signing the contract came again to let us sign an additional contract about £2,000 for the extra works, and we were asked to pay this in advance, because more work needs to be done, so they would need more money in advance for material and the builder: On 14/04 we paid £2,000 by bank transfer. On the same day or a few days later, a larger skip had been delivered, the required machines and an excavator arrived, and intense working finally began. Great! (we thought) On 28/04 a lot of work had already been accomplished, The manager visited us and tried to persuade us to accept that the project would cost another £1,600 (!!) more. He admitted it had taken a bit (!) longer, but he had selected "quality workers" in order to get the job done as good as possible. (Later it turned out that this builder and his men had been commissioned by him for the first time - he never knew them before!) We reminded him that we have a contract plus the additional costs of the second contract, and that we can't pay more than was agreed in these two contracts (all together £10,160). He accepted our objection, but asked us politely to pay another £2,000 in advance + £100 which we had agreed with the builder for a minor modification of the retaining wall, so that he could speed up the remaining works: On 28/04 we paid £2,100 by bank transfer. Until 05/05 (with some interruptions of several days) the builder had completed the groundworks and brickwalls, however there is still some work left for him to do, which he can't do before the other conservatory parts will be built up. That is the reason why material, some debris and the last skip (which has already ruined the lawn in front of the house in the meantime) had been left here at the construction site. (BTW: It turned out that the ground is solid ROCK, so the wall wouldn't have been required - according to horticultural advice it could also have been fixed with cheap retaining wire netting!) On 06/05 the manager called us and asked us to pay another £2,000. He said he had to pay bills for many skips, pay the builder and buy further material. Again, he said this would speed up the completion. Because it was already more than a month after the expected completion date, and we really wanted this project to be finished as soon as possible, we accepted his request: On 06/05 we paid £2,000 by bank transfer. On 09/05 the employee who took measurements on 04/03 came once again for more detailed measurements.
On the same day we sent an email and asked if the works would continue the next day. No answer. On 11/05 we tried to reach someone of the company on their various phone numbers. We could only reach the employee who visited us for signing the contracts. We asked him when the works would continue. He said in about a week.
Later we could also reach the manager via phone, and he claimed that the groundwork would require 2 weeks to stabilise! According to this we would have to wait until 23/05. (Later the builder confirmed that this isn't true at all!) On 23/05, we stayed at home and waited for the work to continue - again, in vain. We tried to reach the manager via phone, but in vain. Again, we could only reach the employee who visited us for signing the contracts. He assured he would contact the manager and call us back. He never did. On 24/05, again, we stayed at home and waited - again, in vain. We tried to reach anyone by phone. Since no one answered, we sent another email. No answer. On 25/05 we could reach the employee who took measurements. He informed the manager who finally let his secretary call us back. She said, the problem would be that the "roof takes longer to arrive"; estimated day of arrival: 31/05. On 26/05 the builder visited us privately on his own initiative and informed us that he hadn't received any money from the manager, though it was him who did all the work until 05/05. He warned us NOT TO PAY any more money in advance (what we hadn't done anyway). He said, the remaining work could be done within three days. It would NOT have been required to wait to let the groundwork stabilise! For many days we tried to contact the manager, but we had only been cajoled and put off by a new, young employee whom we had never known before. On 07/06 we reached the manager by phone! He said he would call us back soon or confirm via email to guarantee that the works will be completed from 14/06. On 08/06 in the morning he called and offered to complete the conservatory from 21/06 (about another two weeks later!).
Since we still wanted to get the earlier date (14/06), we sent another email reminding him what he had said the day before. We also tried to call him again, but there was just his answering machine! We sent another email in the late evening and asked for a confirmation for 14//06 again. On 09/06 we could reach him by phone in the morning. What he had suggested, he had also confirmed by email in the morning:
"Further to our telephone conversation this morning, I have been speaking to our manufacturers about a possible earlier delivery for your conservatory roof. As I explained in the telephone conversation, they will need a payment upfront to prioritise the roof which could lead to a delivery to us on the 13/06. We will need to payment of £1500 for the roof to get this prioritised and allow us to complete the conservatory sooner. I also would like to confirm that I have offered you a discount [£500] on the total left outstanding which I have taken off the contract."
We answered via email, that we had believed him that the 3 additional payments he had already asked for (£2,000 + £2,100 + £2,000) would speed up the conservatory works, and we had always paid! Nevertheless the project had been delayed by months, which caused many serious problems and financial loss for our family. At this point we couldn't take an additional financial risk. We suggested to arrange the delivery of the roof (direct to us) and the payment direct with the manufacturer. We wrote we would also pay the rest (£2,045 minus price of roof) after completion and that we won't make use of the offered £500 discount.
When we came back home we noticed that the manager had tried to call us back (caller ID), but he hadn't left a message. We sent him another email, that we had noticed that he wanted to call us, and that we wouldn't want further phone calls, but a WRITTEN answer in this case.
We waited the rest of the day for his reply, but again in vain. We sent another friendly email later in the evening and asked him to answer. On 10/06 we waited until the evening and then wrote another email:
Because he hadn't replied to our suggestion regarding the payment of the roof, we decided to accept his previous offer (which he made via phone on 08/06) to complete the conservatory from 21/06. Because in this case a prioritised delivery of the roof*wouldn't be required, we would pay the remaining £2,045 after completion. We asked him to confirm this in writing until 14/06. He didn't reply. On 14/06 we sent him a "Reminder with fixing of a period of time" As time limit for completing the remaining works we allowed 2 MORE WEEKS, until 28/06 (included). We had sent this as emails and as RM Signed for letter. On 06/07 the letter came back (undeliverable and not collected from the PO). In the meantime we found two extremely negative reviews on Google about him - unfortunately posted after we had signed the initial contract. The other customers got their work done, but with immense delays, and without obtaining promised discounts. We know we made mistakes: We waited too long. We paid too much in advance. Nevertheless, what can we do to get this solved? Offer him a bit more money? (Sometimes paying a bit more is better than fighting longer.) Go to a solicitor? Trading standards? We really need a fast solution now. Our nerves are on edge... Many thanks!
  23. Hi all Our windows need replacing with double glazing and our builder who has done a lot fo work for us quoted £4500 and asked for £1500 up front to buy the windows. The works quoted for were for a new carpet and a set of windows. The builder promised faithfully that the windows would be made ready for the 9th of May. When that date came, he said that they weren't ready. This was his reason/excuse for not starting everyday up to Friday 20th May when he said they would definitely be ready for Monday/Tuesday and he would update us. We left numerous messages for him yesterday and nothing. We are considering a LBO with a draft N1 as we know he has just started a loft conversion and will be taking on another one withing days so he probably won't be able to do our job anyway and he is now dodging us. What shall I put on the N1 - is it a claim for breach of contract as he hasn't started when promised? For the £1500 paid out. We have a receipt for the bank transfer and the original quotation but no contract in writing - though surely the quotation and our proof of payment with the payment reference should be enough evidence? Thanks in advance.
  24. Hi, After a full house renovation (including a loft conversion, new heating and hot water system) that has taken many months, my family and I moved back in just before the Easter Bank holiday. Unfortunately there is a major a problem. When I turn on the kitchen sink tap it takes over 3minutes before the water becomes hot enough to wash the dishes. In that time I have filled large kitchen sink which I have to drain away and refill with hot water. I now use the kettle to heat the water to wash up. All of my taps are affected (I have 3 bathrooms and a WC room on the ground floor). I now bring a kettle up to wash my face and we all wash our hands in cold water after using the toilet. When we use the shower each day a lot of water as you can imagine is wasted. I e-mailed the builder to let him know about the problem and he said that nothing can be done and we had said no to his recommendation of having a circulating ring. We based our decision to not have the circulating ring on the information he presented to us and I don't believe the way he worded his response can be considered a recommendation. Before the renovation we waited around 20seconds for hot water for each tap in the house. Here is an extract of the e-mail exchange that took place last year before works begun - I have deleted sentences that relates to other building works and not relevant to the case. From: Date: Thursday, 23 July 2015 11:42 To: Cc: Subject: RE: Renovation Plans Hi As for the ring, I see. We will leave it then. Regards, From: Sent: 23 July 2015 11:11 To: Cc: Subject: Re: Renovation Plans For the ring minimum cost is £xxxx with no profit for it so can't do for xxx. As I said it's not really required. On 23 Jul 2015, at 10:39, > wrote: Hi As for the circulating ring, how low can you get this price down by? At £xxx it is too much just to have instant hot water but we would consider it if could be done for the region of £xxxx? What do you think? Thanks, From: Sent: 20 July 2015 19:59 To: Cc: Subject: Re: Renovation Plans 1. Boiler proposed is Vaillant EcoTec Plus 637 system boiler with 7 yr warranty. 2. Pressurised cylinder is everflo stainless 250L Indirect unvented hot water cylinder with 25 yr warranty. 3. All the heating system will be designed by us and BTU calculated for radiators. 4. In addition to hot water system after speaking to plumber today I should ask wether you required hot water circulating ring. This is not necessary required as is only for comfort. I have not quoted for it and should you require would be £xxx extra. Circulating ring sometimes useful if some clients wants instant hot water. It can be switched off or it also can be put on timer. To explain in short, when you open hot water tap in shower, hot water will start running in about 20-40 seconds depending on how far are they from the cylinder and how long time ago it was used. With circulating ring on hot water would appear in few seconds. Please let me know what you think. I have to mention this to avoid any doubts in future. (Note: Shower he is referring to is the shower in the loft en-suite because during a meeting he mentioned it would take longer to get hot water there due to the distance. We did not go with the ring in the end because due to unforeseen events we were significantly over budget and needed to make cuts to items that were considered luxury. From the information presented to us it appeared to us that we had a choice and we felt we could wait 20-40seconds for hot water. At no time were we told that the taps for the rest of the house would be affected). I would be grateful for your views and appreciate any advice. I have e-mailed the builder again but he is not responding now. Thanks!
  25. Hi I'm hoping this is the correct thread, if not (mods), please move it Need some advice please. I put an add on ratedpeople for someone to fix 2 bay windows as they were leaking. This was late Dec 2015 A guy called me within hours and suggested he could do this, and will guarantee his work for 9 years. He asked for some pics and then quoted £400 I know this is high but with 9 years guarantee, you can’t go wrong. He also had some good feedback. Went ahead with the job He came a few days later, spent about an hour by painting some fiber seal on and took £400. I then asked for the invoice which he emailed. A few days later it rained and both windows were still leaking. I called him. He came up with some excuses and suggested he comes back to put some more stuff on. Long story short, this happened about 4 times. He cancelled 3 times (so i have called him 7 times in total) and now he won’t even pick up my phone or answer my text messages Where can I go from here? I just want the job to be completed or my £400 back so I can get someone else
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