Faulty Staircase

[axil23]

I paid a private contractor to build me a new staircase. The guy did quite a bad job at it and I have been complaining to him for over 10 months now to come and fix it. I owe him the final payment so even he has been quite co-operative saying that he will come and fix it but is ill at the moment.

 

Anyway cut a long story short he agreed to come and fix it last week and took the faulty Railing along with him. Now he is saying that unless I give him the payment he will not return my railing. He has not fixed it nor will he fix it as his business has now shut down as he has not been keeping well.

 

So now where do I stand? If I pay him the full payment the Railing is no good to me without it being fixed. It is also not safe to be walking up and down these stairs without a railing.

 

I had allowed him to take it under good intentions and as soon as he fixed it I would have gave him his balance. Also the balance is only around 5% and I really don't mind paying it if he fixes it but he won't.

 

What are my options? Time is of the essence as without a railing the stair case is dangerous.

[cerberusalert]

You could always send him a Letter Before Action giving him seven days to make right. If he fails take him to the small claims court.

[axil23]

Its the time taken though as its quite dangerous to have a stair case without the railing. Can I get that part remade from someone else and send him the bill through small claims court if he doesn't respond to my 7 day letter before action ?

[cerberusalert]

Yes, you can claim for putting the work right. But you need to give him the opportunity to remedy first hence the LBA.

[axil23]

Does it matter how long it has been as at the same time I have been after him to fix some more steel work he has done around 14 months ago. He kept on saying he would but now he says thats its been over a year so no guarantee.

[cerberusalert]

Include everything that requires fixing. In fact it might be worth having a chat with Trading Standards too, he may well be known to them.

[axil23]

Thank you.

[axil23]

I had given him 7 days and tomorrow evening that will be up. What should I do next as it is a huge safety hazard to be walking up and down a staircase without its side railing.

 

That part and repair to the rest of the stair case will set me back around £1000.

[cerberusalert]

The next step will be to take him to the small claims court.

[axil23]

Shall I just do this through money claim online? Also so I should go ahead and order a new staircase? What are my chances on wining the case?

 

Can I be liable for his Lawyer costs if I loose for any reason?

[Kraken1]

can a temporary repair be rigged up to make it safe?

[axil23]

No as he has taken the entire railing. So one side of the staircase does not have a railing or any support. The other side has a wall. So only way to make it safe would be to get a custom made railing for it.

[Kraken1]

Shall I just do this through money claim online?

 

You could.

 

Also so I should go ahead and order a new staircase? What are my chances on wining the case?

 

Depends on the answer to the above, really. Can a temp repair be rigged up? There are never any guarantees with court cases, even sure fire winners can lose.

 

 

Can I be liable for his Lawyer costs if I loose for any reason?

 

For a claim of 1k, probably not. You could be liable for some procedural costs (maybe a witness attending or something), but probably not and even if so they'll be minimal.

[Kraken1]

No as he has taken the entire railing. So one side of the staircase does not have a railing or any support. The other side has a wall. So only way to make it safe would be to get a custom made railing for it.

 

are you absolutely 100% certain no-one could rig up a temp repair? Some scaffolding or raw tiber or something?

[cerberusalert]

Shall I just do this through money claim online?

You can yes.

What are my chances on wining the case?

It depends on the strength of you evidence, photographs etc and whether he defends. If he doesn't you will win by default, if he does defend it will go to a hearing. If he loses he is subject to your costs and vice versa if you lose.

 

You'll have to weigh up the pros and cons. If you win will you be able to enforce the CCJ & get your money, i.e does he have the money to pay you?

 

Can you afford to lose? Although you can drop the petition at any time. i.e you can have a summons issued which may scare him into remedying the situation. If he defends & you don't feel confident enough to proceed you can drop the claim & lose your fee.

[axil23]

are you absolutely 100% certain no-one could rig up a temp repair? Some scaffolding or raw tiber or something?

 

I guess I could install scaffolding but that won't be much cheaper. That will just build up my costs in case I loose. Scaffolding for a couple of months till the court case is over will probably set me back over a £1000 anyway.

[axil23]

If he loses he is subject to your costs and vice versa if you lose.

 

How much could I be liable for? I will go after him for the cost of replacement so a £1000 claim.

[cerberusalert]

Do you have legal cover on your building insurance? If so it might be worthwhile to have a word with them.

[axil23]

Do you have legal cover on your building insurance? If so it might be worthwhile to have a word with them.

 

Interesting. Will look into this tomorrow.

 

I have proof that he has taken away my stair case and won't return it. Does that count for anything?

[cerberusalert]

It's all evidence yes, along with photographs of how he's left things. There's nothing more damning than pictures.

 

It may be worthwhile having a word with trading standards too they may be able to help & also tell you if he's 'known' to them.

[axil23]

It's all evidence yes, along with photographs of how he's left things. There's nothing more damning than pictures.

 

It may be worthwhile having a word with trading standards too they may be able to help & also tell you if he's 'known' to them.

 

Will see what they have to say tomorrow. What would my liability be in this sort of a case if it went to court and I lost? Last thing I want is to be given a 5k lawyer bill from his side.

[cerberusalert]

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_rights/legal_system/small_claims.htm

In most cases, the court will not order solicitors’ costs to be paid by the losing party in a small claims case,

[Kraken1]

What would my liability be in this sort of a case if it went to court and I lost?

Any costs you incur plus perhaps £50 - £200. Caveat - that is an extremely rough estimate. In this type of case you won't get hit with his lawyer's fees.

 

The reason I asked about a temp repair is that it is worth minimising the initial costs in case you lose. You also have a duty to keep costs to a minimum.

The point raised above is also valid - even if you do and win, you need to be certain you can then get your money. I sense that this is a much more complicated case than it might seem and I'd therefore be very reluctant to give firm advice on what to do or what your chances are.

 

It is also important to figure out who you are suing - you say he's been ill and has shut down - was he a ltd company or a sole trader? If a ltd company and he's shut up shop you'll not be able to sue.

[axil23]

It is also important to figure out who you are suing - you say he's been ill and has shut down - was he a ltd company or a sole trader? If a ltd company and he's shut up shop you'll not be able to sue.

 

He owned his own company and now has shut up shop. I know he is still well off. Not sure if he was a PLC.To be honest with you if I am only liable for what is mentioned above then I prefer to go ahead with the case as anyway I am shelling out £1000 for a new railing so its not as if I am loosing money. Will just cost me the extra for the MCOL case.

 

I would like to show him that he can't do this to people and at least the court case will make him a little uneasy.

[cerberusalert]

Do you have any of his invoices, if so if he was a Ltd company it will have a registration number on it.