Small claims

[terryduff]

Hi

my wife is currently going through the small claims court to try to recover some money from a joiner who installed a kitchen very badly and left us with a large bill to fix the problems

 

we are struggling to find any tradesmen to fix the bad workmanship,

we have followed initial legal advice and provided three quotes to fix the work

 

, the judge asked for are surveyor to assess the problem and send a report which mostly agreeded with our case,

although his idea of the costs involved are way off,

he considered 228 would cover material costs and labour of a joiner, gas fitter and plumber which would be required.

 

Last week the court sent an order asking for more quotes

we live in a small place where there aren't too many tradesmen and none are keen to fix others work

 

we are struggling to get any quotes

the judge want us to pay 155 to get an extension

and then another 170 for another hearing on top of the initial fee of 105 and 240 to the surveyor.

 

I think the courts is being obstructive

is their anything we can do?

[BankFodder]

You will have to pay the fees. There is no way around it

 

Although there may be a shortage of tradesmen around, you eventually will get people to quote if the price is right – so just go ahead and get the quotes and don't worry too much about negotiating lower prices. All you need is the paperwork to show that you have tried to get a range of prices and that you are prepared to have the work done for the lowest price.

 

You may will need to pay for the quotes – but if you do, then point out to the judge that these are costs which you have incurred reasonably as well and that you would like those to be covered by the person you are selling.

 

By the way, are you sure that once you get your judgement you will be able to enforce it against the tradesmen? Do you know where he lives? You know if he owns his own property? All of these things will become very important once you have a judgement and you need to execute it.

 

It is entirely possible to get a judgement against the tradesmen and find that he has simply closed his business moved away and you end up with a rather meaningless piece of paper and a load of unrecoverable expenses.

 

I hope you have done your prior homework to make sure that if you get a judgement that you will be able to enforce it.

[terryduff]

Had over 15 tradesmen out they all agree it's a mess but they won't repair it they all agree it needs removed and redone, I know where he lives he is no longer in business but it is now the principal because he is a bad man

[BankFodder]

Well suing people as a matter of principle is often an expensive treat – but that will be up to you to decide.

 

If you have a number of tradesmen who consider that the work is not repairable and has to be replaced, then fair enough. As long as you get that opinion done in writing from two or three people together with the quotes for undoing the poor quality work and replacing with good quality work, then that is all the court would require of you