Run a small construction co. - client won't pay final invoice. - help RE: Small claims please ***Resolved***

[BankFodder]

By the way, do you happen to know what the professional background of these people is?

[BankFodder]

That's fine, and it's all quite natural.

The main thing to be achieved by first of all sending them a letter of claim and then if necessary issuing a claim is to put them in a position where they have to do disclose what the problem is.

I gather that so far they have given absolutely no clue as to what might be wrong.

 

[BankFodder]

I agree that it is probably a case of not wanting to pay – but they will certainly have to explain their basis for their reluctance either to you or to the courts.

You had better start reading up the steps involved in taking a small claim in the County Court. Also you had better start drafting a letter of claim – but keep it scant

[BankFodder]

I'm very sorry but I hadn't at all understood that there was an element of your work which had yet to be validated.
Had you mentioned this before?

[BankFodder]

Well this is something that I hadn't grasped before.

I'm afraid I think you will have to wait – as long as the weight is not unreasonably long. You clearly have somebody who is able to feed you information and so you had better keep your ear to the ground.
Let's know what happens – but I don't think you are in a position to proceed now

[BankFodder]

If the timescale was several months then I think it would be reasonable to ask for replies quickly. However, as it seems that the timescale is only a couple of weeks then by the time you have sent your letter of claim, and then you are ready to begin an action, it may be that the validation of the system is underway and you could even be at risk of losing your claim fee.

I think you are rather trapped at the moment.
Even though there might be a quicker way to validate the system as you suggest, they are clearly in no hurry to help you or to cooperate and so even getting that done will take time.

I normally like to take control and to be much more assertive but I think that your best interests are served in going along with it for the moment. Very frustrating, I know.

 

You could write to them and set deadlines et cetera – but they probably won't respond and every time you write them a letter and they don't respond, you feel humiliated and they feel as if they have gained some Face.

I'm afraid I don't see any point in taking any kind of action – communication, letters of claim anything – unless you are sure that you have the whip hand and I don't see that at the moment

[BankFodder]

I'm just giving you my advice from my point of view.

There is no particular disadvantage to sending them another letter – although I would keep it very polite and not threatening or impose deadlines because you are in a position to do this unless you are prepared to take court action immediately – and I don't think you are.

Maybe you could send them a letter saying that despite their lack of any responses to you you understand that they are waiting to connect up the drains so that they can validate the drainage work that you have done.
If you want to claim the moral high ground, you could explain to them that you understand this although it would have been helpful if they had explained it.
Can they give you a rough date as to when they expect the drainage work to be completed

[BankFodder]

Yes. That's why I gave it a Like

[BankFodder]

By all means you can suggest this but I think that you should also suggest that this should be done under supervision by a professional

[BankFodder]

Your last sentence which I have highlighted in red makes it sound as if you are pleading.

 

"Please will you give me a date by which the system will be commissioned."

 

 

[BankFodder]

Yes of course if it contributes to that discussion – but on the other hand don't hijack somebody else's thread for your own discussion

[BankFodder]

I'm not particularly surprised you haven't received an answer and this is broadly the reason why I was gently trying to discourage you from sending this email because it reinforces the sense that you are acting as a supplicant.

It's very clear to me that these people are playing you. I think that much has been obvious right from the beginning. The problem is we don't really know what their plan is – whether to avoid paying altogether, whether to force you to some fairly brutal compromise or to be completely straight dealing with you – although this last option seems to me to be pretty unlikely.

You are asking to know what your options are now – but in fact when you send messages, you should already have your options sorted out before you send the message rather than figure what you should do now.

I think your position now is that either you sit it out and wait – or else you threaten and then bring a legal action.

I think this was your only option before. By sending your last message of course you have shown that you are reasonable and that you would like to work things are and that will go to your credit – but I think that these people are taking advantage of this.

[BankFodder]

I suddenly had an idea which might help you to put them on the back foot.

I'm afraid that I really need to go through the whole thread again in detail and I just don't have time for that at the moment.

However I think it might be a good tactic to propose to appoint an independent assessor to go in and have a look at the work which is carried out and to give an opinion as to the quality and whether the objectives in the contract have been achieved.
I can imagine that your clients won't agree to this – but I think it would be to your advantage to have offered it. If they do agree then you should arrange to get somebody in as quickly as possible and to carry out a full inspection and written report.

You need the inspector to be as independent as possible. You would have to propose it to the other side and maybe give them an option of two or three inspectors and ask them if they object to any of them or if they would particularly like one.

This may well put you two extra expense but it will probably only be 150 quid or so.

If they don't respond to your proposal then I would begin a legal action.

If they agree to your proposal then you put the inspector in and on the basis of the report, you expect to get paid or you will begin a legal action.

If they refuse your proposal – then you begin a legal action.

This may sound all quite dramatic – but I'm trying to put you in a position where any action you take will result in a Win.

[BankFodder]

Please check back for a reply later.
However, what would your qualified chartered surveyor cost you for a visit and a report?

[BankFodder]

300 quid sounds a lot – maybe you could just begin by getting another competent builder to give a view and a quote if necessary

[BankFodder]

You want your inspector to visit the property and conduct an inspection and appraisal of the work that was carried out and identify any defects. To advise on remedies and likely costs.

This means of course that your clients will have to be prepared to allow the inspection.

If they allow the inspection then that's excellent because you get the information you need and we can move on.

If they don't allow the inspection then they are obstructing you and I think that this puts you in an extremely powerful position and you then send your letter of claim and go to court.

There is no downside for you.

If they were here and we were advising them, I would advise them to allow the inspection.

[BankFodder]

First of all, I don't imagine that they will respond to you or else they won't permit the inspection .

That puts you in a very good position because they are being unreasonable and non-cooperative .

If they do allow the inspection then the job of the inspector will probably simply to ascertain the job and to consider that it is complete and also make a comment on the drains.

 

Because they aren't prepared to give their own commentary, it will at least give you an independent idea of their side of the story and then you'll be in a position to consider your next move which will probably be going to court.

 

All I'm trying to do is help you prepare the ground so that if you do issue proceeding - as you probably will have to do then you can do it confidently knowing that nobody can possibly say that you haven't done your best to work things out outside the litigation process

 

I don't know what else to say to you. I thought I had explained this to you and it was fairly clear .

It's your decision now. You seem to be reluctant to take this step and you seem to think that you should just go ahead and take a legal action .

You certainly could, but I think that this will put you in a better position, but it's your case to win or to lose

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BankFodder]

I don't have any problem with being questioned hard about anything.

If we can refine our ideas then that's good .

However, I feel that all I'm doing at the moment is repeating broadly the same advice.

 

[BankFodder]

I think it would be better to have a surveyor lined up and then put it to the client .

However, if you can't get one lined up then put it to the client anyway to see what the response is .

When you say that the drainage is signed off, does that mean that in principle any concerns of the client has been addressed ?

Have you got written evidence that it has been signed off? If you can do that then you may be good to go

 

 

 

 

[BankFodder]

Yes, I think if you can get an official independent confirmation. Then I think that it would be reasonable to send that to the client and inform them that they already know about this. That you would like them now to settle your invoice unless they would like to make clear any other objections. Don't set any time limits but I would then give them about five days and I think it is then time to threaten legal proceedings and to bring them.

I think you have got lots of communications which show that you have bent over backwards to accommodate them and they are simply being uncooperative.
I rather predict that once you threaten legal action, that they will make you an offer which may well be part of their gameplan anyway.

[BankFodder]

I'm not sure what you think you are going to achieve by this letter.

You are dealing with a client that is giving you the runaround. You have ample evidence of this. You now have ample evidence that you have bent over backwards to try and accommodate them and they are simply stalling you by not giving you any information at all.

It now seems that you have got evidence from a professional that the drains are correctly installed – and yet you still want to give your client an opportunity to protract the discussion.

You can send the letter by all means – but what are you going to do if you get the usual rubbish.

It's up to you of course but don't you think that you are now at the point where you should issue a firm threat of legal proceedings and 14 days – and then follow through with that threat.

[BankFodder]

Yes, you are right. That is what I suggested. I had forgotten .

However, thinking about it again. It seems to me that maybe you should simply cut to the chase .

 

 

 

[BankFodder]

Please monitor this thread for a reply later or probably tomorrow .

However, this is another open-ended letter.

 

 

[BankFodder]

You don't particularly need to mention the full exchange between you. You really just need to identify the breach of contract .

Post a draft here before you click it off

 

[BankFodder]

Clearly they are just trying to confuse the issue.

I suggest that you send them the communication they are asking for, the invoices – and tell them that in respect of the rest, you consider yourself to be bound by the requirements of the consumer rights act 2015.

Tell them that you have satisfied their request for information. Any other questions will be dealt with during the court process if they are deemed relevant by the court.

Tell them that the clock is still clicking on your letter of claim and that you will be issuing proceedings on XXX date as promised.