Extension really badly finished - builder threatening court action

This is a little long winded so my apologies straightaway. I am also going to be a bit vague as you just don't know if either the builder or his family are members of MSE!!!!

I am so fed up, my husband and I have spent our complete life savings on a two storey extension containing our kitchen, utility and wc downstairs and a bathroom upstairs.

The builder was recommended to us by good friends who had a bit of work done by them but not as extensive as ours.

The demolition of the original single storey extension started the week following the Easter weekend. So from then we were without a boiler, central heating but were lucky enough to have a (rubbish) electric shower and toilet in a tiny shower room. This was dismantled during the middle of June.

The construction work that followed was neat, tidy and progressed quite quickly, the building inspector visited on a number of occasions and was pleased with all the work going on. All of the work was regulated by the council with regards Building Regs and Planning Permission. I have a couple of Building Surveyor friends who checked the build and were impressed with it.

Unfortunately we noticed a few things that started to go a bit wrong. It was all to do with the finishing, installing of fixtures and fittings. On the 17th July the builder confirmed that the job was finished. That evening my husband and I went and checked all the work. I created a snag list complete with photographs to show him the items I wasn't quite happy with. On showing him he wasn't happy and denied anything wrong with the majority of items. I asked him to put these right and I would check again. I gave him a further two weeks. We were holding on to about 25% of the original quote. After all was complete I had to arrange the building inspector to come out and give the final once over to sign off the work.

After the two weeks the work was still as shoddy as ever. In fact some of the items that he was supposed to put right, he actually made worse. He refused to amend the kitchen and I suggested that I get further quotes and to pay the new kitchen fitter from what I owed the builder and pay the builder the difference when we were all happy with the finishing and the building had passed its inspection.

At first he was rude and very sarcastic at my suggestion and refused to accept this offer or admit the kitchen was incorrectly fitted.

I produced a second snag list and photos. He then told me that if that happened it suggested to him that we didn't have the money to pay him. Which I found extremely upsetting as we are giving him our complete life savings for a job well done.

He started to shout at me and my husband. On three occasions I suggested stopping the conversation and reconvene at another time. He said no!!!

I was calm throughout the whole situation.

On the third occasion when I heard him yelling at my husband in our back lane. I asked my husband to come inside and told the builder to go away. I then had to ask him to return my back door key!!!

He contacted us and wanted to complete the work. We arranged a mutually convenient time for us all to finish the work. My husband and I both took a days holiday to be at home when the work was being done as we just didn't trust him anymore.

During the day he told me he would have to return and i said that there would be no-one at home as he had said that there wasn't that much to finish therefore we didn't think that he would have to return! (funny really because he had previously said that he was completely happy with all the work, would have it in his house and would pay for a job finished that way!!!)

He was due to return on the Tuesday at 8am, I waited until 8.30am, left him a note asking him to call me when he arrived and on finishing to lock the back door and go around and post the key through the locked front door.

He turned up at 9.17 and called me as I had requested. I mentioned a few things that he had, once again, done wrong!! He started to yell at me down the phone and I had enough, I hung up.

On returning home from work, my husband noticed that the front door was unlocked. They had not left the back door key, locked the back door, walked through the house and left via the front door, unlocked. Obviously the alarm had not been activated, I wouldn't trust them - obviously.

As he left he left a note for us to not use the shower.

I had to call him and tell him to deliver the key immediately, I also told him that he couldn't come and finish the work without anyone in the house when they were there.

We had found that they had been in other rooms and areas of the house where they had no need to go into.

The building inspector was arriving the next day to do the check and I suggested to the builder that we talk then about everything.

My builder turned up and 'hummed and hah'd' throughout the whole inspection. He turned up with his father, who is his business partner also.

The inspector failed the inspection on four accounts. Two which we had to rectify and two that the builder was responsible for.

When the inspector left, the four of us discussed the findings of the inspectors report. The builder refused to rectify one of his saying that I instructed him not to do this work!!! I did not. In fact it was stipulated on the plans that were passed by the council! I couldn't even instruct him to do this anyway!

Him and his father continued to talk down to us both. I asked him once not to shout in my house, the second time I told them both not to shout or raise their voices in my house. The third time I had to shout at them, over both their voices to tell them to get out.

So the current status is as follows:

We still haven't got a working kitchen, we have had two quotes to rectify the kitchen only and they are in the region of £2000, just to put the mess right. The only things that we are using in the kitchen are the sink, the worksurfaces and a couple of the drawers/cupboards. We can't use the dishwasher, the cooker, oven, cooker hood and the majority of the storage areas.

Our bathroom now consists of a leaking bath, an unusable shower enclosure and shower, a basin that doesn't hold water properly and has been botched together with copious amounts of silicon/mastic stuff which I have no idea how to remove as its been left on the sides and inside of the basin and it looks awful.

Numerous areas which are still to be plastered.

Downstairs wc and basin which aren't fitted properly.

The list goes on.

We can't get it signed off until the failed works are complete.

A week ago we were advised to pay him a small amount and we paid him an amount that would leave enough, hopefully, to cover the work that needs doing still.

As he has threatened to take court action against us for unpaid monies owed, I am now concerned if he is just attempting to frighten us even more. Instead of shouting at us and intimidating us, threaten us with legal action!!!

IS there anyway I can find out whether the company or the individuals running the company have ever been in court for similar actions?

If it was a Health and Safety matter I could find out immediately via the HSE website but just don't know how to find out about court cases.

I haven't been able to tell you some more of the more serious occurences, I also haven't been able to tell you which avenues were are using for advice. Obviously I am unable to mention the company or the individuals involved.

Its so wrong as we haven't done anything wrong but yet we are unable to get information we need to prepare us for what may be happening soon.

I WANT MY SHOWER AND I WANT MY KITCHEN. I WANT TO BE ABLE TO FINISH OFF AND DECORATE AND ENJOY AND USE MY NEW KITCHEN AND BATHROOM

So there you go. What an epic tale and its still not over!

Any advice from anyone else been in a similar situation would be so appreciated.

Thanks for putting up with this!!

Fingers crossed it'll all be sorted soon!!

Cheers
mr and mrs dirtyepic