Delay in renovation work

Doozergirl · 3 March 2018 at 10:31PM

teneighty wrote: »

Doozer aren't you forgetting it was the contractor who gave the 3/4 month time frame? I assume they knew the customer was going to be in residence throughout.

Sounds like it was wishful thinking on the part of the contractor that they would be able to complete £150k worth of work with the family in residence and their other work commitments. Or it was a clever ploy to win the job and they always knew they couldn't complete in 4 months.

However this does not change the fact that the OP has no grounds to claim damages for delays in the absence of a building contract with a L&AD clause.

I find it rather perplexing that someone engages in a £150,000 building project with no contract, no knowledge or experience and no professional support. I'm inclined to think 9 months was pretty good under the circumstances.

I cannot disagree at all. I do believe that most people enter into these contracts with each other with very little but wishful thinking. Works most of the time, I think, but when it doesn't...

I don't think this situation is all that bad!

sam1970 · 4 March 2018 at 9:37AM

Thank you Doozergirl for your all negative comments...obviously you are always Mrs right. The builders (and they are a proper company by the way..not builders I picked off the street) knew from start the exact details of the job (They had architect drawings) and they knew that we will be living in the house. They took 3 weeks to produce the written quote so they took their time to consider every thing (cost and time). I can not help but to think that they made that just to get the job. I would not have had a problem if they were working daily and the work took longer but to not to turn up for weeks and leave jobs half done because they were busy doing other jobs gives me no grounds for sympathy and I will be brutal settling the final bill considering the disrespect they have shown

Doozergirl · 4 March 2018 at 9:57AM

Oh well, we tried.

Getting into fights with people on the basis of 'disrespect' is childish and will only cause you more stress in the long run. You don't have a leg to stand on either, which is worse.

Davesnave · 4 March 2018 at 10:12AM

sam1970 wrote: »

I will be brutal settling the final bill considering the disrespect they have shown

You can be as brutal as you like, but without a legal leg to stand on in the form of a broken contract, you may find the stress just continues.

Everyone here is telling you much the same thing, but you're the one who knows best.

Well, good luck, because as someone who was in a dispute and withholding money last year, I have some experience of trying to reason with a company that provided poor service.

It was only showing them that they broke the terms of their own contract which allowed me to say, "See you in court" as an alternative to a long, stressful argument. Nothing else had any effect whatever.

moneyistooshorttomention · 4 March 2018 at 10:22AM

Davesnave wrote: »

It was only showing them that they broke the terms of their own contract which allowed me to say, "See you in court" as an alternative to a long, stressful argument. Nothing else had any effect whatever.

In fairness - it sounds like the builder did "break the terms of their own contract" and OP does have it writing (signed by them) about the length of time it was supposed to take.

I sympathise that it was naughty of the builders to go off at intervals (even for weeks at a time) and do other jobs instead. I wouldnt be surprised if the time over-run was vastly reduced if they hadn't pulled that stunt.

I guess it boils down to one sympathetic builder here told me once "the trick is that it's down to 'the one who shouts loudest' is the one that gets dealt with first. It shouldnt be - but it is - and I respond to the shouter first myself". I wish I'd had him around at the outset - as I remembered that comment afterwards. For instance - when I needed some very minor work done by a firm (that I'd used before for a big job) recently and I was let down (without even a phonecall to tell me) I "shouted" and "shouted" again - result being it was done a week after the day it was due to be done. Bad result (ie it was a week late) - but I have the strong feeling it would never have been done ever if I hadn't "shouted".

I've followed that builders advice several times since he told me that - and found he was right about how things operate here:cool:

Doozergirl · 4 March 2018 at 10:23AM

Further up this thread I asked how you had paid this builder. I didn't get a reply.

This thread is fascinating:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=5671478

And I think it may well be obvious in this case that I am Mrs Right. You have been warned over and again in threads on this board and been given good advice about payment schedules and contracts. Not just by me, but I suspect my point about the builder's cashflow position was correct.

Now you're at the end of a project which, given the date of that thread, cannot have taken nine months. And in another thread your belongings were stolen from your neighbour's house, not your own. Given the way you've ignored much of the advice given it's no surprise that you won't hear now. You could have avoided this. You should have avoided this. But, it could be far worse and there is some reason to be grateful because all you are faced with is an over run.

I'm sad because I can see looking back that you've been seeking my advice and actively asking me questions for a long time.

sam1970 · 4 March 2018 at 10:44AM

Yes...that thread was in June and we are now in March so it is 9 months as work started few days after that thread. As for the burglary, yes we had some of our belongings stolen from our neighbours house but within few days our house was burgled too. Actually 4 houses were burgled within two weeks in the same street.
Although I was warned about paying in advance I had no other choice....no other builder accepted any different. Money is not an issue now as I am in control...I owe more money than uncompleted work as I ensured final payment is not paid until we are satisfied with all work

Doozergirl · 4 March 2018 at 10:50AM

The penultimate day of June to the very beginning of March is eight months.

I'm glad you've turned it round on the money front from paying in advance but you could have continued to look for other builders. Just because one is in front of you, it doesn't mean that you have to use them. You were told not to by some good people with lots of experience. You could have waited for a good builder. As it is, you seem to have found someone who was available almost immediately for a fairly high value job. He probably thought is was Christmas.

You are very, very lucky indeed that this did not go badly wrong and that you found someone who was essentially honest. I would literally be wiping the sweat from my brow and celebrating at this point.

Four years worth of positive advice and you have the audacity to call me negative and to try and mock me about being right. I'm astounded. What were you doing here?

Davesnave · 4 March 2018 at 10:51AM

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

In fairness - it sounds like the builder did "break the terms of their own contract" and OP does have it writing (signed by them) about the length of time it was supposed to take.

The difference is that my contract was a legal document detailing the exact terms and conditions both sides agreed to and signed before work commenced.

OP hasn't got that.

sam1970 · 4 March 2018 at 10:59AM

Thank you all guys for your replies...I guess Doozergirl was right in saying I was lucky that nothing major has went badly wrong. Will see how good are my negotiating skills

Delay in renovation work

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