Getting money back off a builder

Manicgirl

We've just paid our builder for a bathroom renovation (£2600). The work has been done to a relatively good standard, but lots of it has had to be redone (tiles relaid, bits resealed etc). The work was quoted as taking 12 days, but he only finished after 25 days. A few days after we paid him, the shower started leaking through our kitchen ceiling, meaning that it's all had to be repaired, replastered and painted. This has all taken another week (and a lot of hassle for us).

Are we able to say we want some money back, for the delay and inconvenience this has caused? We're now into about day 29 of the work and the kitchen ceiling still needs to be repainted, and the shower is still not fitted properly. The problem is, we've now paid in full, so it'll be really difficult to get him to give anything back.

latecomer

To be honest I dont think you'll get anything back without going to court - but I would tell him he has 7 days to complete the job to your complete satisfaction before take matters further.

markdavey

I know its not what you want to hear but you should not have paid him until you were happy the job was complete to the agreed standard ( you should at least have held an amount back)...

Manicgirl

Thanks. Yes, with hindsight we should have held back until we'd given it a few test runs, but that's our own fault.

27col

Get some money back from a builder after he has been paid!! I like a good laugh, thanks.

iamcornholio

Prepare a list of your actual losses. This should not include anything you "think" you may want to claim due to the job taking longer, but should be actual losses. However if you had an extra day off work to be there or suchlike, then thats OK

Give the list to the builder and request reimbursement or at least a meeting to discuss the losses and possible negotiation. If not, mention that you will be prepared to sue in the County Court for your losses - however you must be prepared to do this.

If you want to show him that you mean business just add the following to your [recorded delivery] letter "I will seek recovery of my losses in the County Court, and will enforce judgement with an application for your bankruptcy, and/or apply for a charge on your home forcing its sale and my payment will come out of the money raised"

Obviously it's best to talk nicely first and see what can be agreed

Yooj_2

What did your contract with the builder state in terms of project duration and specifically was there anything mentioned within it regarding unforseen problems arising and delays etc.

What were the reasons for the delays.

Does the contract mention anything regarding consequential losses.

The reality here is that most projects hit snags, and it looks like he is giving his best endeavours to put things right.

Focus on getting him back and finishing off the work to an acceptable standard, and go from there.