Rewire nightmare

Bobbysocks

Morning all, - Sorry ive also put this under consumer rights

I was hoping for some advice on the following as the world of contractors, house renovation etc is new to me.

We needed to undertake a rewire of our 2 bedroom flat and thought the best thing to do would be to do it whilst we went on holiday reasons being; we would be out of their way, they dont have to tidy up and make the place safe/live every evening for our return etc..

Therefore we disappeared for 2 weeks with the final meeting with the electricians stating "dont worry we'll be in and out within 5 days no problem". So no need to worry then. To clarify they were also aware exactley when we were returning and I left a uk contact number if they had any issues.

So all great then!! What could go wrong!!

We got back at 3am Friday morning to a building site. Wires coming out of each socket/light switch and of course no electricity or hot water or heating. This was the night of -4C so it was lovely. We eventually found a torch and sleeping bag and thought lets get some sleep and address in the morning.

At 8am the next morning I was tempted to chuck all of their stuff out the door and tell them never to return. However that would leave me in a no power predicament. So I called the boss to see what had happened, as I wanted to check there had been no major issues e.g. asbestos found, someone died etc.. No issues what so ever, and the uk contact (my brother who is a builder) had not heard a thing.

So i let them carry on. I had the day off and the plan was to have spent the day cleaning the place, but instead we went and sat at a friends house. By 17.00, they pack up and leave for the weekend. we have power/heat so not to bad there. But they obviously need to return next week.

My problem is we agreed this was to be done whilst we were away for everybodies convenience, now it appears we are majorily inconvenienced as they have not done what was agreed. They had 2 weeks to do "a job that will take no more than 5 days".

SO what is the best thing for me to do? I havent paid a thing, so I have the upper hand there? Can I just offer to pay for materials? (half the quote?) and tell them to sling there hook? But at the end of the day I want the job done ASAP.

My other issue is how they left the place. On their final visit before starting I asked do you want us to do anything? They said "No, maybe put the computer in a black bag". Despite this we pushed all the furniture and everything into the middle of the room and covered with blankets.

Im greatful we did as dust sheets were obviously not used, so the BT box, sub woofer left out stayed out and were covered in 1cm of dust. The kitchen was also left in 1cm of dust and they didn't even work in there, surely they coulod have closed the door! I appreciated the place is going to be dusty but I found things like where they have gone into the walls they have just left the rubble/sand etc on the carpet below - no sheet, cover and they havent even hoovered it up. Also used hearing protection, dust masks just left on the floor. I would expect at least a token tidy?

I was tempted to get some cleaners in to go over the place and take it off the invoice but as we have to be here this weekend we just got on with it and cleaned. Something we will have to do again if/when they eventually finish the job.

I have pictures of all this, the boss is coming round 7.30 am Mon morning, but I wondered what anyones advice was, and what I can refuse to pay/dispute legally. Afterall they haven't finished the job as promised in agreed timeframes. Because of this we will have a load of hassle.

I could almost understand if I went with the cheapest quote, from a bloke in a pub who wanted cash in hand. But these guys are pretty big, came across very well and were even recommended so I did my homework (not that it helped).

One other final thing, when I asked about when would they complete, I was informed they still needed to order some bits in! This is simple stuff like aerial sockets and dimmer switches, not bespoke high tech equipment. Why the hell wasn't that done 6 weeks ago when we agreed the quote?

Sorry for the long winded email!!
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

OBald1

This response won't makes you feel any better, but you're one of many.... Unfortunately.
Could I use the information provided by yourself as a case scenario on a website I'm setting up? It's something along the lines of 'advice and design-aid' for those considering a rewire.
Personally, I now undertake rewires on a room-by-room basis as a phased solution to minimise the disruption and upheaval caused - many Sparkies refer to domestic rewires as "house-bashing" and sometimes forget completely it is somebody's home.
Have you got written contract terms or just a verbal understanding?
On the basis 2 wrongs don't make a right I would pay the agreed price, but invoice the cost of legal advice regarding resolving the issues to the contractor. What I am saying is get legal advice and consider a small claims court action as a remedy