Allowing tradesman a chance to fix work

kmmr

Hi,

My neighbour have had some work done in their kitchen, and due to not tightening the joints properly in the pipes they have leaked through to my flat and done a lot of damage.

The insurance assessors say that the ceiling needs replacing, as well as a lot more work and drying to sort it all out. I have had my preferred builder have a look and do a quote too, and he says about the same, although he thinks perhaps we may not need to re-do the whole ceiling.

The builders who did the damage are saying they will 'sort it' all. They are saying it doesn't need a dehumidifier (as it will just magically dry out) and really just need re-skimming and a lick of paint. Obviously I am not happy with this, combined with a bad attitude and the mistakes upstairs, but am I obliged to let them try? Will the insurance claim be a problem if I had another option but didn't let them do it?

It's a brand new room, renovation only completed late last year, so I want to get it back to the perfect state it was in before, and don't want to be stuck with a job that just means it will never be quite back to new again!

So, in summary, the question is: From an insurance point of view, will it cause me problems if I didn't use the 'free' option provided by the builders who did the damage?

keystone

If you have made a claim on your insurance then its up to your insurers to say how it will be done. Normally they will use their own repairers but sometimes it depends on the value of the work. I do not see how the builder who did the offending work upstairs can have any say in the matter in that case.

If you have not made a claim on your insurance then you may choose to allow the builder who caused the damage to attempt to effect a repair at his cost. Alternatively you may choose to emply your own decorator (eg the person who did the work for you last year) and bill the neighbours builder assuming that he has admitted liability and said he will pay the cost.

I don't think you have any obligation to him apart from reasonably wanting it fixed. If, however, you have paid a tradesman to do work on your property and its not to your satisfaction or is less than acceptable then yes you do have an obligation (morally at least) to give him the opportunity to effect remedial works. But in this case it was your neghbour who paid him not you.

I do not think you can mix and match the "free" option with the insurance option.

Cheers

MX5huggy

You don't have to let the random bodger your neighbour chose anywhere near your property. Just go with what your insurance company say, they may want to claim off the bodger but that is between them and not your problem.

kmmr

thanks, thats reassuring. i dont want them near the house, but was just worried the insurance might say i should have allowed them.

such a mess now and going to take an age to fix, just because they didnt tighten something! just what i needed with a wedding in 10 weeks, and guests planning to use that room.

such is life i suppose. thanks all.

DVardysShadow

kmmr wrote: »

thanks, thats reassuring. i dont want them near the house, but was just worried the insurance might say i should have allowed them.

such a mess now and going to take an age to fix, just because they didnt tighten something! just what i needed with a wedding in 10 weeks, and guests planning to use that room.

such is life i suppose. thanks all.

And moreover, if these builders become insistent, you don't have to deal with them at all - just with your neighbour.