Cancelling a Builders Contract - 7 day cooling period?

NCISROCKS

arcon5 wrote: »

oh my

clutching + straws

'my bad' seems to cover it according to you?

arcon5

NCISROCKS wrote: »

'my bad' seems to cover it according to you?

aye.

i guess your unable to offer op any advice then.

Good luck op -- keep us all updated.

mo786uk

Have you handed over any money? If you havent then you would be stupid to hand over anything now.

Its difficult to comment because if you have had extensive discussions with the tradesman and he bought goods in good faith after talking it out with you then it is harsh - if on the other hand you literally just agreed the contract then it is fair game - because he should be aware of the 7 day cooling off period and adjust his business model accordingly.

The 7 day period only applies in 2 situations where he has visited your home
1 - you agreed to the contract then and there whilst he was i nyour home
2 - he gave you a price of 5000, you said do it for 4500, he said I will go away and think about it... he then later accepts that offer you made whilst he was in your home.

It does NOT apply when he has visited your home, said he would do it for £5000 and you accepted and entered into the agreement whilst he was not in your home.

The point of the regulatiosn is to protect you from being pressured into decisions - so it doesnt apply when the trader has left your home (aaprt from example 2 above, when you have amde an offer whilst he was in your home and he goes away to think about it.

What should happen is that
1) he gives you a 7 day cooling off period
2) this 7 day period cannot be taken away from you
3) you can sign a bit of paper to consent to the work being done before the 7 day period ends. If you cancel half way through the job then you will be liable for the costs upto that point.
4) if he has gone ahead and bought the materials within the 7 day cooling off period then it is his loss and you are not liable

As he has entered into a contract and not given you the cancellation notice (assuming he had to) then he cannot enforce the contract. .

MrsJNair

No I haven't handed over any money yet.

I have had discussions with the tradesman on some of the work but not all (this is where the communication between the two of us broke down and had to cancel). There is a payment schedule for about £500, 7 days before the start of the project to procure materials. So, I am not sure how they can claim over £1000 for materials.

I was handed a terms and conditions document on the 1st day they arrived to visit the site which is quite different to the one that I was given when they came in to sign the contract.

I do not think that I entered into an agreement with him until I signed the contract. I signed the contract agreeing to the terms and conditions.
I could have chosen not sign the agreement when they came over because that the cancellation policy in their new terms and agreement is £1000 instead of £200 as in the previous one they handed me.
I now really think I should have done that and then none of this would have happened.... hindsight is a wonderful thing!!!

Of course, this will also depend on what the trader thinks and what a judge would think.

arcon5

mo786uk wrote: »

Have you handed over any money? If you havent then you would be stupid to hand over anything now.

Its difficult to comment because if you have had extensive discussions with the tradesman and he bought goods in good faith after talking it out with you then it is harsh - if on the other hand you literally just agreed the contract then it is fair game - because he should be aware of the 7 day cooling off period and adjust his business model accordingly.

The 7 day period only applies in 2 situations where he has visited your home
1 - you agreed to the contract then and there whilst he was i nyour home
2 - he gave you a price of 5000, you said do it for 4500, he said I will go away and think about it... he then later accepts that offer you made whilst he was in your home.

It does NOT apply when he has visited your home, said he would do it for £5000 and you accepted and entered into the agreement whilst he was not in your home.

The point of the regulatiosn is to protect you from being pressured into decisions - so it doesnt apply when the trader has left your home (aaprt from example 2 above, when you have amde an offer whilst he was in your home and he goes away to think about it.

What should happen is that
1) he gives you a 7 day cooling off period
2) this 7 day period cannot be taken away from you
3) you can sign a bit of paper to consent to the work being done before the 7 day period ends. If you cancel half way through the job then you will be liable for the costs upto that point.
4) if he has gone ahead and bought the materials within the 7 day cooling off period then it is his loss and you are not liable

As he has entered into a contract and not given you the cancellation notice (assuming he had to) then he cannot enforce the contract. .

Maybe

Maybe you should re-read the post or atleast read the legislation that covers this:

5. These Regulations apply to a contract, including a consumer credit agreement, between a consumer and a trader which is for the supply of goods or services to the consumer by a trader and which is made—
(a)during a visit by the trader to the consumer’s home or place of work, or to the home of another individual;
(b)during an excursion organised by the trader away from his business premises; or
(c)after an offer made by the consumer during such a visit or excursion.

mo786uk

The Regulations are quite clear:

These Regulations apply to a contract, including a consumer credit agreement, between a consumer and a trader which is for the supply of goods or services to the consumer by a trader and which is made—
(a)during a visit by the trader to the consumer’s home

This means the contract must be made whilst the tradesman is physically in your house for the regulations to apply.

(c)after an offer made by the consumer during such a visit or excursion.

The example I gave is when the business makes an offer and you have time to think about it and later accept when he is not in your house. The regulations will not apply.

The Regulations will apply if the consumer makes the offer and the business takes it away to think about it and later accepts - the regulations apply because the consumer could still be udner pressure when he makes the offer whilst the tarder is in his house.

So to sum up

a) trader comes to your home, says I will do it for £5000 and leaves you a quote. You have time to think it voer and later accept by phone - regulations do NOT apply.

b) trader comes to your home, says I will do it for £5000. You say, no thanks but what about £4000. Trader says I will think about it - goes home and later accepts. The regulations will apply because the offer was amde by the consumer whilst the trader was in his home.

Unfortunatley it is not as simple as the trader having visited your home for the law to apply. And waters get muddied when it is unclear when the cotnract was made and there ahve been multiple visits going on before anything is agreed as a contract.

browneyedbazzi

mo786uk's advice appears pretty sound to me - they have explained s5(c) quite well I think. I think bickering between posters on this thread is confusing matters and probably not at all helpful to OP.

OP - I think you're in a very good position here and that your builder is trying it on - scare/bully boy tactics seems to be the order of the day from them. Either that or they have no understanding of their responsibilities. So long as you have expressed your wish to cancel the contract in writing, within the 7 days, it is cancelled. You should keep proof that you have written to them so if they do try to take you to court for their cancellation fee (which isn't legal within the 7 day cooling off period) you can produce that proof. If I were you I'd also call consumer direct and advise them that the builder visited you in your home to conclude the contract but has failed to give you cancellation rights. Ask for the matter to be referred as a criminal case to your local trading standards - or if your trading standards department have a hotline for rogue traders (as some do) call them direct on that number. Once he knows he's being investigated for failure to provide cancellation rights he's very unlikely to pursue you for the money he claims you owe.

Apologies to anyone from CD who reads this forum, but the advice offered by them for you to 'pay in protest' is rubbish as their advice often seems to be at the moment. The only time I would ever suggest someone do this is if a trader is holding goods or your possessions and refusing to return them until you have paid (ie when you've taken your car in for service and they've done excess unauthorised work and won't give you the keys back until you've paid the bill). In your case there's absolutely no reason for you to pay.

arcon5

op has already stated the contract was signed in her home by means of a solicited visit.

Therefore the regulations apply

MX5huggy

Don't hand over any money, the only way it can get to effect your credit rating is if you lose in court and then don't pay.

You are in a much weaker position if you are trying to get them to pay up after winning in court.

MrsJNair

Apologies to anyone from CD who reads this forum, but the advice offered by them for you to 'pay in protest' is rubbish as their advice often seems to be at the moment. The only time I would ever suggest someone do this is if a trader is holding goods or your possessions and refusing to return them until you have paid (ie when you've taken your car in for service and they've done excess unauthorised work and won't give you the keys back until you've paid the bill). In your case there's absolutely no reason for you to pay.

Consumer Direct did not exactly ask me to pay in protest. I asked them if it was an option for me to make this payment and then claim the money back as I work in a heavily regulated industry and a court judgement against me would cost me my job. So, as an option, they (CD & Which Legal) suggested that if I am paying, then I do it this way and also make it clear that I am reserving my legal rights to claim the money back.