Builder caused damage to Main Electricity Cable leading to house - need advice!

Adam323

A local builder we employed to carry out work at our property has damaged the main Electricity cable that leads to the house. He was trying to look for the water pipe and accidentally hit the power cable, causing damage.

We brought the builder in on a cash in hand basis and no exchange of invoices of proof of work were taken- (i know i should have really done this - Doh)

UK Power Networks had to come in and repair the damaged cable. They asked for details of the person who caused the damage and we therefore gave the details of the builder. UK Power Networks have been trying to contact this builder but he denies that he was the builder who carried out the work. :mad:

Subsequently UK Power Networks are now billing us for the damage. Can anyone please shed some light on what i should do. Any help would be much appreciated.

Owain_Moneysaver

Have you paid the builder yet?

Premier_2

Adam323 wrote: »

A local builder we employed to carry out work at our property has damaged the main Electricity cable that leads to the house. He was trying to look for the water pipe and accidentally hit the power cable, causing damage.

We brought the builder in on a cash in hand basis and no exchange of invoices of proof of work were taken- (i know i should have really done this - Doh)

UK Power Networks had to come in and repair the damaged cable. They asked for details of the person who caused the damage and we therefore gave the details of the builder. UK Power Networks have been trying to contact this builder but he denies that he was the builder who carried out the work. :mad:

Subsequently UK Power Networks are now billing us for the damage. Can anyone please shed some light on what i should do. Any help would be much appreciated.

#No income tax, no VAT
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#Black or white, rich or broke
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#God bless Hooky Street
#Viva Hooky Street
#Long live Hooky Street
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#Magnifique Hooky Street

:cool:

Ich_2

Chances are he may not be fully insured!

The bill will be high enough for you to claim on your house insurance as legally if he doesn't pay, you may have to do so.

undaunted

Personally I'd write to him (copying the electricity company), stating that you were unaware that he was operating on such a basis (I assume you were obviously not knowingly seeking to avoid paying vat etc on this job?) and inviting him to resolve the matter as a matter of urgency.

Also advise him that in the absence of his co-operation you will not hesitate to pursue a county court claim against him and may therefore also be obliged to contact the Inland revenue for advice

DVardysShadow

Builder was in law your 'servant' and as 'master' you are liable for the failings of your servant. So the supplier has a choice to go after either you or the builder in court if it comes to that. You have a claim against the builder for bringing this cost upon you.

C_Mababejive

I suggest you contact your household insurance company or pay the bill out of your pocket. Either way,you will be responsible.

bobthedambuilder

If you can't prove he was the builder (no invoices, receipts, bank records etc), I'm afraid you won't have much chance of getting him to stump up, unless he owns up (which he's unlikely to do - chances are if he's operating under the radar, he won't be carrying liability insurance and won't be being entirely honest with the taxman).

So then, as far as anybody knows, you're responsible for the work. You can't prove that anybody else did it, but the damage to the electric cable is patently there. I presume the damage is on your property, and not on the public highway (otherwise there's a whole new can of worms about unapproved road openings). Did you call the power company to rectify the fault? Then it's logical that they will bill you.

You can try your insurers, but don't be surprised if you get knocked back by them as well. Many buildings insurances only cover inside of the point where the service enters the structure. I guess they'll also want to know about who did the work and how it happened.

I'm sorry for your problem, but I fear you'll end up paying out of your own pocket. To put a positive spin on it, you're probably only paying out of the saving you made with the cash in hand deal.

spiro

undaunted wrote: »

Personally I'd write to him (copying the electricity company), stating that you were unaware that he was operating on such a basis (I assume you were obviously not knowingly seeking to avoid paying vat etc on this job?) and inviting him to resolve the matter as a matter of urgency.

Also advise him that in the absence of his co-operation you will not hesitate to pursue a county court claim against him and may therefore also be obliged to contact the Inland revenue for advice

I agree with this. If he is under the HMRC radar he wont want anyone putting him on it especially if you can show large (?) cash withdrawals from your account that was used to pay him.

Adam323

Hi Emily,
I have recently received correspondence from UK Power Network litigation dept chasing for payment/ explanation. I wrote back to the chap a few days ago with an explanation as to what happended. Apologies for the late reply only i have not heard anything from UK power networks for months about the matter and all of i sudden i get a 'notice of proceedings' letter. Any further advice would be much appreciated.

Many Thanks

Adam323

Thank you all for your advice....