Builder dispute with neighbour

DMWK

Hi, I'm new to this forum but I wondered if there's anybody out there who could please offer some advice on how to deal with my particular problem. My wife and I employed a builder to carry out work on our property in 2010/2011 under the terms of a JCT contract. During the course of the work the builder damaged our neighbour's fence. Despite this we remained on cordial terms with our neighbour and she repeatedly said to us and the builders not to worry about the fence damage and that we'll sort it all out at the end of the work. Unfortunately, the builder was a bit slow in contacting her at the end of the work to repair the fence and she went ahead and arranged for her own builder to replace the entire fence before writing to our builder to seek a contribution to the cost. Although the builder has offered a contribution it falls about £800 short of the sum our neighbour is seeking and neither party appears willing to compromise. We have offered to mediate but our builder says there's little point in meeting with our neighbour because he's not prepared to budge. The neighbour has now asked us to pay the £800 difference!

We think both the builder and our neighbour have made errors in this case that have contributed to the impasse. While we find this dispute upsetting because we've always had a good relationship with our neighbour we honestly don't think we have done anything wrong and so shouldn't be expected to pay anything.

From our point of view we employed a professional contractor to provide a professional service. The builder should have realised that there was a risk of damage to the fence and taken appropriate measures i.e. greater care, some form of protection for the fence, photographs of the condition of the fence before the work commenced, etc. He should also have addressed the repairs in a timely fashion at the end of the work.

On the other hand, our neighbour should have given the builder the opportunity to repair the damage at his cost and, at the very least, informed him that she was instructing another builder to carry out the work. She could also have taken photographs of the damage to the fence before it was replaced.

One of the main reasons they have failed to agree on a figure is that neither party is sure of what damage was caused! So, our neighbour's claim is based on what her builder told her was damaged and our builder's offer is based on what he thinks he damaged.

It's a complete mess. How can we resolve it?

Gra76

To be fair to you, you've pretty much hit the nail on the head already. Both parties have made a bit of a mess of it to an extent. Your builder should have sorted it out sooner and your neighbour appears to be asking for more than the job is worth.

This isn't anything to do with you, and by involving yourself, maybe this is why your neighbour is trying to tag you with the £800 shortfall in what they want.

If the builder involved has costed up what the damage would cost for them to repair it and it falls short of the figure being requested by your neighbour then I can see why it would be a problem. £800 builds quite a lot of fencing!

Your neighbour would be best advised to contact the builder direct and ask them to repair the damage, giving them a reasonable timeframe to complete it in.

Debt_Free_Chick

DMWK wrote: »

she went ahead and arranged for her own builder to replace the entire fence?

Did the neighbour do more than simply repair the damage?

bosseyed

Sounds like your neighbour may have done more than simply replace the damaged section - she has apparently replaced the entire fence, and I'm assuming your builder did not damage the entire fence? In which case, your builders offer to cover the cost of the repair would, on the face of it, appear to be reasonable, and your neighbour is being entirely unreasonable.

And I would make it very VERY clear to your neighbour in unequivocal terms that you will certainly not be making up any apparent £800 shortfall yourselves - the issue (if it is indeed legitimate) is between her and the builder and you should ensure you stay well out of it. If neither your neighbour or your builder has any record of the extent of the damage to the fence prior to it being replaced then there is presumably no evidence to back up her decision and expense in replacing the fence in its entirety?

If that sours the previously amicable relationship then so be it.

ic

Sounds like betterment would apply here. I presume a single post or panel was damaged, but your neighbour has installed a full new fence - many posts and panels (as well as the cost of disposal of the old fence)? That's hardly fair - sounds to like she's trying to take advantage of the situation.

DMWK

Thank you all for the prompt response. Apologies if I did not make it clear, but the neighbour has already replaced and upgraded the entire fence. Most of it was old anyway so she reckoned it made sense to do it all at the same time rather than just stick in a few new panels and posts. She is happy to pay most of the cost herself but is trying to claim part of it (c£1500) from our builders for the damage they caused to the fence. The builder has admitted damaging four posts and four panels and has offered her about £500 in compensation plus £250 for the stress, trouble, etc. The problem is that neither the builder nor the neighbour knows exactly what damage was caused. For what it's worth, I can't be sure either but the builders' offer seems about right to me.

NeverInDebt

It sounds like the offer builder gave is more than reasonable given what he damaged and also the fact you said it was old and that it made sense to replace the whole lot. By taken the fence down and replacing may weaken her argument she should have got some quotes for damage and then sent the builder them with a letter followed by a threat if they wasn't reasonable. I think builder sounds reasonable hear based on what you said

Let them sort it out between them its not down to you.

She might be lucky to even get £750 now some people might tell her to take a running jump

DMWK

NeverInDebt wrote: »

It sounds like the offer builder gave is more than reasonable given what he damaged and also the fact you said it was old and that it made sense to replace the whole lot. By taken the fence down and replacing may weaken her argument she should have got some quotes for damage and then sent the builder them with a letter followed by a threat if they wasn't reasonable. I think builder sounds reasonable hear based on what you said

Let them sort it out between them its not down to you.

She might be lucky to even get £800 now some people might tell her to take a running jump

Thanks. We've used these builders a number of times and never had any problems. I think they're being reasonable but it's reassuring to hear you're of the same opinion. My only criticism of the builders are that they should have anticipated that the fence could/would have been damaged and they should have acted sooner to make good.

Jaynne

It sounds like your neighbour needs to back up their costs. £750 sounds reasonable for a panel and four posts especially since the builder would have expected to do their labour themselves.

What's the total cost for this fence if the neighbour wants £1500? It sounds like the builder has either damaged most of it or it was a very expensive fence.

DMWK

Jaynne wrote: »

It sounds like your neighbour needs to back up their costs. £750 sounds reasonable for a panel and four posts especially since the builder would have expected to do their labour themselves.

What's the total cost for this fence if the neighbour wants £1500? It sounds like the builder has either damaged most of it or it was a very expensive fence.

I think the total cost of replacement and upgrade (gravel boards and better quality panels) was in the region of £3500 for about 30 panels, a few posts and some trellis. I think that was very expensive for the work.

keystone

Its not your problem. Its between the builder and the neighbour. Neighbour is being completely stupid to expect the builder to contribute to half the cost of the replacement of the entire fence rather than just coughing up for 100% of the replacement of the bit he damaged.

Neighbour is even thicker if they expect you to make you the shortfall on what the builder has offered against their request and not being very neighbourly either so you owe them nothing in the "good neighbour" stakes.

Walk away from it and let them sort it our between themselves.

Cheers