Help, Cowboy builder!

qwerty75

Hi,
I have had a company in installing a new bathroom and we have had problem after problem throughout the period of time they have been in my house. They originally said the job would take 7 days max, we are now entering week 3. The problems have ranged from the incorrect bathroom being partly fitted then being taken out again when this was realised , a hole in the bath not being found until bath fitted (along with tiles etc which then had to come off), second bath delivered with hole in it, lost radiator valves etc,etc.
This whole sorry mess continued into the end of week 2 with a leak in the kitchen ceiling, he did come around and assured us it was fixed. We continued to empty bucket after bucket of water over the weekend, when we questioned this he said this was standing water from original leak. He ignored messages left questioning any problems which may incur with the electrics (water was dripping from the lightbulb).
Four days later (I rang him over this period left messages and texts with no answer/reply) I asked another builder to come out to check to leak, turns out toilet leak was not fixed resulting in my kitchen ceiling needing to be replaced and kitchen redecorated.
I paid this builder 30% of bill when he started the job, 30% on day four with a view to paying remainder on completion. My question is, am able to withhold the final payment and terminate the contract? He is threatening us with solicitors and court action.
Many thanks.

nickj_2

if he fixed the problems to your satisfaction and compensates you for costs inccured for the ceiling and kitchen , if not you would be within your rights to take him to small claims court , have a word with your nearest CAB for more info on how to proceed

qwerty75

Thanks for your reply, the way I see it is that he was given an opportunity to fix the problem, but failed to do so and ignored my calls and texts whilst the problem continued. I was left with no other option but to contact someone else. I am now left with fairly significant costs arising from his poor standards, but I'm unsure as to where i stand with this. I will contact CAB in the morning.
Thanks again.

Leif

Ring Citizens Advice, used to be Consumer Direct. You should in principle be able to claim back costs associated with having to have the bathroom redone properly, and costs due to damage to the kitchen. But, proving it is not easy,and you have to prove that you gave him a chance to put right, or that he was clearly not competent. Did you take photos? Do you have any kind of survey of the bodged work? It will be difficult if it is only his word against yours and you have no evidence. Do you copies of letters sent to him, and letters received? Or was this all done verbally?

If I understand this correctly, the cowboy bodged, and eventually you kicked him out. You then paid a second builder to redo the bathroom, and repair the kitchen. In this case I suspect you would need written statement from the second builder confirming that the damage to the kitchen was due to a leak from the upstairs toilet, due to poor workmanship by the first builder.

Incidentally, if the original work was not of a legally acceptable standard, then he is in breach of contract. But, the tricky point is proving that his work was unacceptable.

I wish you luck.

cyclonebri1

So in actual fact it's only been 4 days since the leak started to cause you issues?

I say that as he will argue, and probably win the case that that is not a reasonable period of time for him to rectify the situation.

Sorry, I know it's not right, but I'm just playing devils advocate here.;)

Leif

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

So in actual fact it's only been 4 days since the leak started to cause you issues?

I say that as he will argue, and probably win the case that that is not a reasonable period of time for him to rectify the situation.

Sorry, I know it's not right, but I'm just playing devils advocate here.;)

The OP could argue that the builder had messed up so many times that he/she came to the conclusion that they were not competent. I suspect that would hold water. But only if they have a clear trail of evidence. Otherwise the builder could simply deny that any faults occurred.

madjay

He would probably would win the case for the fact you did not give a reasonable period of time for him to rectify the situation. You would have had to give him written notice stating that if the work is not rectified in 2 weeks you will empoly a third party to do the works and deduct the value from his works to date. You have failed to notify him, Phone and text do not count, therefore you are in breach of contract and he wins. Sorry

qwerty75

After continued mess ups he eventually got around to plumbing the toilet ( thursday of week 2), the next day water had seeped through my kitchen ceiling. I gave him the opportunity to fix this, he came around and assured us that he had. As soon as he had left the situation grew much worse, I rang him and text him voicing my concerns, (water was dripping from light sockets and running down the walls into plug sockets). He did not contact me for two days, I was left with no option but to use another company. The kitchen ceiling caved in, the kitchen flooded and the bathroom was still not finished.
I took videos and photographs at every stage.
I have spoken with citizens advice this morning, many thanks for all reply's.

grizzly1911

Leif wrote: »

The OP could argue that the builder had messed up so many times that he/she came to the conclusion that they were not competent. I suspect that would hold water. But only if they have a clear trail of evidence. Otherwise the builder could simply deny that any faults occurred.

Was that intentional;)

Leif

grizzly1911 wrote: »

Was that intentional;)

No. Unintentional black humour.

Leif

qwerty75 wrote: »

I took videos and photographs at every stage.
I have spoken with citizens advice this morning, many thanks for all reply's.

Good. Best of luck. I would be interested to know how you get on. It sounds as if you could argue that the house had become dangerous and needed urgent attention.