Dispute with Builder

Claywood

Hi All

I have a dispute with a loft conversion company - and will try to keep it brief despite all the distress.

Having estimated the work will take 8-12 weeks, it is now 6 months in. The final bit of work they did was after 5 months.

During the job, we suffered 4 leaks due to faulty pipework, poorly fitted velux etc, and this morning a leak that occurred, was fixed, occured again, and was fixed, has now leaked again. Only this time, with the carpets down and rooms decorated - repair is going to be more costly.

At the third time of asking, I have lost confidence in their ability to do a good job. When they did the snagging they did a poor job in their haste to move on to another job.

Q1 Should I still be expected to ask them to repair the damage - or can I legally get another contractor in to repair, and then get the previous company to pay. (They have had two attempts to fix, with two separate plumbers)

Q2 Given the whole over-run, caused mainly by no builders on-site and then a 5 week delay in arranging building control report, should I try to get compensation for the job taking so long.

Finally the builder is demanding the final payment approx £2k before he will release the final Paperwork (electrical installation cert and certificate of completion) and remove the scaffolding from the front of the house.

I however am caught - if I make this payment before the repairs are remedied, my only recourse after that is going to court = expensive and inconvenient.

Is there anything I can do (legally) to force the removal of scaffolding from my property, or obtain the paperwork that I believe I have already paid for?

Sorry for the long email - but frustration is taking its toll!

southcoastrgi

what does the contract say with regard to the final payment & do you have a breakdown of what the stage payments covered ?, i would just phone up the scaffold co & just say " hi this is "your address" the job is finished can you remove the scaffold now please" no more no less, the builder will be paying for a set time & if they know the job is finished he will start getting charged which he won't want, however are you 100% sure that the scaffolding isn't req to fix any of the issues you have ? because if it is that could be a get out clause for him

Claywood

The final payment is subject to 'completion' but it does not make clear whether this is completion of the work, or completion of the contract (the latter for me would include provision of all the paperwork, removal of scaffolding etc). But the contractor is explicitly indicating he will only remove it after the final payment.

Unfortunately I do not know the name of the scaffolding company (lesson learned!) and I cannot see any company name or tag on the scaffolding. Scaffolding is definitely not required for the repairs they need to do as a result of the latest pipe leak. So it is just a pain, distressing to my downstairs neighbours who have had to live with it for 6 months instead of 3 months, and of course the builders bartering tool to push me to pay up.

keystone

If the snagging was unsatisfactorily completed then the job is not complete by any yardstick.

What does the contract actually say about retentions if anything?

What does the contract actually say about arbitration in the event of dispute?

Cheers

Leif

If the work is not finished, and you can reasonably show that they are not competent to make good, then you can get someone else to rectify/finish the work, and deduct from the amount due to the builder the amount paid for the rectification work. If the builder has not provided you with certificates for electrics etc, then that work is not complete, whatever he says. It can be hard/impossible to get another electrician to certify someone else's work. So if he will not provided certificates, you may have to pay a lot to have the electrics etc checked/redone.

Be careful as you cannot just employ someone else on a whim, so you need records of what has gone on and the original contract. I would send the builder a letter by recorded delivery explaining that the work is not complete, and you have been forced to get someone else in. Include a quote for the cost to rectify the work, including certification, and pay him the difference, minus a sum to take into account uncertainty. If he subsequently supplies certificates, pay him the amount you withheld due to lack of certificates.

That said, contact Trading Standards, Consumer Direct, or whatever the current name is, and get advice first. You have to be careful to act correctly, but not let yourself be intimidated by the builder.

rxbren

what is the leak and is the leak a direct result from their work?
you shouldnt pay until the job is complete so any faults of there doing is not complete
sometimes leaks can occur from things not from the work they have carried out
was on one site where plumbers fitted a new toilet and discovered a leak which they fixed the only problem was the origional pipework was lead and devolped a leak elsewhere which was then pinned on them as their fault