How to claim off joiners insurance

lifegoeson2013

Long story but this guy who's a builder and joiner, according to him, who I found on rated people fitted my new kitchen and did the plumbing.

The quality of fitting is so awful and he's ruined 3 of my cabinets and both my work tops so I'm going the route of small claims.
In the meantime, I put my first wash on at the weekend and the waste pipe has a leak and flooded my floor.
I've asked him 6 times for the name of his insurer as my insurance company told me I need to phone his insurer direct.

He won't give me it saying that he will assess the damage and if he believes it's less than excess then he'll fix it.
I don't want this cowboy back in my house. Meantime I have a kitchen I cannot use and a soaked through floor and no way of know how bad the damage is underneath the cabinets.

MAIN QUESTION IS
What I want is his insurance assessors to send their 'qualified' people to assess damage. How do I do this?
I don't want to go through my own insurance as that's not fair and will put my premiums up.
Help! What's the process and am I right in thinking I contact his insurer (my own insurance company told me this).

Doozergirl

I suspect that someone who is incapable of doing the job he says he does for a living is not going to have adequate insurance.

Do you have legal cover with your insurance? Perhaps they can pursue him for you.

stator

You take him to court. His insurers will take over the claim, if they exist.

Furts

You have to let him back to do the remedial works and try to extricate yourself from this situation.

To consider Court action at this stage is unwise. If you refuse the builder the opportunity to put the work right this will count against you in any proceedings.

Without a written contract and order you are up a creek without a paddle. Charm, encourage and do everything you can to get the builder to put the work right.

CKdesigner

Agreed with Furts.

How much have you paid the builder and what percentage of the total job cost does it represent?

Mistral001

The OP has to get it fixed by the builder and if the builder refuses to fix it then the OP has to take legal action. The builder will finance the repairs himself or if he has public liability insurance, he could make a claim with the insurance company he has public liability insurance with. This is not like a road traffic accident as there is no legal requirement for the builder to have public liability insurance to cover such accidents.

Ruski

Ahhh.. "Rated People" strikes again

But as above - give him the opportunity to fix it, then progress the matter.

Good luck

Russ

Furts

Mistral001 wrote: »

The OP has to get it fixed by the builder and if the builder refuses to fix it then the OP has to take legal action. The builder will finance the repairs himself or if he has public liability insurance, he could make a claim with the insurance company he has public liability insurance with. This is not like a road traffic accident as there is no legal requirement for the builder to have public liability insurance to cover such accidents.

But if the builder is an effective cowboy or conman there is no point in taking legal action. This will be a case of "been there, seen it before, and know how to evade it." Hence my post about allowing the builder to return.

The concept of OP trying to claim off the builders insurance is a total red herring. It suggests a lack of understanding of how insurance works.

srm1

Pointless trying to claim from the builders insurers as they will delay and avoid any claim.
Pointless taking court actions as the costs spiral upwards at a rate that is unimaginable. Please think very carefully about using this route.

MisterBaxter

Take plenty of pictures of the poor workmanship, let him back in to attempt a repair which will almost certainly fail because he is clearly incompetent. I couldn't see it in your post but please tell me you haven't paid him for his work.

You will probably need to contact your own insurers in relation to the consequential damage from the leak, if they feel that there is a case against the builder or his insurance (assuming he has some) then they will take it from there. Insurance won't cover the poor workmanship elements though only the damage. If you bought the units/fittings and the builder damaged them then insurance may cover the damaged materials.

Report the matter to trading standards, it may not help you but it could help to prevent someone else ending up in the same situation.

Your own insurers may give you access to some free legal advice where you can discuss your options about any potential legal claim. If the builder is as dodgy as he sounds getting any money may be difficult.

Don't forget to report back to Rated People as well, again to help others suffering.

baldelectrician

Rated People should have his insurance on record- some of these companies require traders to lodge copies of insurance documents before they are listed