Deposit paid but no windows

JaneStanley

I paid 25% deposit for French doors to be installed on place of our lounge window on 2nd floor flat (with juliette balcony that I ordered myself). The company asked for another 25% as his supplier also did, which we paid back at end of September. We've had numerous dates given and various excuses (weather, illness, over-running work) although the scAffolding was put up on 3rd November. He has now just cancelled again due to over running work. He is a nightmare to get hold of and can be quite rude. I am at my wits end: we've lost money through taking time off and then he doesn't turn up. I've had to cancel hospital appointments and again he hasn't turned up (usually little or no notice). I am suffering from atherosclerosis, Graves' disease and thyroid eye disease hence the many hospital visits. What I want to know is how to get my money back since he clearly isn't going to fit the Windows: he says he is out of pocket from ordering Windows and scaffolding already. What can I do?

pendragon_arther

Another sad story about some scumbag workman taking someone's money and not fulfilling their promises. I'd suggest small claims court but if rsole hasn't got any money... If he belongs to some trade organisation you could name and shame. Others may give sounder advice. Good luck.

Furts

pendragon_arther wrote: »

Another sad story about some scumbag workman taking someone's money and not fulfilling their promises. I'd suggest small claims court but if rsole hasn't got any money... If he belongs to some trade organisation you could name and shame. Others may give sounder advice. Good luck.

The Jury is out here, at the moment the scaffolding is incurring cost to the installer. It is also showing intent to do the work. I do not think OP can cancel - we are still in the month of November and does it really cause a problem if the scaffold has been in place for three weeks?

If cancellation is being considered by OP then the terms and conditions need to be scrutinised. I suspect the installer could then come back and issue proceedings against OP for a breach of contract.

Hopefully the deposit is paid on Credit Card so there is protection. Hopefully there is a clear audit trail with full details of the quote, the terms and conditions, the specification, the guarantees, the dates, confirmation of order and so on. If not then OP is on a dodgy route when considering cancellation.

The installer may be a rogue, but they might also have problems from cash flow to dodgy suppliers, too much work, unreliable staff.. the list goes on. These issues do not make them a "scumbag"!

pendragon_arther

Furts wrote: »

The Jury is out here, at the moment the scaffolding is incurring cost to the installer. It is also showing intent to do the work. I do not think OP can cancel - we are still in the month of November and does it really cause a problem if the scaffold has been in place for three weeks?

If cancellation is being considered by OP then the terms and conditions need to be scrutinised. I suspect the installer could then come back and issue proceedings against OP for a breach of contract.

Hopefully the deposit is paid on Credit Card so there is protection. Hopefully there is a clear audit trail with full details of the quote, the terms and conditions, the specification, the guarantees, the dates, confirmation of order and so on. If not then OP is on a dodgy route when considering cancellation.

The installer may be a rogue, but they might also have problems from cash flow to dodgy suppliers, too much work, unreliable staff.. the list goes on. These issues do not make them a "scumbag"!

Are you a workman or a consumer rights advocate?

A workman who commits to being employed to do a job of work after being paid 50% deposit should not have taken on the job in the first place if they couldn't fulfill the contract. It's what is called not being honest. In fact it's being a liar; that is a person who can't be trusted. The various promises of work being started on various dates have not been forthcoming and various excuses have been given. That's not being honest, in fact it's giving out lies, in other words the workman hasn't been honest. Are you with me so far? For a person to persistently give out lies after taking money and not fulfilling their part of the contract is someone who is not to be trusted, don't you agree? There are all too many of these cases of the same scenario that you will find by either doing a Google search or forum search, don't you also agree? If you understand where I am coming from you may reconsider your disagreement of my usage of the word scumbag because that is what a thieving liar actually is.

Chunks

My son has just had all the windows in his house redone. Order went in in May - work was completed at the start of this month - originally scheduled to be completed in the summer (obvious reasons).

Driver to the problem: 'Production difficulties in Poland'

In summary, delays happen and the driver can be a rogue trader/production issues/bad weather/cash flow difficulties you name it. As it turned out, in my son's case (one example I accept) there where no scumbags involved, although he too was concerned (as was I) when summer came and went.

There are a number of ways to protect your interests but its not helpful to talk about what you should have done (if you didn't do it).

The legal route is the last resort and you may still end up with 100% of nothing. I would be looking at the agreement (what exactly was agreed and when, t&cs etc). I would also be looking at the scaffold; a plus point indicating that there is/may be the intention to honour the contract? This isn't easy given your circumstances but if you can open a (calm) dialogue with the installer and see if you could work with him to find a solution, worth a go. Easier said than done, I know.

very best of luck,

C

Furts

Chunks wrote: »

My son has just had all the windows in his house redone. Order went in in May - work was completed at the start of this month - originally scheduled to be completed in the summer (obvious reasons).

Driver to the problem: 'Production difficulties in Poland'

In summary, delays happen and the driver can be a rogue trader/production issues/bad weather/cash flow difficulties you name it. As it turned out, in my son's case (one example I accept) there where no scumbags involved, although he too was concerned (as was I) when summer came and went.

There are a number of ways to protect your interests but its not helpful to talk about what you should have done (if you didn't do it).

The legal route is the last resort and you may still end up with 100% of nothing. I would be looking at the agreement (what exactly was agreed and when, t&cs etc). I would also be looking at the scaffold; a plus point indicating that there is/may be the intention to honour the contract? This isn't easy given your circumstances but if you can open a (calm) dialogue with the installer and see if you could work with him to find a solution, worth a go. Easier said than done, I know.

very best of luck,

C

+1 to you for this excellent post - my sentiments entirely. Equally -1 to pendragon_arther as I feel their post does not add to informed debate!

However in all fairness to pendragon_arther there is a wider issue for debate. The cliche is "the customer is always right". The reality is many customers fall at the first hurdle and are victims of their own misfortune. To maintain an aggressive stance as "a consumers rights advocate" is not a role I would wish to take on.

pendragon_arther

Chunks wrote: »

My son has just had all the windows in his house redone. Order went in in May - work was completed at the start of this month - originally scheduled to be completed in the summer (obvious reasons).

Driver to the problem: 'Production difficulties in Poland'

In summary, delays happen and the driver can be a rogue trader/production issues/bad weather/cash flow difficulties you name it. As it turned out, in my son's case (one example I accept) there where no scumbags involved, although he too was concerned (as was I) when summer came and went.

There are a number of ways to protect your interests but its not helpful to talk about what you should have done (if you didn't do it).

The legal route is the last resort and you may still end up with 100% of nothing. I would be looking at the agreement (what exactly was agreed and when, t&cs etc). I would also be looking at the scaffold; a plus point indicating that there is/may be the intention to honour the contract? This isn't easy given your circumstances but if you can open a (calm) dialogue with the installer and see if you could work with him to find a solution, worth a go. Easier said than done, I know.

very best of luck,

C

Okay, so in life there's problems for the poor [STRIKE]scumbag [/STRIKE]rogue trader. Ahhh, bless their cotton socks. But why not be honest with the poor punter who has handed over their hard-earned cash and tell them exactly what the problems are instead of palming them off with lame excuses and lies.

JaneStanley

So he's cancelled again twice more. Once due to bad weather (it wasn't windy and it was completely dry as forecast), and again due to over-running work taken on when he said bad weather.

My question is, how many more times can he cancel? Do I just have to keep accepting bad weather excuses (even when it's not)? It's obviously winter and so he could feasibly do this until Spring/Summer. He won't reply to most texts/phone calls/emails so it's difficult once he has cancelled to even get him to give us another date.

The scaffolding is preventing the lower flats (we are second floor) from using their own french doors (ground floor flat doors open outwards), and clearly they are getting cheesed off with it all.

Apart from trying the small claims court, are we completely at his mercy? Our existing window is rotten (our reason for wanting new window!) and we've been told that it's dangerous (dry rot completely through) and we are worried about getting through another winter.

What can I do?

skintandfat

He is taking the proverbial


You may have cancellation rights (as the work has not started) see link below
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/cancelling-building-or-decorating-work/


You need to write to him giving him a deadline which the work needs to be carried out by.

wealdroam

skintandfat wrote: »

He is taking the proverbial


You may have cancellation rights (as the work has not started) see link below
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/cancelling-building-or-decorating-work/


You need to write to him giving him a deadline which the work needs to be carried out by.

The work has started.

If the OP does decide to cancel, he may need to pay for services provided so far - e.g. provision of the scaffolding.