paid my builder with credit card

bigadaj

I agree that section 75 doesn't look likes it would apply, however if this is a fairly simple issue such as not completing an element of work then a chargeback might work.

It is a bit ironic that you complain about paying for an independent surveyor when you've punted £150k at a builder with no independent support, that amount of money would justify the use of an engineer, architect and/ or surveyor to protect the large sum you've invested, ensure it is designed and built appropriately and a formal contract set up to include elements such as staged payments, certification, checking etc etc

If you posted more details of the dispute then a better opinion could be informed but you're looking at court now, if you have a case.

michelle2008

From reading your other posts you are in a contract dispute over a request from your builder for an extra £20k to complete the build.

You need legal advice - the solicitor who drew up the contract would be best placed to provide this advice.

For a £150k - maybe £170k - project it's worth a few hundred quid

You mentioned a refund - I don't think this is realistic given the circumstances

This might be helpful - from which

Don't pay all the money up front. Agree in writing on a payment schedule.
Pay for at least some of the cost with a credit card. Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, a credit company can be equally liable with the builder or decorator for any breaches of contract.

Paying by credit card means you're also covered for misrepresentation.
So you'd be covered if the builder or decorator or one of their staff makes promises about a product or service that turns out to be untrue, for example.

Section 75 protection is particularly useful if the builder or decorator goes out of business before finishing the job, because you'll be able to claim the cost of finishing the work from the card or credit company.

The contract must be for more than £100 and not more than £30,000 in order to get this protection.

Agree with the builder that if extra work is necessary, they'll let you know about it and agree a price with you before starting.

For larger projects, consider using a professionally drawn-up contract. There are a number of standard form contracts that you can buy.

eskbanker

pixiepie99 wrote: »

I'd strongly suggest you sort things out with your builder

bigadaj wrote: »

If you posted more details of the dispute then a better opinion could be informed but you're looking at court now, if you have a case.

michelle2008 wrote: »

From reading your other posts you are in a contract dispute over a request from your builder for an extra £20k to complete the build.

According to OP's post on another thread last week, it's gone somewhat beyond a negotiable dispute, although it wouldn't have done any harm to actually mention this in this thread!

He did not complete the work as he went out of business

bigadaj

michelle2008 wrote: »

From reading your other posts you are in a contract dispute over a request from your builder for an extra £20k to complete the build.

You need legal advice - the solicitor who drew up the contract would be best placed to provide this advice.

For a £150k - maybe £170k - project it's worth a few hundred quid

You mentioned a refund - I don't think this is realistic given the circumstances

This might be helpful - from which

Don't pay all the money up front. Agree in writing on a payment schedule.
Pay for at least some of the cost with a credit card. Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, a credit company can be equally liable with the builder or decorator for any breaches of contract.

Paying by credit card means you're also covered for misrepresentation.
So you'd be covered if the builder or decorator or one of their staff makes promises about a product or service that turns out to be untrue, for example.

Section 75 protection is particularly useful if the builder or decorator goes out of business before finishing the job, because you'll be able to claim the cost of finishing the work from the card or credit company.

The contract must be for more than £100 and not more than £30,000 in order to get this protection.

Agree with the builder that if extra work is necessary, they'll let you know about it and agree a price with you before starting.

For larger projects, consider using a professionally drawn-up contract. There are a number of standard form contracts that you can buy.

I'd agree with much of what you say but there's no point the average consumer drawing up a detailed construction contract. Whether it's jct, nec full or short form or ice minor works then it needs to be done by someone who knows what they are doing. The problem is that you Couldn't rely on a local solicitor to do this.

It seems odd to me that this value of work is done on a seemingly ad hoc basis with a rough estimate and little or no defined scope, I'm surprised there aren't many more disputes than those that do arise.

I've managed dozens of larger scale construction contracts and these too should really be common sense but the average persons lack of understanding of risk and failure to apportion or allow for it are frequently at the heart of the matter, notwithstanding the number of dodgy builders that are out there.

Maybe I shouldn't be surprised as I'm currently working on a contract in the high tens to low hundreds of millions for a company that has no appreciation of risk, or indeed budgets, finance cost projections or planning, but that's enough of a rant from me.

diamonds

Each card issuer would be liable upto 30K for work, a S75 claim exists with each.

1 claim with one issuer does not invalidate the other. They all part paid the bill, they all have shared collective liability upto a 30K liability each.


Obviously this complicates matters as all 5 are jointly liable and a lawyer will need to do the groundwork to coordinate between 5 companies what part of what payment was for what work and what is uncompleted or needing redone...given that your lawyer fees should be covered under additional costs of the S75 claims as the complexity of the details on which all will pay out with have to be documented by building professionals and legal submissions.



It is a very complex case and you need to see a lawyer not a internet forum.

glentoran99

diamonds wrote: »

Each card issuer would be liable upto 30K for work, a S75 claim exists with each.

1 claim with one issuer does not invalidate the other. They all part paid the bill, they all have shared collective liability upto a 30K liability each.


Obviously this complicates matters as all 5 are jointly liable and a lawyer will need to do the groundwork to coordinate between 5 companies what part of what payment was for what work and what is uncompleted or needing redone...given that your lawyer fees should be covered under additional costs of the S75 claims as the complexity of the details on which all will pay out with have to be documented by building professionals and legal submissions.



It is a very complex case and you need to see a lawyer not a internet forum.

even if they were liable the total liability for a s75 claim is 30k not each, using this logic you could pay £100 each on 10 cards for something costing 3 grand and if something goes wrong claim 3 grand each,


Not gonna happen, its the one bill, and its outside of s75, what your buying has to be under 30k they don't cover up to 30k of whatever you buy

glentoran99

http://www.totallymoney.com/guides/section-75-consumer-credit-act/

SnowTiger

diamonds wrote: »

Each card issuer would be liable upto 30K for work, a S75 claim exists with each.

1 claim with one issuer does not invalidate the other. They all part paid the bill, they all have shared collective liability upto a 30K liability each.

That may work if the OP could prove the building work was done and paid for in five discrete stages, costing up to £30,000 each.

How likely is that?

foxtrotoscar_2

SnowTiger wrote: »

That may work if the OP could prove the building work was done and paid for in five discrete stages, costing up to £30,000 each.

How likely is that?

Not a chance! It was a £150k job that the quote was for...not five £30k jobs.

michelle2008

I am starting to wonder if this problem is real.

The poster posted about getting a refund of a five year old ikea matress because he had a sore back.