Shed co. want to come round and remove problem shed - help!

hazel_davey

I'll keep a very long story short; we're in a civil dispute with a shed company over a poorly built shed (Large, expensive). We've paid over £1,000 deposit to the agents.

My OH, as per CAB advice, gave them one week to rectify the issues which they failed to do. So as per civil law and the letter he sent them he sorted out some of the issues as best he could (some of them are so bad short of dismantling the whole thing they're never going to get sorted) and deducted the cost of doing so from their bill. Bearing in mind this is now 6+ months since the order went in, we cracked on and installed electrics, flooring, guttering etc.

The shed company told us last Friday that they are not happy with the amended bill and have stated they will be attending this Friday to remove the shed. Which we would have been only too happy with 6 weeks ago, but now we've done all that work.. :-(

Are they legally within their rights to do so? We thought they'd be trespassing at least...

unholyangel

Are they going to be refunding all monies paid when they collect the shed?

What was the agreed price, what amount is still outstanding, in what way did the shed not conform to contract and what actual losses did you incur due to their breach?

pinkshoes

So yOu paid a £1000 deposit, they put the shed up, but as they did it so badly, you withheld the remaining balance.

You then gave them 1 week to rectify the problems. was this a letter? How did you send it? Do you have proof of postage or proof of delivery? One week isn't very long...

When they didn't reply, you then got someone else in to finish the work, and deducted teh amount it cost you from the balance, then paid the balance. Did you get three quotes to get the work finished? How much was deducted?

Once the shed was installed correctly, you then installed electrics, flooring etc... As per what you intended to do with the shed.

I would immediately write and state that you do NOT give then permission to come onto your property to collect the shed, as this would equate to tresspass and theft. Point out that you gave them sufficient opportunity to rectify their poor workmanship, and as they failed to do this, you had to pay someone else to complete the work.

They will no doubt have to take you to court for the remaining funds, so hopefully you have some evidence of giving them sufficient notice and mitigating your losses.

hazel_davey

We gave them 4 months and 5 visits to rectify the problems before sending them an e-mail (which we have copies of and forwarded to the agent).
We did the remedial works ourselves and billed them for material costs only, not the time and fuel costs incurred in collecting materials.
We've told them they do not have permission to attend the property but sadly they are refusing to budge on the issue. Their letter stated they 'would not be held responsible for any damage caused whilst removing the shed' which quite frankly, given the situation, comes across as threatening.
Issues - timber used was wet so now it's drying out it's shrinking, pulling the tongue out of the groove on the cladding. The roof is bowing where they failed to install a central truss, one of the window panes is cracked, the door is so poorly fitted that when locked, you can pull it open as there's too large a gap between door and lock.. there's a loooong list...!
We've bought new glazing, wood to replace some of theirs that was poorly fitted (not cut o size so gaps let water in), looks like we'll have to entirely re-clad one wall, had to get a new set of keys cut as they ones they supplied were too short.
The agent is useless, they're claiming that despite the deposit paid the shed belongs to the manufacturer who is claiming we're 'perfectionists' and 'impossible to please'. The damned thing isn't even waterproof let alone lockable!

pinkshoes

hazel_davey wrote: »

We gave them 4 months and 5 visits to rectify the problems before sending them an e-mail (which we have copies of and forwarded to the agent).
We did the remedial works ourselves and billed them for material costs only, not the time and fuel costs incurred in collecting materials.
We've told them they do not have permission to attend the property but sadly they are refusing to budge on the issue. Their letter stated they 'would not be held responsible for any damage caused whilst removing the shed' which quite frankly, given the situation, comes across as threatening.
Issues - timber used was wet so now it's drying out it's shrinking, pulling the tongue out of the groove on the cladding. The roof is bowing where they failed to install a central truss, one of the window panes is cracked, the door is so poorly fitted that when locked, you can pull it open as there's too large a gap between door and lock.. there's a loooong list...!
We've bought new glazing, wood to replace some of theirs that was poorly fitted (not cut o size so gaps let water in), looks like we'll have to entirely re-clad one wall, had to get a new set of keys cut as they ones they supplied were too short.
The agent is useless, they're claiming that despite the deposit paid the shed belongs to the manufacturer who is claiming we're 'perfectionists' and 'impossible to please'. The damned thing isn't even waterproof let alone lockable!

Ok, so you have given them more than enough opportunity to rectify the problems, and have mitigated your losses by only charging them for materials and not your time. That's good!

Ignore their threatening behaviour.

I would email again (and send a copy 1st class in the post getting proof of postage) saying the following:

Dear <company name>

On <date> you installed a shed in our garden, and paid a deposit of £1000. We found the following problems with it:

- list all the problems
- in bullet point form...

We contacted you on multiple occasions (list all the times and dates) asking you to rectify the problems, but you refused to do so.

To mitigate our losses, we carried out the required repairs ourselves, and have only deducted material costs (£X amount) from the outstanding balance so that we could put our shed into its intended use.

You do not have permission to remove the shed form our property, as this would be theft and trespass.

If you do remove it, we shall take the matter to court, seeking a refund of all monies paid (£X), our labour costs charged at £x/ hour to fix the problems, and £X which we have spent on fitting the shed out with <stuff>.

Unless we hear from you within 14 days, we shall consider the matte closed.

Kind regards, <you>




If they threaten to take you to court, then let them. i assume you have photographic evidence of the shoddy work? I very much doubt a judge would find in their favour!

hazel_davey

Problem is we really do not want the shed removed as it's now completely wired, floored and has all our junk it... OH is doing his nut with the stress. He'd *love* to take them to court but he's really worried they're going to turn up threatening - he's been on the end of similar behaviour before...
Trespass = a civil offence now :-( so not much help from the police (who have been notified).
I've forwarded him a copy of your suggested letter, thank you (we've already sent something very similar except for the last paragraph r.e. court), will see what he thinks.


Thank you for all your help!

hazel_davey

Good news - after we sent the agent photos taken yesterday am of all the existing issues with the shed, the company have accepted our reduced payment.
Phew. But will never touch that lot again with a barge pole...!
Thank you for all your assistance!!

hazel_davey

Ok, spoke too soon... despite the agent telling us the shed co. had accepted the offer, the shed co. are denying that and are sticking to their original price... some of the things they are saying, I'm starting to think there are mental health issues going on here...!

bod1467

Dear Shed Company,
The offer proposed is in full and final settlement, and is a very fair offer. No further negotiations will be entertained. No further correspondence will be entertained other than:

1. confirmation of acceptance of this offer, OR
2. a formal Letter Before Action compliant with the Practice Directions of the Civil Procedure Rules, OR
3. a formal county court claim

Any correspondence which is not of any of the above categories will be deemed harassment, and may be pursued accordingly in the county court.
Yours,

[squiggle if sent by post]

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