Builder paid £16k then leaves house half done

djc2015

Hi,

I have been a victim of a cowboy builder.
He claims he can do this and do that. I have paid him £16k from a £17.5k job stupidly enough... And he is nowhere near finished.
He originally said it would take 7 weeks but added am extra 8 weeks ontop for an extension and other works.
Overall he has been 17weeks over the time he said and possibly taken off around 3 weeks with excuses his van is not working and he is not well etc.. Me being gullable just dealt with it.

I gave him a deadline amd asked him if he could meet it and he said definitely.. So i left him to it etc and a week before the deadline there was still ALOT to do..
Full windows and doors
Damp proof course
Electrical
Stair banister
Kitchen
Bathroom
Plastering
Knock through
Finishing off extension
Lots more


He said he will not be done so i asked him to leave site as i had enough. I have got quotes from all different tradesmen and is coming to about £8000.
I feel physically sick have contacted him numerous time giving him a chance to put it right rang him lots and to no avail he has ignored me.

Can i do anything to try and take him to small claims?
Do i have a leg to stand on?

I have got about 4 revised timetable from him regarding the works i have paid him for which he hasnt done.

Cheers

Sicard

You can certainly take him to the small claims court, but if he hasn't got any money....

You could name and shame him on social media.

You could name and shame him on a trade body if he's registered.

If it's the first route put it in writing to him that you will take him to SCC if he doesn't complete the agreed unfinished work by x date and send it registered post to make your case more winnable.

thearchitect

Duplicate post.

thearchitect

Some questions, before I give you a more detailed answer.

1. Who prepared the necessary drawings? Did you have this done yourself, or was it the builder?

2. Likewise who applied for statutory consents - planning, warrant, and so on? Some of these may not be required depending upon the size of the extension and where you are in the UK.

3. What was the basis of his quote? Was he provided with said plans and povided a lump sum price, or was this a design & build/turnkey contract?

4. You presumably haven't had an architect or building surveyor monitoring the works on site?

Fergie76

Laurie_Sicard-Askey wrote: »

You can certainly take him to the small claims court, but if he hasn't got any money....

You could name and shame him on social media.

You could name and shame him on a trade body if he's registered.

If it's the first route put it in writing to him that you will take him to SCC if he doesn't complete the agreed unfinished work by x date and send it registered post to make your case more winnable.

The general advice tends to be that if you're sending an Letter Before Action (LBA), then don't send it by registered post, as the recipient could refuse to accept it and then they can prove in court that they never received the LBA, where as if you send it by normal post, with proof of posting (no extra cost) then it is deemed under postal regulations to have been received by the recipient two days later, unless they can prove otherwise (and it's very hard to prove a negative).

Under the Small Claims Court regulations you must serve a LBA before you issue your claim.

phill99

Why on earth have you given him £16k already? Sorry but that is simply ridiculous.

thearchitect

phill99 wrote: »

Why on earth have you given him £16k already? Sorry but that is simply ridiculous.

I'm afraid he's not the first, nor will he be the last. I've seen it before, usually with tradesmen who operate below the radar of architects and surveyors (I suspect there is a good reason why they do so).

bod1467

Fergie76 wrote: »

Under the Small Claims Court regulations you must it is recommended (though not mandatory) to serve a LBA before you issue your claim.

Fixed that for you ... as far as I'm aware there is no must, merely a recommendation. If an LBA hasn't been sent then a judge may look less favourably on a claim, but not having sent one does not automatically void a claim.

Fergie76

Ah ok. Thanks for clarifying.

Edit - This CAB link says a LBA must be sent - https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/going-to-court/going-to-court/taking-court-action/step-one-write-a-letter-before-action/

If going to court is your only option,you must send the trader a formal letter before action (or letter before claim) to give them one last chance to settle the matter. You'll need to send a letter before action even if you have already written to the trader about the problem.

phill99

thearchitect wrote: »

I'm afraid he's not the first, nor will he be the last. I've seen it before, usually with tradesmen who operate below the radar of architects and surveyors (I suspect there is a good reason why they do so).

Sorry but I think you are showing a level of niavity. I run a property maintenance company, have 18 sub contractors working for me and not once have dealt with the end user via an architect or surveyor. The vast majority if homeowners and vast majority of tradesmen don't go via an intermediary.

This is just stupidity on the part of a homeowner. There is enough information via sites like these and enough warnings via consumer groups etc about paying builders so much money before work is complete.

(Text removed by MSE Forum Team)

thearchitect

phill99 wrote: »

Sorry but I think you are showing a level of niavity. I run a property maintenance company, have 18 sub contractors working for me and not once have dealt with the end user via an architect or surveyor. The vast majority if homeowners and vast majority of tradesmen don't go via an intermediary.

That is because you run a property maintenance company, which is a specialist type of building contractor. You will presumably not be carrying out design work which is likely to require planning permission, listed building consent, or building warrant/regulations approval beyond the most very basic items. You will not be tendering for substantial construction work as a matter of course, whether new build or alteration. You therefore fall outwith the norms of the sector as a whole.

You are comparing apples and giraffes.