Architect/Builder dispute - anyone help?

TED209

Hi.

We have an architect who is administrating the contract sum between our builders and us. The work has finished and it's time to work out the bill.

We hired an architect not only to do the plans but to project manage and thought he would help stop the builders trying things on.

However we now realise that the Architect probably works with the builders a lot and has a relationship to maintain with them.

He says he's being neutral, but he really isn't. We're being asked to pay for some ridiculous things, and the draft accounts seem very much tipped in the builders favour.

Has anyone been in a similar situation where more and more money was authorised by the architect after the project was finished, and how did it end?

Has anyone been to small claims court for this sort of thing?

gettingtheresometime

What was the architect's brief - were they given your budget & what was the agreement about what would happen if expenditure was likely to go over that budget ...did the architects have free reign or did they need your approval?

What do you consider to be ridiculous?

[Deleted User]

TED209 wrote: »

We're being asked to pay for some ridiculous things

What exactly?

TED209 wrote: »

Has anyone been to small claims court for this sort of thing?

On what grounds do you think you would be able to take these people to court?

TED209

First of all, thanks for the replies.

We were given a fixed price by our builders to complete the work in the specification, but were advised that unexpected things can occur, and we are fine with that.

Where we had been advised of extra cost for an item that was unexpected during the build we have agreed a price and moved forward. So, any extra items like that are fine.

In terms of what is ridiculous, there are several examples.

*Our shower head had poor pressure. The plumber swapped it out for one he had on his van to demonstrate it was the head, not the pipework. The plumber said he would just leave it for a bit for us. We are now being charged £20 for the pleasure. Importantly, the architect is agreeing to these charges.

*We were supposed to be living in the property during the build. We found it very difficult and moved out for 8 weeks or so. The build came in 10 weeks late, which comes with 10 weeks late fees according to the contract. Apparently 8 weeks of the delay is our fault due to being a bit tardy about choosing some tiles and moving out had no impact on anything - whereas I would say that any minor delays caused by us are more than balanced by us moving out of the property.

*The contractor installed our floor incorrectly for reasons that are too long for this post. I offered to contractor the chance to resolve it or remove it from the contract, and he chose to remove it. Now apparently I have now caused this delay by choosing the installer who was the first available to do the work, but because he is a registered installer (the builder wasn't) the Architect deems this a contract variation and therefore any delay caused is my fault. The Architect claims that I would not have allowed the builder to resolve the issue - even though I explicitly offered that option and have it written down and agreed that I said that by Architect. So written evidence counts for naught in his eyes.

*The preliminaries on the build ran out because they were running late. That meant the gaffer on the job was removed leaving no-one in charge on site. Now I am being charged for more preliminaries to pay for the overrun, even though there was no gaffer and the overrun was not our fault.

So, the problem I have here is that the Architect, who administrates the contract, is not doing so fairly, and seems to be approving more and more charges from the builder and I have no way of defending from these as the contract says I have to pay what the Architect says.

And I thought the Architect was employed by me to prevent this sort of nonsense. More fool me!

So in short, I'd take the architect to court for unfair administration. I think it's clearly demonstrable.

DoaM

What professional body is the architect a member of? Have you tried their complaints/arbitration process?

TED209

That's the next step. I've spoken to them.

I guess from my position it's difficult to know if

a)they're trying it on and it'd have no chance in the eyes of they law
b)this is the kind of stuff they will always get away with because of some pseudo-contract legal stuff to stand behind

If I was a lawyer, I'd probably have a good idea which it was!

eddddy

TED209 wrote: »

Has anyone been to small claims court for this sort of thing?

The court would have to decide between the evidence of a professional chartered architect, and the evidence of a 'householder' with no relevant experience.

TBH, I think they would tend to trust the architect.

Although, you could commission a report from another architect (i.e. an Expert Witness) to support your case. But you would have to cover the costs of the Expert Witness, and you can't usually claim them back, even if you win.

An alternative approach is to use RIBA's dispute resolution process: https://www.architecture.com/RIBA/Professionalsupport/Professionalstandards/DisputeResolution.aspx

(I assume your Architect is a RIBA member.)

steampowered

Have you tried clearly instructing the architect in writing not to approve certain things without your consent?

*We were supposed to be living in the property during the build. We found it very difficult and moved out for 8 weeks or so. The build came in 10 weeks late, which comes with 10 weeks late fees according to the contract. Apparently 8 weeks of the delay is our fault due to being a bit tardy about choosing some tiles and moving out had no impact on anything - whereas I would say that any minor delays caused by us are more than balanced by us moving out of the property.

It sounds to me like this (and a few of the other issues you describe) would be governed by the terms of your contract with the builder, rather than approvals given by the architect.

Have you read your contract with the builder to see what it says about delays? Does it empower the architect to agree this sort of thing?

bris

Pay under protest and take the extra sums involved to the small claims court for them to decide.


Please don't use a £20 shower head as an example as that's just petty.

hollydays

How many weeks is " a bit tardy choosing the tiles"?

TED209

Ha, it is petty, we gave it back - £20 for nothing but a loan we didn't ask for!