Online claim for money owed - Small Claims Court - Cowboy Builder

thenap80

Long story shot - I had a cowboy builder refit my bathroom and after giving him £600 material money and 700 partial labour cost, I discovered his work was shoddy to say the least. Tiles all over the place, dirtly grouting, air vent placed wrong.

I sent him a letter and tried calling him saying he needs to have the work put right or refund me the money paid to him. No replies whatsoever.

I am filing a claim for money owed as he has not shown any level of skill which he told me he had - many refurbs he had done he told me.

I want to know what I can claim for? He is a listed business with Companies House. I am claiming against his co. but he is only person listed as the business. I bought the tiles myself and so I assume I can add the cost of these on as well as they will need to be ripped off and changed when done again from fresh as the room cannot stay as it is.

Any advice re Small Claims in these type of circumstaces is appreciated.

The fact that he has not responded at all when I owed him more labour money must go against him if this went to court as well I am sure.

If I claim a certain amount on paper when submitting, can it increase if ruled by a judge? Say perhaps compo for the tenant I have living at the property?

steampowered

I want to know what I can claim for? He is a listed business with Companies House. I am claiming against his co. but he is only person listed as the business.

The company probably has no assets. Unless you can identify something the company owns then a claim against the company is probably pointless.

A claim against the individual will probably have a much better result. Did the trader make it clear he was dealing as a company from the outset, or did you only find out about the company later?

I bought the tiles myself and so I assume I can add the cost of these on as well as they will need to be ripped off and changed when done again from fresh as the room cannot stay as it is.

You get damages to put you in the position you should be in if the contract were properly performed. If it costs you £x to put the work right to get the bathroom you should have got in the first place, then you can claim £x.

If I claim a certain amount on paper when submitting, can it increase if ruled by a judge?

This is incredibly unlikely. You have to claim everything that you want to the judge to award.

Airkraft

thenap80 wrote: »

Long story shot - I had a cowboy builder refit my bathroom and after giving him £600 material money and 700 partial labour cost, I discovered his work was shoddy to say the least. Tiles all over the place, dirtly grouting, air vent placed wrong.

I sent him a letter and tried calling him saying he needs to have the work put right or refund me the money paid to him. No replies whatsoever.

I am filing a claim for money owed as he has not shown any level of skill which he told me he had - many refurbs he had done he told me.

I want to know what I can claim for? He is a listed business with Companies House. I am claiming against his co. but he is only person listed as the business. I bought the tiles myself and so I assume I can add the cost of these on as well as they will need to be ripped off and changed when done again from fresh as the room cannot stay as it is.

Any advice re Small Claims in these type of circumstaces is appreciated.

The fact that he has not responded at all when I owed him more labour money must go against him if this went to court as well I am sure.

If I claim a certain amount on paper when submitting, can it increase if ruled by a judge? Say perhaps compo for the tenant I have living at the property?

You can claim for whatever you want

The judge will only award what he thinks is fair and reasonable in the circumstances. i.e. the cost of restoration, what the original contract specified and perhaps bearing in mind the original cost paid.

The judge will not normally consider claims for other matters that you do not include in the particular of claim, so include them if you want them to be considered.

The higher the claim, the higher the court fees you will pay.

Whilst such fees are normally reimbursed if you win the claim, (i.e. the defendant is ordered to pay them to you) if you only end up winning only part of your claim, the judge may consider only awarding you part of the court fees.

I would suggest, if you can prove the work is not to contract or generally not to an acceptable standard given the references you were provided and the amount you agreed to pay, then you would have a claim for the cost of bringing the work up to the expected standard.

I'm not sure how many tiles you are talking about, but do they really all need removing and refitting?

If so, why did you allow this to happen? Why did you allow them then to be grouted - especially if an air vent is in the incorrect postion according to your instructions/contract?

Can't some tiles be re-used? Some may break on removal, but many should not.
Does every oine have to be removed?

I would suggest you get 3 independent quotes to repair the work carried out, and use the lowest figure as a basis of claim.

To have any chance of success, you can only bring a claim against the legal entity that you contracted with to perform the work.

The fact you have not yet paid the original contractor all the money agreed will, I am sure, form part of the discussion should this go to a hearing. The judge will decide, based on the evidence heard, if this goes in favour of you or the defendant (or neither)

thenap80

I knew he was a company but was I dealing with him or the company - isn't he and it one of the same? He did invoice me with his co. details and the receipts had his co. name on. I guess it was his company therefore. He has a van and must make money doing (shoddy) work for others so am I safe to assume he has money? I was going to claim for the money that I paid him already plus the money that I paid out for tiles. Totals about £1500.

Would you suggest then that I pay out and have the work done by a reputable tradesman and only then apply through the courts for the extra money paid out to the new tradesman? I am sure if I find a new tradesman I will be paying a bit more than I paid out for this cowboy as I am told his quoting was below average (which is partly why I accepted his quote alongside his good reviews)

Thanks

wealdroam

thenap80 wrote: »

He has a van and must make money doing (shoddy) work for others so am I safe to assume he has money?

No that is not a safe assumption.

For example, do you know whether he rents or owns that van?

Airkraft

thenap80 wrote: »

I knew he was a company but was I dealing with him or the company - isn't he and it one of the same? He did invoice me with his co. details and the receipts had his co. name on. I guess it was his company therefore. He has a van and must make money doing (shoddy) work for others so am I safe to assume he has money? I was going to claim for the money that I paid him already plus the money that I paid out for tiles. Totals about £1500.

Would you suggest then that I pay out and have the work done by a reputable tradesman and only then apply through the courts for the extra money paid out to the new tradesman? I am sure if I find a new tradesman I will be paying a bit more than I paid out for this cowboy as I am told his quoting was below average (which is partly why I accepted his quote alongside his good reviews)

Thanks

The contract will hopefully specify who you contracted with.

A limited company is a seperate legal entity to any person who owns, manages or works for it.

If you have the work rectified before the court hearing, that would be good as you will then (a) know exactly how much it costs and (b) will have evidence of what the room tiling was like before and after that rectification work.

Remember the old adage, if you buy cheap you buy twice - the judge will remember even if you don't

thenap80

How will I have evidence that the tiling was bad by getting it done before a court hearing? I already have photos - they are proof enough right?

I was a bit confused by it all - like can I claim back for the toilet and sink which was part of the whole cost - since I can probably get away with reusing them. But I need to get someone to do it from scratch again.

thenap80

Oh and there was no signed contract - just emails and texts.

wealdroam

thenap80 wrote: »

Oh and there was no signed contract - just emails and texts.

There doesn't have to be a signed contract document.

However, there is definitely a contract in place simply because a) you have paid him, and b) he has done the work.

The fact that there is nothing written down just means that it is more difficult to determine exactly what was agreed in that contract.

Those 'emails and texts' may be the only concrete evidence you have of the terms of that contract. Look after them.