Builder Dispute - Fraud? Please Help!!

Fast_ted

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone can offer any advice. We recently employed a builder to carry out extensive works to our house at an agreed contract price of £167k (not inc. VAT) over a 5 month period. We agreed to pay a deposit (supposedly so roof truss and steel orders could be placed) followed by weekly payments. Things seem to start well and they seemed to be progressing well, however we became concerned as when things slowed down the builder kept asking for large payments (‘to get materials ordered’ etc.) which we paid, however if got to a point where we had paid around 35% (approx. £75k) of the contract and only 20% of the works had been completed (approx. £30k). At this point we said we needed to have a meeting to discuss and refused to make the current weeks payment, as we had paid plenty in advance, at which point the builder threatened to pull all the men off the job. During this time we requested that they change the position of the steels as on the structural engineers drawing they were shown under the beams which would have looked awful. The builder used this as an excuse, saying there was no work available and subsequently pulled men off the job. This was simply not true as there were plenty of other works not affected by the steels which could have carried on. Just prior to this the men had taken off the old asbestos roof to the garage and left asbestos bagged in the garden and the garage covered in asbestos dust and debris. We asked him to come back and remove the asbestos as a matter of urgency (we have 3 young kids). The men came back for a day to take their tools and remove the bagged asbestos but our garage is still covered in dust.
This is where it gets worse…… in order to progress the steel we arranged meetings with the steel fabricator and structural engineer to agree a way forward and how the steels could be modified in order to hide the beams (extending to columns). We repeatedly asked the builder to meet with the structural engineer to agree a way forward but he kept putting off a date. During this time we were chasing the builder to get men on site to continue with the work that could still be done (plumbing, electrics, works to the existing house). We told men would be coming but no one would turn up and at this point we were getting increasingly worried as he had (in our opinion) about £40k of our money, so we were chasing him regularly and fearing the worst making sure everything was now followed up on email as we had a paper trail. We then had a call from one of his previous clients who we used as a reference (who was nearing completion of a new build house at the time) as he was having issues getting them to complete the works and was in dispute with the builder. He had also found out that the builder was using a different name (e.g. John Smith when his real name was John Smithson). When we googled his real name we found a raft of horror stories about jobs he had walked away from after being paid in advance. This is when we started to feel sick.
And it gets worse…. following another meeting on site our structural engineer then noticed that the works completed to date were not as his structural details (smaller pad foundations, smaller padstones) and he condemned the work saying it was structurally unsound. We then looked at what had been done in more detail and found out that the dimensions differ from the drawings, different spec (cheaper) materials were being used and so on. We contacted the builder and asked him to meet with our structural engineer to agree a way forward. The next day we got a letter from his solicitor stating that the drawings provided (which had been approved by building warrant) were not fit for purpose and as such they were terminating the contract and as no monies were outstanding they considered the matter closed. We have responded saying there a numerous defects which need rectifying and he has 7 days to return to site to make good. We also pointed out we had paid in excess of what had been completed on site. This was 6 days ago and no response. At the moment I estimate that by the time I get the works ‘made good’ I will be £60k out of pocket.
Has anyone got any advice as a way forward? If I go through the courts I have no concern that I wouldn’t win but I know from bitter experience that due to the lengthy process the builder will simply move any assets from his company so any award can’t be paid and he will fold the company.
My queries are:

• Surely it is illegal to set up a company using a different name? He has also used a different birthdate on companies house. I have spoken to the Police and they referred me to Trading Standards who have said you can trade using any name you like (you can legally change your name in Scotland without going through deed poll). I have contacted companies house and they have not yet come back to me. My view is that he has only changed his name to hide his past so surely this can’t be right. I made a point of doing Director searches on the name I was given to make sure he hadn’t had companies dissolved in the past. I have also found out he was personally made bankrupt in 2008. Nobody seems to be interested
• Should I speak to the HSE regarding the asbestos? Would they realistically do anything?
• Should I contact Building Control or will they just say I need to get someone else to re-do the works?
• Is there anyway I can freeze his assets so I have some hope of getting something back?
• Are there any other avenues for reclaiming my losses? I am planning to offer Arbitration as a form of dispute resolution but realistically there is no way he will agree to this but at least I will have it on record if things to go through the courts.

Currently devastated. Any advice more than welcome………
Thanks..... FT

Aylesbury_Duck

There are some construction experts on here that may be able to provide some thoughts, but given the size of your investment to date, you must seek proper legal advice. The cost of it will be trivial in the context of what is at stake. Opinions from third parties on a forum, no matter how well qualified, are no substitute for proper legal advice.

Fast_ted

Thanks AD but don't want to be throwing good money after bad as need every penny now. I had issues in the past and a solicitor charged me £1200 for some initial advice and a letter. Took the builder to court and was awarded £10k but didn't see a penny.....

Aylesbury_Duck

Fast_ted wrote: »

Thanks AD but don't want to be throwing good money after bad as need every penny now. I had issues in the past and a solicitor charged me £1200 for some initial advice and a letter. Took the builder to court and was awarded £10k but didn't see a penny.....

Sorry to hear that but you really do need more formal advice than can be offered on here. To put it harshly, you resent spending £1200 on expert legal opinion yet you've entered into a £200,000 contract (and parted with £75k) with someone on whom you've only now done some due diligence?

Have a look for other threads where people have been in dispute with builders and you will see how complex the arguments can get, even on much smaller projects than yours with much less cash at stake. There are a couple of excellent posters on here who generously offer their views but you'll see that they need lots of information in order to advise and frankly, yours seems such a complex situation that they'd have to be on here for hours to be able to do so.

Perhaps your time on the forum might be better spent seeking a recommendation for some specialist legal advice? Trying to DIY your way out of this is not likely to work.

Furts

My intuition is the builder is experienced at playing the system, as is shown by the letter from his solicitor.


What sticks in my throat is solicitors, who write drivel, egged on by criminals, because they know they can get rich by doing so. In recent times I have had a quasi criminal construction company engaging a solicitors practice to send drivel to me. My position was similar to yours but for a fraction of the value. It was a lost cause on my part and the company ceased trading shortly after. I got nothing and I doubt you will get anything.


I am not a Scottish law person, nor Buildings Warrant person and will let those in Scotland with this experience pass comment.


I believe you have to right off your loss, and concentrate on getting your work put right. This time round get your ducks in line - satisfactory and cross checked drawings, working drawings, a Specification, Full Plans Building Control Approval, a Contract, Building Control inspections, a Clerk of Works and no on site alterations to previously agreed details.


This may not be what you want to hear, but I am being pragmatic and base my stance on years of experience in building.

Fast_ted

I think you are being harsh. I'm not saying I resent spending £1200 (that was for one letter to a builder) just that to go down the legal route would realistically cost me £000s more. But agree that an initial consultation may be worthwhile. I did due diligence in terms of seeing work he had done, getting a reference and doing checks on his name but he was using a fake name, kind of makes it difficult.

Fast_ted

Furts, think you are probably right, despite how painful it is. I was just wondering if the fact he used a fake name changes it to a criminal matter? He changed his name to hide his past dealings which can't be right.

Aylesbury_Duck

Fast_ted wrote: »

I think you are being harsh. I'm not saying I resent spending £1200 (that was for one letter to a builder) just that to go down the legal route would realistically cost me £000s more. But agree that an initial consultation may be worthwhile. I did due diligence in terms of seeing work he had done, getting a reference and doing checks on his name but he was using a fake name, kind of makes it difficult.

It was deliberately harsh and provocative because I was trying to push you to seek legal advice.
I don't see how else you are likely to recover any of your investment to date, let alone get the whole site situation resolved. Good luck with it.

david1951

Unfortunately as Furts says it sounds like you are up against it. My advice is to set aside money to retain a solicitor (probably about £10,000) to see this through, or leave it.

Future advice (for the benefit of other readers):

Pay on "satisfactory completion". Anyone who puts you under pressure to pay money upfront should set off warning bells.

Use well-established firms.

Draw up a schedule of work at the outset and only pay when each stage has been done to a standard you are happy with. If you aren't experienced enough to do this, then employ someone. A qualified Clerk of Works is a good starting point.

Furts

Fast_ted wrote: »

Furts, think you are probably right, despite how painful it is. I was just wondering if the fact he used a fake name changes it to a criminal matter? He changed his name to hide his past dealings which can't be right.

You have brought this entire debacle upon yourself. The three of you - you, your structural Engineer and the builder are a marriage made in heaven. I have given you pointers to stimulate a reply but you do not mention what contract you entered into. Yet you refer to a contract price.

The builder could be deemed in breech of contract but only you will know this because you have not given us details. A builder pulling off a job because a client cannot sort out their own design, and a client that stops the builder from doing their work makes Court action a risky scenario. You had no right to stop the builder as he expected your design to be finalised and approved. However, this Approval is another item on which we all remain in the dark.

Equally you had no right to expect the builder to engage with meetings with your Structural Engineer because the two of you had peeed up the design.

Clearly the builder is a cowboy but you again are guilty in this. Yet another item which we remain in the dark on is why you were not inspecting and managing the work prior to the structural Engineer condemning items.

Then there is the asbestos. Your asbestos, from your roof, at your home which your children are at risk from. Why did you allow this situation to arise, and what are you doing to rectify it? By all means involve HSE but what do you expect them to do? Prosecute you for failing to control matters? Why didnt you retain all the builders tools until they rectified this?

You entered into work costing £200 000+. That is serious stuff and playing with the big boys. That is why i said get your ducks in line.

You seem focused on a change of name and a bankruptcy. What do you hope to gain from this? My neighbour has changed his name, and I would not be surprised if he were hiding a past. However that is not my concern - it is both judge as I find and I have better things to focus on.

I wish you well but remain sceptical of any legal remedies. Do look at your contract terms - if you have any.

Fast_ted

And here I was looking for help.....

The contract is a FMB Minor Works contract. I accept the design was incorrect and this was a change but variations are always going to happen on any large project. I would expect the builder to work with us on this as he is the one that was going to build it so his input is important.

As for the asbestos it was in the house when we bought it and part of the work was to remove it. I'm not sure how I can be at fault for the builders leaving debris and to suggest I'd get prosecuted is beyond ridiculous. Unfortunately I work so difficult to stop builders removing their tools.

The whole point about the different name as surely it can't be legal setting up a company in a different name and using a different date of birth?

Contract isn't worth anything if he folds the company