Help! Builder going to small claims court...

squoog

Please can anyone advise me. I have a BTL property 300 miles from where I live. I arranged to have it refurbished and met with the builder. He gave me a quote for work and it was agreed. When the work was due to complete I visited the property and the work was not finished but was told it would be in the next few days, so I paid the bill in full. At the same time we discussed further works and he came back to me over the phone with prices which I agreed and he was left to finish the work. I then could not get in touch with him as he apparently had lost his phone. When my new tenants came to move in 2 months later!)he had left tools there and the work was unfinished. I had to get someone in to finish the outstanding jobs. 2 months later again, I got his bill (£595)which seems approx double what we discussed over the phone, so I wrote back with a cheque for £300 explaining that this was what I was expecting to pay.
He has now written back saying that if the rest of the money isn't in his account by next week he will take me to court and I will have all these additional costs.
I know this is a mess as I didn't get everything in writing at the beginning, but then neither did he.
Have I got a leg to stand on? Or should I just bite the bullet and pay him and write it off as a bad experience.
To cap it all off yesterday I was hit by a car whilst getting my toddler twins out of my car! Thankfully, they are okay and it does make me think that money is not so important. But at the same time a bill that is double what was expected is a bit out of order.

roses

Legally he can't increase the cost without you accepting it before hand so he doesn't have a leg to stand on. Let him take you to court and it will be thrown out.

McAzrael

Threaten to counterclaim for the expense of getting the jobs finished.

baldelectrician

it is up to him to prove that you owe him the money.

call his bluff; state that you had to get someone in to finish his job.

We all have issues with builders :rolleyes:

Avoriaz

Don’t be frightened of the “Small Claims” court.

Firstly he is probably bluffing. As a builder, especially an unreliable builder who doesn’t finish jobs on time, he will be used to invoice disputes. If he sues every time that happens he will be in court more than he is at work.

Call his bluff.

Write to him summarising the situation and stating that as far as you are concerned the matter is closed. Make the letter pleasant but firm and factual. The letter is really more for the court should it get that far. It will demonstrate to the court that you took the matter seriously and didn’t just not bother paying. The court will be impressed and influenced by such a letter so keep a copy and send it recorded delivery.

If he does sue, don’t worry. Just submit a defence on the forms that the court will send you. You have the opportunity to submit a counter claim.

Even if he wins, costs are rarely awarded so he is unlikely to win more than the disputed sum.

For the record, there is really no such thing as a “Small Claims Court”, though it is a commonly used expression. Cases are heard in the County Court and are allocated to various “Tracks” according to their complexity. These are Multi Track, Fast Track and Small Claims Track in descending order of complexity.

Simple cases of less than £5,000 are normally allocated to the Small Claims Track and are heard informally in a small office by a judge in plain clothes. The public are not present. It is more like a business meeting than a court case.

Post again or PM me if he does issue a summons.

Debt_Free_Chick

Good advice so far.

In situations like this, it sometimes helps to envisage the builder in front of the Judge. Imagine the story he's going to tell to convince the Judge that you owe him money. And more importantly, how is he going to prove it?

The builder just doesn't have a convincing story. Especially when you tell your side of it - and reveal that he "downed tools" and even abandoned them in your property!

It's not convincing .... is it?

squoog

Thank you everyone for your good advice. I am going to write back and put the points about his lack of evidence to him, and also point out that with my cheque for £300 I asked him to send copies of receipts and a detailed breakdown of his costs if he still disagreed with the amount. He ignored this, so I assume doesn't have anything more to show than the bill that he has now sent me 2 further copies of!
I think I will have to call his bluff and hope that I haven't missed something.
Thank you all again, I really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

squoog

Well, 7 months later, following another threat to go to court in December that didn't happen, I have finally been summonsed.
I have been trying to write up my defence and worrying about the fact that the court is 300 miles away. As I think I understand it now, I can apply to have the case heard near me so I will apply for another 14 days to do this and also to prepare my defence.
It is a mess, as neither of us have anything regarding these extra jobs written down. It is my word against his.
Having read through the blurb again tonight, I've realised that if a judgement is entered against me, it will affect my credit rating which would be disasterous for me as I have a number of mortgages that may need to be changed in the future.
I want to settle this matter and (because I am so afraid of the above) would even pay the b****y £595 he's asking for. But of course, now there is interest added and court costs, making it over £700. (He hasn't cashed the cheque I sent for £300).
Avoriaz, I am trying hard not to be afraid of the small claims court but am very worried about the effect the outcome may have.
Once again, can I ask for advice about how to deal with this. My husband thinks I should send in my defence and offer £500 to settle, but it seems that the claimant could ask for judgement to be entered against me anyway! Have i understood this correctly? I either pay everything inc. costs now or I have the possibility of a judgement against me?
With hindsight I think I should have paid him, and saved myself the stressing i am doing now. I feel such an idiot not getting anything in writing... :(
Any help/advice very gratefully received

Doozergirl

It is NOT TRUE that a claim going against you will go against your redit record. It would only go against you if you didn't pay it.

I've been to a small claims hearing (as a witness) but I was very surprised at how informal it was. Believe me, the judge won't take any !!!! but the truth outs itself very quickly. It was the person being claimed against that I was witness for, but to be honest, the claimant did his best to destroy his own case!

My SIL is a magistrate and when I told her of my experience, she told me that the truth is obvious. A dishonest person always outs themselves.

Dont worry, nothing against your credit record. As you are prepared to pay up of you need to then I would go. Dress as expensively as you can and always keep to the point.

McAzrael

If the court makes an order for you to pay him any money then you will have 28 days in which to do so before the judgement is entered on the register. Only if you fail to pay the full amount ordered within 28 days will the judgement be registered.

If you don't meet the deadlines (14 days to acknowledge service, 28 days to file a defence) then he can request judgement be entered against you. This will result in an order to pay the full amount claimed and the above will apply.

You can, at any point, make a without prejudice offer of any amount you see fit. You can make as many offers as you see fit.

squoog

Thanks guys, that makes much more sense! They really should employ people like yourselves to write these so called 'explanatory' notes.
I will tomorrow, acknowledge service. I think I will also make an offer to the builder and see what happens, life's too short!