Considering Sueing floor fitter for cost of tiles in small claims? Do I have a chance?

ydrol2

Hi , I hired a handyman that specialised in flooring (on a recomendation). to tile 10 sqm of kitchen using Luxury Vinyl Tiles

I bought 13.33 sqm tiles (£460 ) and we agreed £450 to tile + additional materials.

I was unable to supervise but gave him £200 after he had laid the tiles and would pay the rest after inspection / snags complete.

The inspection was bad. It turns out he was not very good
- some tiles not fitted close enough,
- others had knife cuts where tiles had been cut on top of others,
- not good fit around door frames and plinths that he was expecting to hide with mastic.
- high wastage (> 20%)
- some tiles lifted (not glued down properly)

He was also frequently late to site without prior notice, and for some odd reason removed remaining complete tiles from site (and says there are 7 left).

He came back with a view to fixing snags but I called a halt to the work. Initially I said in writing - return the remaining tiles, and lets call it square because I just wanted him gone.

But now I'm feeling more and more annoyed about the situation , esp as he seems to think that HE is out of pocket! He is a friend of a friend of a friend and I think that's why I was too amiable but I honestly dont care now,.

Some online pro-fitters have seen pictures and suggest the entire job needs re-doing with new tiles. If he doesn't return the remaining tiles this Friday - I'm thinking of going to small claims to get some compensation for the initial tile outlay. Do I have a chance even though we agreed to stop and settle. - eg can I make out agreement conditional on the return of the remaining tiles - as I suspect he's not going to return them... Or shall I just report theft of the remaining tiles ...

this was my final wording (he never writes anything himself ...)...

Consequently due to the job being incomplete, the total sum of £200 which was paid to you on (14/6/19) is the full and final payment.
Also the box of tiles I purchased which is currently in your van must be returned to my Mum's address by friday 21/6/19, (approx 7 whole tiles + off cuts)

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

ydrol2 wrote: »

Hi , I hired a handyman that specialised in flooring (on a recomendation). to tile 10 sqm of kitchen using Luxury Vinyl Tiles

I bought 13.33 sqm tiles (£460 ) and we agreed £450 to tile + additional materials.

I was unable to supervise but gave him £200 after he had laid the tiles and would pay the rest after inspection / snags complete.

The inspection was bad. It turns out he was not very good
- some tiles not fitted close enough,
- others had knife cuts where tiles had been cut on top of others,
- not good fit around door frames and plinths that he was expecting to hide with mastic.
- high wastage (> 20%)
- some tiles lifted (not glued down properly)

He was also frequently late to site without prior notice, and for some odd reason removed remaining complete tiles from site (and says there are 7 left).

He came back with a view to fixing snags but I called a halt to the work. Initially I said in writing - return the remaining tiles, and lets call it square because I just wanted him gone.

But now I'm feeling more and more annoyed about the situation , esp as he seems to think that HE is out of pocket! He is a friend of a friend of a friend and I think that's why I was too amiable but I honestly dont care now,.

Some online pro-fitters have seen pictures and suggest the entire job needs re-doing with new tiles. If he doesn't return the remaining tiles this Friday - I'm thinking of going to small claims to get some compensation for the initial tile outlay. Do I have a chance even though we agreed to stop and settle. - eg can I make out agreement conditional on the return of the remaining tiles - as I suspect he's not going to return them... Or shall I just report theft of the remaining tiles ...

this was my final wording (he never writes anything himself ...)...

Consequently due to the job being incomplete, the total sum of £200 which was paid to you on (14/6/19) is the full and final payment.
Also the box of tiles I purchased which is currently in your van must be returned to my Mum's address by friday 21/6/19, (approx 7 whole tiles + off cuts)

No! Mind me again when I get floors done in my house, I go to the carpet shop etc to buy my products (carpet, vinyl, tiles, laminates) and use their fitters to lay the floor. No room has ever costed more than £175 to lay, that was recently in the front room. £450 is to me rather excessive!

CardinalWolsey

He was also frequently late to site without prior notice

How many times did he have to visit you for what certainly would have been less than a day's labour?

tacpot12

You were entitled to have the tiles you bought laid correctly. The Handyman should have declined to do the job if he was not capable of laying the tiles to a professional standard.

Unfortunately you have paid him something in "full and final payment". You may have lost the ability to take him to court now; I would suggest you consult a local solicitor or call the legal helpline that may be provided as part of your home insurance to see if you can still take him to court for the cost of the tiles and the fact that the floor needs to be redone. Getting an independent specialist to inspect the floor will help if you go to court.

I wouldn't report the remaining 7 tiles as stolen. They have been, but if you are suing for the cost of the matierals, the 7 tiles would be inclueded in this. If you are not going to sue, I wouldn't bother the Police with it. they are stretched enough as it is.

ydrol2

CardinalWolsey wrote: »

How many times did he have to visit you for what certainly would have been less than a day's labour?

It was two days initially - one day prep/screed then one day tiling.

However the first day he postponed, then he did a full day prep, then half day tiling , then another half day tiling (probably working multiple jobs), then I call him back to discuss the snag list on Monday afternoon but stopped work as he turned up after 6pm (just to discuss snags) without any communication that he was going to be late.

ydrol2

tacpot12 wrote: »

Unfortunately you have paid him something in "full and final payment". You may have lost the ability to take him to court now; I would suggest you consult a local solicitor or call the legal helpline that may be provided as part of your home insurance to see if you can still take him to court for the cost of the tiles and the fact that the floor needs to be redone. Getting an independent specialist to inspect the floor will help if you go to court.

Thanks wouldn't it be cheaper to just submit a claim for the cost of the tiles and and pay claim fee of £70.

Also if I commission a 'survey of works' from a fitter who testifies that the work is sub-standard, would that help counteract my earlier "full and final payment" statement?

waamo

If you have made an offer in writing you need to abide by that. If he presents that letter as part of his defence you would have difficulty countering that.

If you want to sue him you are also obliged to send him a formal Letter Before Claim giving him advanced warning and what you consider to be a suitable remedy.

Failure to do so may see your claim dismissed.

BoGoF

Problem you have is you didn't give him a chance to remedy as you called the halt.

Chalk it down to experience.

ydrol2

BoGoF wrote: »

Problem you have is you didn't give him a chance to remedy as you called the halt.

Yes. It was becoming apparent that the finish I was expecting was outside of his skillset - wanting to use mastic to hide imperfections etc - the only way he could remedy IMO would be to subcontract a full time LVT fitter AND purchase 60 new tiles (approx £120 for 20). This also seemed to be the opinion of the online fitters looking at the pictures. (link) He was also rushing everything and burning through tiles.

BoGoF wrote: »

Chalk it down to experience.

I think I will have too !

waamo

Whilst unpalatable it's probably the wisest course of action.