Bathroom upgrade works not to standard

Walktrotcanter

Had my bathroom redone, and spent about £2,000 on the labour. The work was done to a poor standard which is only coming to light now (paint work, sealant coming away from walls). I've had to get another quote for the work to be put right. According to the Consumer Rights 2015 law:
The trader should have done the work with ‘reasonable care and skill’. This means they should have done a good job that’s worth the amount they’re charging you. If they haven’t done this, they’ve broken the law.
You’re legally entitled to either:
• ask them to fix the problem - if they provided you with goods as well as the service,
• get a refund and stop them doing any more work - if they just provided the service

It says entitled to "either" ask them to fix the problem or get a refund.

I don't want the tradesman who did the original work back, it was an awful experience and he took three weeks to do a small bathroom. I had leaks, I had his mess everywhere, and and generally the whole process has been not one I'd want to go through again. So why would I want to ask him back and have him do yet more damage to the sub-standard work he has created?

But Citizens Advice were adamant, that you have to give the tradesman the chance to fix it. I have all the evidence required, photos, and want to get someone else to do it. But Citizens Advice say if I don't give this builder chance to remedy, I'd have to go through the courts and get a judge's decision to claim for the cost of doing the work again. It is ludicrous, really. The law is inflexible.

Any advice or similar experiences would be much appreciated, thank you.

JJ_Egan

They are correct you must give them the chance to rectify or refund etc .
Go to court and their defence will be that they did not get the oppurtunity to do anything about the problems .

Aylesbury_Duck

It's not the law that's being inflexible, it's you. The law that protects you is also structured to protect tradespeople from potentially vindictive customers who demand refunds or discounts without allowing the chance for correction. It's your choice whether to proceed on the basis you want to, but there's a risk of not getting the result you want.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Walktrotcanter wrote: »

But Citizens Advice were adamant, that you have to give the tradesman the chance to fix it.

They are mainly correct but:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/55/enacted

(2)If the consumer requires such repeat performance, the trader—
(a)must provide it within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer;

and if the trader is unable to adhere to that there is the right to a price reduction:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/section/56/enacted


So for example a tradesman who says he'll come back and fix a leak which he caused in 4 weeks time and to shut off the water in the meantime would very likely be causing you significant inconvenience.

Sadly paint and sealant aren't likely to be considered crucial.

You can post pictures here by uploading them to a free image hosting site and then providing a broken link (as a new user you won't be able to post a full link).

But yes if you can't get a resolve with the issue small claims in the next avenue to take.