Block paving job - installer refusing to complete job or refund deposit

swajarbal

Sorry this is so long...

I hired a local person to install block paving on my existing driveway and garden. He insisted on a large deposit (about 5k) which was roughly 2/3 of the quote, before even starting work. He came on the day we agreed and dug off the garden and old block paving into 2 large piles. This was on a Friday, and the following Monday when he was due to come and take the piles away in grab lorries. However he didn’t come and said he felt really ill and his son was ill too. He later said he had Covid symptoms and had been told to isolate. We had no drive to park on and access to the house from the street was a mud bath, with the kids treading mud everywhere when they came in, and postman and other people visiting the house to do work (moved here July and house needs lots of work) were slipping all over the place.  

I was messaging him every couple of days to find what his plans were, I.e. if he has tested positive then when this would end, and if not when he could come back. We had some big jobs booked in after the drive was due to be finished, and I was trying to juggle these around him being here, and minimising numbers of people on site due to Covid. During the next 10 days or so I either got no response, or angry replies saying I was pressuring him to return to work. I was gobsmacked the way he addressed me, as a customer who had paid a large deposit upfront and had been left without a drive. 

Eventually he must have got his test results (he never did tell me when or what the result was) as he contacted me to say he would be there the next to do the grabs. However the next day was another no show, so I asked him why and he then said the grab lorry had failed its mot and could not come. He then had to contact a different grab lorry company and it was rescheduled a few days later. I had made him aware we were on holiday at half term, and so that week was out and the following week due to double glazing with scaffolding front and back, were not possible for anyone to work on the house. He then contacted me about 3 days before we went on holiday to say he’d be there the next day, and confirmed my holiday dates. I said it was ok, but he would not be able to work whilst we were away due to no access to power or water (the house being all locked up and neighbours being at work so we couldn’t leave keys). We also didn’t want him around when we weren’t here and couldn’t check what he was doing. 

He then had a hissy fit and said he’d have to come back 2 weeks later, and that no other customer had ever refused to let him work while they were away! I wouldn’t want anyone doing such a big job while I was away, and don’t know anybody else that would be happy either. The day he was meant to come back, he didn’t show (again) and he said it was because someone at the grab firm’s wife had died and couldn’t do the job. I have no idea if true or not as his excuses were so random and continuous by this stage. I asked him to use another (locally well known) grab firm with more than 1 lorry and more than 1 driver and he agreed. However he later contacted me to say this particular firm were too expensive and he would be going back to the original firm who let him down (mot failure). 

They let us down again on the day agreed, so my wife got the grab firms number and gave them a call. She was firm and to the point with them (no shouting, swearing or abuse) but told them to be here the next day no excuses as they had caused us so many delays. They actually turned up and did the grabs the next day and brought 18 tonne of stone. The trader was happy my wife had phoned them as he said we were backing him up, and had done what he couldn’t by getting them here. We were then told later that the driver had been spoken to ‘like s***’ by my wife and would not be working with the trader again. Very bizarre. 

Anyway the trader agreed to start the job a few days later but failed to turn up (again). We had had enough by this stage and texted him to see where he was. No response. We called several times and he didn’t answer. He eventually texted to say his van had been taken away by the insurance company weeks earlier and he was out looking for a new van, and that he had an online course that which he couldn’t cancel. We said this wasn’t good enough (we were now on week 6 of no driveway and the entire front of the house looking like an abandoned building site). He then told us to find someone else to do the job as he was sick of us telling him what to do!
As he is now in breach of contract, we are trying to get our deposit back, less the 2 grabs and the stone delivery. We estimate these costs to be less than 1k. He is refusing and saying we owe him money! He is also saying we have to have the blocks which he has ordered, despite the driveway being nowhere near ready to lay them, and us having nowhere to store them. He wanted to dump them on the pavement and I had to tell him he couldn’t do this as it was illegal!
We’ve been advised to take him to court to get our money back, and have sent him a letter by recorded mail to advise this is what we will do in 14 days if we don’t get the refund we are due.
Are we within our rights to get a refund, as he has refused to complete the job but wants us to pay for the blocks he has ordered? We can’t use these anyway, as no other trader will offer a guarantee on the job with blocks not supplied by them. 

Aylesbury_Duck

As I see it you are entitled to your deposit, less the costs incurred so far.  You may estimate that as being less than 1k but you need a more accurate estimate than that.

Fosterdog

This really sounds like you and the builder are as bad as each other. As soon as he told you he had Covid symptoms and had to isolate for 14 days I don't understand why you messaged him every couple of days after this, you have absolutely no right whatsoever to be given his medical info so whether he had a test or not and what the results were are frankly none of your business and it's shameful that you even think you have a right to that information. All you needed to do was wait until maybe day 10-12 to make arrangements for when his isolation ended, not contacting every few days.

It certainly sounds like he's made a lot of excuses for other things though, however you've been equally petty over things.

You can't get your full deposit back, he should be paid for the work he did do of digging up the old drive, that's something you no longer have to pay someone else for, the grab trucks too which you do agree to, but also the blocks themselves, they belong to you and he has said he will deliver them, what you do with them after that is up to you but they are yours and have to be paid for. Out of the £5000 you need to deduct the work he's done, the trucks, the blocks, and delivery before any difference being owed to you.

swajarbal

Fosterdog said:

This really sounds like you and the builder are as bad as each other. As soon as he told you he had Covid symptoms and had to isolate for 14 days I don't understand why you messaged him every couple of days after this, you have absolutely no right whatsoever to be given his medical info so whether he had a test or not and what the results were are frankly none of your business and it's shameful that you even think you have a right to that information. All you needed to do was wait until maybe day 10-12 to make arrangements for when his isolation ended, not contacting every few days.

It certainly sounds like he's made a lot of excuses for other things though, however you've been equally petty over things.

You can't get your full deposit back, he should be paid for the work he did do of digging up the old drive, that's something you no longer have to pay someone else for, the grab trucks too which you do agree to, but also the blocks themselves, they belong to you and he has said he will deliver them, what you do with them after that is up to you but they are yours and have to be paid for. Out of the £5000 you need to deduct the work he's done, the trucks, the blocks, and delivery before any difference being owed to you.

Perhaps I wasn’t clear earlier, he got a postal Covid test done around the 2nd or 3rd day of his illness and was isolating until results came back. As he hadn’t been contacted me whatsoever after a few days I was chasing him up to see when he was expecting to be ready to work again. If he’d tested positive then of course I would not have expected him on site. If he’d tested negative then isolation ends and he had no reason to not come back to finish the job I’d paid for. However there was a 2-3 day turnaround of test results at the time, and after 10 days I was still none the wiser about his results or plans. My employer expects me to call HR on my 1st day of absence from work, before my shift starting time, and then provide daily updates, including an estimate of when I will be returning to work. I realise being self employed gives you some freedom in this respect, but to ignore a customer for 10 days is totally unacceptable in my opinion. Especially when he knew what state the drive was in, and that we had other jobs booked in straight after he was due to finish.

I never said I expect the full deposit back, but I know how much his grab company charges for grabs and stone, and the digger plus driver I know rough (daily) costs for, with the digger man only being here for 2 hours. Even paying a daily rate for digger plus driver, the total work done to date is less than 1k. As he has breached the contract by refusing to complete the job, why am I liable to pay for blocks for which he has a separate contract  with his 3rd party supplier? The drive is in no state to lay the blocks, and I have nowhere to store them. Also if I get anyone else to lay them they will not give a guarantee on blocks not supplied by them, so it’s not an option to use them at all.

pramsay13

You would be entitled to the deposit back minus the costs so far. Ask him for a detailed breakdown of costs incurred so far. 
If he has already ordered the blocks you maybe will need to get them but you should be able to check with the supplier.
You would be able to put some things on the road with a cone either side for a few days. I'm sure neighbours would be understanding.
That said I do agree that it sounds as though you have been very impatient and I'm not surprised he ended the relationship.

swajarbal

pramsay13 said:

You would be entitled to the deposit back minus the costs so far. Ask him for a detailed breakdown of costs incurred so far. 
If he has already ordered the blocks you maybe will need to get them but you should be able to check with the supplier.
You would be able to put some things on the road with a cone either side for a few days. I'm sure neighbours would be understanding.
That said I do agree that it sounds as though you have been very impatient and I'm not surprised he ended the relationship.

I’ve asked for proof of what he has paid out but he has just sent me figures that are ridiculously inflated. I know he has a margin added, but the figures he’s given are 4 times what it would have cost him. 

So you think it’s impatient to expect some progress after having no drive or safe access to your property for over 6 weeks? With constant no shows, let downs, non-communication and refusal to compromise? Sound like you must have the patience of a saint if you would roll over and take that without any complaints!

Aylesbury_Duck

I'm beginning to see why you and the builder fell out.  You've already argued with two people who've given reasonable advice and a view on the situation according to your own account.  If you only want advice you agree with, save people the trouble by saying so.

swajarbal

Aylesbury_Duck said:

I'm beginning to see why you and the builder fell out.  You've already argued with two people who've given reasonable advice and a view on the situation according to your own account.  If you only want advice you agree with, save people the trouble by saying so.

I haven’t argued with anyone, and I even gave you a Thanks on your post. 

bris

You need to first send him a "Time is of the Essence" letter before you hold him in breach of contract, do then then when he fails to show up in the time allowed you can sue him. 
Sue him for the whole deposit and the judge will look at his costs which he must provide and the judge will decide what's right not you.

[Deleted User]

Then you have to get the builder to pay.  

mobileron

All in the Sherrifs