Problem with bodger tradesman and MyBuilder Plus Insurance

HappyFish2021

I just wanted to say to anyone else considering taking out MyBuilder Plus Insurance, I think it would be very good as long as you get a detailed contract of works between you and your tradesman, being very anal about each and every small detail, so that if you have to make a claim there's absolutely no doubt what's to be covered. If the tradesman is unable or refuses (my tradesman was foreign, for example), write one of your own out for him to supplement his, and get him/her to agree in writing to it too before starting and then send My Builder Plus it to add to their files before you buy their insurance.

You may think it overkill but if you do have to make a claim you will be glad you spent that extra time. Put yourself in the shoes of the insurer, trying to find an 'out' for each and every thing. For insurance purposes, assume your tradesman is a compulsive liar hence your needing to nail each and every thing. He may be wonderful. But in my experience there are way too many bodgers and liars around preying on homeowners and they all seem lovely at the start. (Course they do, they want your money). And often they have good feedback (from their mum, probably).

If you have damp stains you want covered, for example, don't just say 'paint walls' (even if the clear expectation and verbal understanding is that he's going to prime them with PVA first) but write 'prime x areas twice with PVA'. To be extra cautious, you could add 'to stop damp stains coming back for at least x months' so if stains reappear rapidly (but not immediately) you're covered, as otherwise he could argue he has done the job. Specify which walls the work is to be be done on or say 'every wall in lounge' so he can't argue it was just doing a feature wall or you meant priming the walls in the kitchen where there were no damp stains. Specify how many coats of paint too, as one thin coat is not enough but he could argue that is all you asked for! Regarding woodwork, specify which doors/windows/sills what is to be done and how many. If you have a particular finish promised then state that. If more than one room is to be done, be this detailed about each and every room, even if it seems a lot of repetition. If he is to supply materials, get him to specify quality (if this is important to you) and quantity, where relevant. In my case he skimped on both the quality and quantity of materials.

If you do pay for and supply materials (even when this is not part of the contract of works) keep all receipts, a) in case he tries to claim he paid for them and wants you to pay him for them b) in case he does a terrible job and you need to sue him so you'll want this money back too.

If you give him cash at any point get him to sign for it. Better pay him by BACS. If you do the latter, put on the heading of the transfer what the payment is for.

My last bit of advice is to take photos pre job, mid job and post job. Of the areas at the start that needs doing (he could claim they were in a terrible state when they weren't and claim his bodging work is such an improvement on that) and also his work in progress. It can be hard to prove he cut corners after he has covered areas over. It also is not a bad idea to take pictures of your room with contents in situ. Just in case he decides to be a bull in a china shop and wreck your stuff as mine did, but then claim it was broken anyway. Or worse still, thieve it. For anyone saying this overkill, wait til you make a claim. (This is also not a bad idea for anyone with contents insurance generally to prove what they have as how many of us have receipts to quantify all our purchases?)

numberbook

HappyFish2021 said:

I hired a tradesman through MyBuilder website to do some painting and decorating as I needed to get my house onto the market. (I wanted to take advantage of the buoyant market before Christmas and the Stamp duty holiday). He had a number of good references on MyBuilder and also on Checkatrade and purported to be a professional with photos on there of his decorating certificates. He had Public Liability Insurance. He seemed decent when I met him - quiet and polite, no red flags. I took as much care as I could when hiring, interviewing a number of tradesman, as I am a disabled woman living on my own, and unfortunately where I live, it seems to be open season with a long succession of tradespeople from other sites ripping me off and running away with my money. But the work had to be done so I hired this guy, trusting in MyBuilder's vetting system, believing their vetting system would check out his qualifications and weed out pretenders.

However, given previous experiences, and feeling very vulnerable too as I'd already been delayed for a few months by a bodger who I'd had to call police on because of his threats, theft and attempts at extortion, and unable to afford being out of pocket yet again, I decided to get MyBuilder Plus Insurance to cover this job just in case, little dreaming I would actually need it. This insurance is supposed to cover if  work goes wrong with the insurer paying up to three times of what is contracted for in the contract of works. Before I took out the insurance, I even went so far as to contact MyBuilder Plus asking what the wording in the contract of works between he and I needed to say and how best to word it in order to cover myself in the event of any claim as the contract was a little too vague and unclear for my liking (I understood this was because of the MyBuilder site foibles.) It didn't help that his first language is not English. Even though my inclination was to be persnickety and state every single thing we had verbally agreed to bit by bit (the job was for several rooms and misc. bits and pieces here and there), I was assured by MyBuilder Plus I did not need to do that, what we had was fine. I stupidly trusted the insurer (big mistake) and I also stupidly trusted the decorator (bigger mistake).

So he started and though he seemed to start well, things soon deteriorated with him becoming slap happy. (I realise now he’d other jobs on the go at the same time he was trying to get all done before Christmas and so was rushing). I also realise he was a yes man saying he’d do one thing to me, but behind my back cutting lots of corners, hoping he’d get away with it. I was NOT watching him every second as I was staying out of his way in another room due to covid. Plus I should not have to babysit a professional anyway. 

He took advantage of the situation and my trust and didn't do the prep he was supposed to we’d explicitly discussed beforehand to stop historic damp stains coming back, Therefore the stains came back and his work started bubbling and flaking badly after just one day. He didn't allow proper time for things to dry. Our quote included all materials but it was clear he was skimping on quality of materials and quantity, spreading paint too thinly, just doing one coat etc.  He’d said that he was happy to go buy stuff  but said if he used any of my stuff he would deduct it from the total price at the end. I have a receipt of things I purchased from B & Q that I supplied to the job (paint, stain block, brushes etc) the total of which comes to over £200.

As well as doing stuff badly, he left large areas and even whole rooms undone. He was supposed to fill, sand and varnish my wooden floor to fill gaps and remove scratches and it is evident he only hand sanded small areas as the scratches and other marks remain and he did not varnish it at all, only cleaned it so it looked filled and shiny until the wet actually dried! He actually made the floor look worse in the cold light of day. Everything he did (literally) in every room needs redone and that is no exaggeration. Other areas he did not do at all. He used hazardous fire material foam not wood when boxing in my utility metres so in some cases, it is a priority to UNDO his work. Furthermore, he damaged a load of my items by putting them out in the garden to get wet for a couple of nights while he was decorating, even though I understood he had put them in the dry outbuilding. I was devastated when I found them out there, and just his lack of care and attitude about it. He also damaged my back door by whacking furniture against the lock so it does not close properly now, and he stuffed wet wipes down my toilet blocking my drain. To say I have been devastated is an understatement, particularly after the guy before him.

Though there was lots needing done still when he proclaimed he was finished and wanted paid, my first and foremost concern was in covering over the historic damp stains. I had had the damp treated already but did not want to frighten any prospective buyers off buying my house, so was focused on getting this sorted first and foremost. The other areas could come after, they were not really necessary to market the house, just cosmetic improvements to make it look nice. I contacted MyBuilder Plus and told them of my experiences including the damage, and we agreed to give him a chance to remedy things. Well he came back acting like a sulky child and rushed the prep only half doing it and though the job looks better than it did, stains are still there and he only did one room not all the other stuff needing done. It is still really bad. I refused to give him another chance to come back given his poor workmanship and attitude, it was wasting even more time for me (I want to move house, for God's sake) and I was finding more and more damage to my property. He was a liability to let him in my house.

Were it not for MyBuilder Plus Insurance, given his terrible and incomplete work, I would have just not paid him and that probably would be the end of it, as everything needs redone and his work is not worth a penny. I regret the price of paint etc supplied let alone anything else. I know I could sue him for damage to my property (I estimate damage totals over £600) but the likelihood is I would just let it go as who wants legal battles. So anyway, here now involves the MyBuilder Plus insurance bit--

Their refusal to cover parts of work I believe was contracted for

They agree the work is terrible and/or incomplete and it all needs redone. Luckily it was so bad there is no argument there, but the problem is, they have started to welch here and there on elements of the job. At first it was just a few things that I was prepared to let go but as these bits increase, I am left thinking 'hang on, this is not right.' They are resorting to semantics. So for example, though the contract of works specifies prepping and doing all the woodwork in a room, they disagree 'woodwork' involves glossing the window-sill even though it obviously needs doing. They are splitting hairs about what is woodwork and what is carpentry when referring to the boxing in of the utility metres so won't cover that including its undoing. I find this all the more distasteful as I, a disabled lay person, had specifically asked them before taking out the insurance cover how to best protect myself re wording etc and had told them he's first language was not English. If I had not taken their advice and insisted on getting the sort of detailed contract I wanted specifying each and every thing, then it is clear they would not be able to split hairs with me now. In total we are talking about a few hundred pounds of decorating work in total they say are not covering. So that is the first thing I have issues with. Next--

Their refusal to cover damage to home contents

The MyBuilder Plus insurance policy is very clear what it does not cover. The usual delays due to whatever, plus communicable diseases, damage to buildings, garden and outbuilding etc. However there is nothing in the policy about not covering damage to home contents. Though they admit it does not say anywhere they do not include damage to contents, they say because they use the word 'damage' in the exclusions therefore damage to everything else is also included in this exclusion. I can't think this can possibly hold up in court and have told them this. Especially as they have not used such modifying words as 'damage to buildings, garden and outbuildings etc' or 'including but not limited to damage to buildings, garden and outbuildings'. As every insured and insurer knows there is a big difference between buildings and contents insurance. It is over £600 of damage maybe more they are weedling out of.

They refuse to pay out on materials and supplies

The policy document says Materials and supplies provided by you unless included in the amount insured are not covered. In my case, the materials and supplies were clearly part of the sum insured as the quote was inclusive of ALL materials including paint. MyBuilderPlus are saying because I bought the items days before I hired him, therefore they will not cover them. At no point does their policy restrict or exclude based on WHEN the materials were purchased. It says ‘materials and supplies provided by you.’ I provided them. This is £200 they are weedling out of.

Re: paying for the new work

MyBuilder Plus have acknowledged from the start of the dispute I have every right not to pay this tradesman. However, their policy says I must pay the amount originally contracted for to someone. So if not paid to him, I must pay it to the new tradesman rectifying his work. They will pay any amount over and above. Fair enough. BUT… They will not accept that he has been part paid already £200 odd in materials. Furthermore, they do not accept that he has been part paid already for the damaged items. Were I to pay him (just pretending for one moment the job was all finished OK) then both these things would reasonably be deducted from the total due. This amounts to over £800 so is no small amount. Yet My Builder Plus are insisting I have not paid him a penny yet (as they see it) so I must pay either him or a new tradesman again the whole total amount. I do not think this fair.

Obviously, ethically I have a huge issue with paying him anything, let alone in full. It is like rewarding him for his fraud and allowing him to get away with it. Plus like I say he owes me for damage to my home and contents. Even if I took him to court and sued him successfully, there’s no guarantee I would get it back from him and people can hide cash and not payout despite court orders. And he is foreign so could just skip the country. I would much rather pay the new tradesman and not him out of principle. But bearing in mind he is currently demanding he gets paid, saying he will get his solicitor on me if I do not ( I suspect he’s bluffing, but can’t be sure. Even though I don’t think he has a leg to stand on in court because of ample evidence in my favour, we all hear about miscarriages of justice, judges not liking your face on the day etc. So what if, worst case scenario, the judge doesn’t like my face, refuses my counterclaim for damages, and believes ahis lies and the court decides I have to pay him some or all of the total? I asked My Builder Plus what would happen then and asked if they would refund me the money I would have paid their second tradesman as I would then be paying out for the same job twice (a worse situation than if I did not have insurance!) and My Builder Plus said no, they would not! I even asked them about putting the amount in some kind of escrow pending any legal action by either party and no, they said I could not do that. So we are in the ridiculous situation of me paying him in order to protect myself from potentially paying out twice for the same job. This cannot be right?? 

Even though it left a bitter taste in my mouth, I offered to pay him the total amount if he paid me for the materials and damaged items to settle this (he would still walk away with a plus amount) and he has refused.

Any advice please re the insurer or anything else?? I have contacted his Public Liability insurer and they say he is the one who has to make a claim which he won’t. I do not want to claim on my home contents policy for damage as it will sky rocket.

If I do take him to court, does anyone know if in addition to claiming for the damage to my stuff whether I can get compensation for extra expenses caused by the delays of not being able to sell my house yet, particularly as I have now definitely lost out on the stamp duty deadline so that has cost me many thousands. I will be lucky at this rate to even have the work done by March. 

Thanks in advance.

Hey, thanks so much for starting this thread- it's a great read!

I am also looking to buy an insurance policy from MyBuilder pro, and from what you say it is worth it as long as my contract wording is properly worded.

One thing that struck me about this is the following. If the said policy covers you for substandard work, builder walks away, the contractor goes bust, etc,  what incentive is there for paying a well-known tradesman who quotes the most?

For example, I want an extension built and get the following quotes:

Builder 1- £50k
Builder 2- £100k
Builder 3- £150k

If the insurance policy covers me for all the issues mentioned above, and should the policy payout, claims are a max of 3 times the original contract price, why then would someone pay a more expensive builder? What am I missing here?

Why not just go with builder 1, who may not be very good, but as I am covered by the insurance policy which will ensure that the works are going to be of a similar standard as someone like builder 3? So essentially if I go with builder 1, I get the same job as with builder 3, only I have to pay 7.5% of the contracted amount, which in this example is £3750. By using builder 1 over builder 3, the saving would be over £90k, but there is no risk that the work will be left substandard, as it is covered by the policy!

Seems too good to be true. Or perhaps I have missed something very obvious because insurance companies are so clever.

Sandtree

numberbook said:

Why not just go with builder 1, who may not be very good, but as I am covered by the insurance policy which will ensure that the works are going to be of a similar standard as someone like builder 3? So essentially if I go with builder 1, I get the same job as with builder 3, only I have to pay 7.5% of the contracted amount, which in this example is £3750. By using builder 1 over builder 3, the saving would be over £90k, but there is no risk that the work will be left substandard, as it is covered by the policy!

Seems too good to be true. Or perhaps I have missed something very obvious because insurance companies are so clever.

The risk you will have is the debate over what "sub standard" means particularly when it comes to cosmetic matters. I suspect it would be difficult to argue that non-optimal aesthetics are sufficient to be counted as sub standard if they are functionally sound. Similarly if the price includes supply of materials then what "sub standard" is will be considered in comparison to the price paid... a £5,000 kitchen is not going to be held to the same yard stick as a £35,000 one.