Claims court advice

marywbb29

We recently had some decorating done by a company.  We had used them before for a painting job so felt comfortable leaving them to get on with wallpapering.  They finished the job and all looked good on photos so I paid the bill.  The next day when we got home we discovered that the wallpaper wasn't matched for most of the room and close up was just really bad.  I contacted the business and they apologised and accepted the job was not up to standard and they offered to come and do again.  I declined and said I wanted a refund of the labour cost to which they agreed.  No suprise they have not refunded and are  now not answering calls, emails from me.  What I want to know is if I take them to Claims Court can I request the full amount of getting the job done again by another business or because I originally asked for just the labour cost am I limited to this?  At the time I did not appreciate the cost to get done again would be much more due to the wallpaper needing stripped.  Thanks for your guidance.

tacpot12

You are not limited to refund of the labour costs, despite having made an offer and had that offer accepted but not honoured. Hanging the wallpaper means that the company effectively ruined the materials, so are liable for the cost of the materials as well. Strictly your offer should have been made "without predjudice", but no judge would hold you to this in an early discussion of a consumer dispute.

It would be as well to write to them and offer them the same deal in exchange for prompt repayment of the amount of the labour. Your letter should be a Letter before Action (you will need to research what needs to be included). You should state that your offer is "without predjudice" and you can make the point that if you do have to take them to court you will be seeking to recover the cost of the material (and possible the cost of removal as well), whereas if they pay promptly you will only seek to recover the labour costs. Hopefully this will cause them to pay. Before actually taking them to court, you need to consider whether they are likely to be able to pay if you win the case, and whether you can enforce payment.  

Keep_pedalling

I would have thought you can reclaim the original price you paid them, the cost of stripping the wallpaper and the cost of replacement paper, but not the labour for hanging the new paper.