Builder issues.... Legal proceedings, looking for advice.

Doozergirl

Rob_Mogs said:

Doozergirl said:

If something really bad turns up, I guess you go again and sue again, but that's uncharted territory for me.  

How big is this extension?  How much have building control signed off?    Is there really that much that can be wrong other than that which people have seen?  Building control usually take photos of progress - can you ask them for those? 

Hello!, Here's the fun bit, it's only 30sq MTR, and another 30sq MTR of existing building that needed re-screeding and then walls and ceilings boarded over, the walls are about 250mm out of plumb from bottom to top on a 7ft height ceiling. 

Building control have so far signed none of it off. 
Building control chap has been really good in all honesty, he's been popping by giving us advice on what to do so we can do a lot of it ourselves, I'm an engineer by trade but time isn't on my side when it comes to work Vs home life balance. 

They must have signed off something.  They sign in stages - usually about five.  The first is the footings!  

Rob_Mogs

Only thing to standard so far (now) is the roof, but he still isn't happy with that as no fascias or guttering on and the wall plates are sticking out the end. 
He can't sign off the footings as one section under one of the walls is out by over 300mm so part of the inner leaf isn't supported so needs to be dug out and underpinned unfortunately. 

Electrics and plumbing are obviously fine but none of that is currently finished as we still have two unfinished rooms. 

The actual extension part is only single storey too. 

Doozergirl

I suspect that most things are known about.  It's not often you get to know that your footings are out by 300mm. 

Was he drunk the whole time? 

The is should be an open and close case if you keep your wording clear.  

Rob_Mogs

Doozergirl said:

I suspect that most things are known about.  It's not often you get to know that your footings are out by 300mm. 

Was he drunk the whole time? 

The is should be an open and close case if you keep your wording clear.  

The scary thing is that his actual trade is groundworks such as footings!

I honestly hope it is an open and shut case, have re read the solicitors letter again and it states he denies all allegations and will persue sums due to him, still trying to work out what it would be he thinks is due. 
Even if the work he has done was to standard we had agreed payment terms and he has not started, let alone completed the works that the last payment would have been for. 



Any advice as to what to do about this letter?

Cheers

Doozergirl

Yes! Ignore it!  It's all designed to scare and nothing else.  

The small claims route is no risk other than the £25 odd court fee with a lot more for you to gain.  

Fill out the MCOL form tomorrow xx 

princeofpounds

Rob_Mogs said:

Any advice as to what to do about this letter?

Cheers

The letter is just a letter. The fact that it is written by a solicitor is meaningless, except for the fact that in theory it should be a stylistically professional letter.

Solicitors will write following the interests of their clients and can leave quite deceptive impressions whilst being technically correct within the law. For example, they are claiming that they will counter-claim his remaining fee - well, they might. But that doesn't mean he has a hope in hell of winning it given he hasn't come close to completing the job. So it's not really much of a threat, is it? 

In small claims you can pay for a solicitor to represent you or help you prepare a case, but you cannot reclaim costs from the other side, so most people will not bother (especially if the initial, private advice to you is that you will probably lose). So the solicitor may well disappear at some point if you press ahead.

ETA: And no, you don't need to respond to the letter unless you feel you need to do so to fit your own plan and agenda. Some people like to play a game of stringing out letters as the solicitor will be due a fee for each reply in turn, but that doesn't really hold much advantage for you in this case. 

Rob_Mogs

Thanks folks, apologies for not responding for a while but life (and attempting to further finish the extension got in the way). 

We're currently waiting on a response to our second letter, which doesn't appear to be coming, so will be filling out forms for small claims pretty soon. 

Money_Grabber13579

You mention that you have had to spend a lot of money making it habitable after the builder has left site - is that part of the £12k which othered have quoted to complete or in addition? If it is in addition, i’d have thought that could be added to the claim too so that it might be more than the £7k mentioned above, but others will be better placed to confirm this.