Builder not completed work

kooboy

I have entered into a contract with a builder for approx 45k worth of work. he has taken all the money since november, and atleast around 3k worth of work is pending and he is not coming, he never answer phones and never reply to text messages. After taking advice from CAB, i have sent a registered letter to him last week, upon receipt of this letter, he texted me , saying he will re draft remaining works and finish. with my experience with him, he is just buying time, as house is in messy condition , I can't wait for him for long. Again i spoke to CAB this week and they adviced me to send another letter next week, saying "Final warning before court case".
Can somebody help me , whether this works, As i heard lot of stories that these builders are like this and they might not care.

Aylesbury_Duck

Send the letter and take him to court if needs be. There is no other route available to you.  If he fails to respond, he'll lose the case.  Whether you can force him to pay up is the next battle.

kooboy

Aylesbury_Duck said:

Send the letter and take him to court if needs be. There is no other route available to you.  If he fails to respond, he'll lose the case.  Whether you can force him to pay up is the next battle.

Thanks for the reply. As i'm in this limbo state for lost three weeks, now I started serving notices with a week deadline, should i wait till that time, before I engage some other person. Also is it better in next letter , to mention, to old builder saying that I'm going to engage another person, and he needs to compensate me the expenses?

Aylesbury_Duck

You need to follow through on any legal threats you've made, otherwise he'll just ignore you.  And if you've sent other letters demanding action by a certain date, you're best waiting for that deadline to elapse.  Keep your side of the argument structured, rather than firing off multiple letters and only following through on some of them.

If it gets to this final letter before court action, set out what you want, which is presumably the £3k refunded or him completing the work.  Also say that if you don't get a response with a resolution within 14 days of your letter, you will engage another builder to complete the work and sue him for the cost.

kooboy

after my second letter "which is before court case", he sent email 7 days after receiving the letter( 7 days was my deadline). He sent another invoice saying , he will complete only after full payment, "due to inconsistent payment previously".. this is absolutely rubbish, he always took money upfront, saying payment when commencing job. now he claims inconsistent payments. Anyway I didn't reply to him, as I don't want to pay him upfront another £2000 and wait for him. Now what would be my weightage , if I go for Small Claims court (moneyclaimonline). As i read, i may have to pay fesses during the case. Would it be wise to go trough this or just ignore that guy. As I already arranged someone for pending works to complete. somebody please advice me.

Thrugelmir

You signed a contract agreeing to payment upfront? What other clauses did you agree to? 

kooboy

the contract has been written as sub tasks, and when each task begin he took money. after completion of each task, there is only £100 pending, that's how he took all money, but not completed and not unto standard , like finishing stair case, plastering walls,  flooring  etc.,

Tony_9271

I'm in the same position. I employed a builder to do a bedroom extension to start in February 2021. In the meantime I became disabled in October 2021. After lots of times badgering him, he finally agreed to start in November 2022, with a promise to finish by Christmas. We are now in June 2023 and the ext is still not finished. I have to sleep on the sofa which is not good as now I'm an amputee. He is now ignoring my messages (Whatsaap and text) and ignoring the phone calls. The contract was to pay in stages, which I started doing. Before I knew it, I've paid the full cost. The original cost on the invoice was £23,500 and have paid him to date £28,800. He said materials have gone up. He has left my garden literally like a building site, which has completely ruined my lawn. He's left half his rubbish and big slabs of stone. There's a big crack in my kitchen wall and the plasterboard has come down due to not covering the building properly. The kitchen will need decorating but I definitely can't see him agreeing to that. No radiators fitted, so am unable to use the bedroom as I need to keep warm. Fall pipes are not fitted. I had to get someone to clear out my drain as it was filled with rubble. I'm on my own and think he knows that and is taking advantage. Are my options the same as the original poster on here? Thanks

Aylesbury_Duck

Tony_9271 said:

I'm in the same position. I employed a builder to do a bedroom extension to start in February 2021. In the meantime I became disabled in October 2021. After lots of times badgering him, he finally agreed to start in November 2022, with a promise to finish by Christmas. We are now in June 2023 and the ext is still not finished. I have to sleep on the sofa which is not good as now I'm an amputee. He is now ignoring my messages (Whatsaap and text) and ignoring the phone calls. The contract was to pay in stages, which I started doing. Before I knew it, I've paid the full cost. The original cost on the invoice was £23,500 and have paid him to date £28,800. He said materials have gone up. He has left my garden literally like a building site, which has completely ruined my lawn. He's left half his rubbish and big slabs of stone. There's a big crack in my kitchen wall and the plasterboard has come down due to not covering the building properly. The kitchen will need decorating but I definitely can't see him agreeing to that. No radiators fitted, so am unable to use the bedroom as I need to keep warm. Fall pipes are not fitted. I had to get someone to clear out my drain as it was filled with rubble. I'm on my own and think he knows that and is taking advantage. Are my options the same as the original poster on here? Thanks

I'm afraid so, yes.  I assume you have his full name and address?

Tony_9271

I have his name and address and have sent him a letter pointing out what is wrong etc I used a template from the CAB telling him what I need him to put right. 

Is it worth going to small claims or ombudsman. I’m looking at around £1500 for the jobs that are unfinished 

Tony_9271

Oh and a porch to be built that are on the plans. Thanks for all advice