builder not delivering - how to proceed?

aoleks

hi all,

I seem to be having some problems with my builders. for the record, they've been recommended by really good friends, I've seen them work, but for some reason, they're not taking my project seriously. we had a contract for 10 weeks for the build of a rear extension, coming Friday will mark the end of the 10th week. we have a foundation and a new manhole... no brick has been laid, no materials have been delivered.

I want to request a full refund (paid the builder money to order materials, including doors/rsjs), pay up what they've done so far and move on with my life. a couple of points:

1. builder insists things have been ordered a while back, but he can't provide specifications, a delivery note or any other details OTHER than measurements, which are all wrong. do I have the right to refuse these, as they're not what I asked for? changes were never discussed with me.

2. technically they're not in breach yet, they have until Friday, but it's obvious that they will be soon, you can't finish an entire extension in 3 days, we don't even have a floor slab yet. how do I time my letter to them?

3. what kind of a solicitor do I need to make this work and what costs am I looking at?

4. do I have to give them a final chance (not sure at what) before terminating the contract?

thanks

macman

The obvious question is: what discussions have you had with your builder about the delays in completing the extension? What reasons has he given?
If the claim is under £10k then you can  use the small claims process, but you must send an LBA first.
Any solicitor can handle a civil claim for breach of contract, but your bill could well run into thousands with this sort of dispute.
If your contract states ten weeks, then you can commence your claim from the next day.
Make sure you are taking action against the correct entity: sole trader or limited company.

aoleks

macman said:

The obvious question is: what discussions have you had with your builder about the delays in completing the extension? What reasons has he given?
If the claim is under £10k then you can  use the small claims process, but you must send an LBA first.
Any solicitor can handle a civil claim for breach of contract, but your bill could well run into thousands with this sort of dispute.
If your contract states ten weeks, then you can commence your claim from the next day.
Make sure you are taking action against the correct entity: sole trader or limited company.

quite a few conversations over the phone and by text. it's always the same story: tomorrow, next week, bricklayer not available, next Tuesday etc. ...

as for the materials, they avoid answering the question. I keep asking for an order date, delivery date, specifications, nothing.

as for the entity, I signed a contract under his home address, VAT number points to his real name and home address, bank account is in his name and personal, but the invoice has a "company" name (not an LTD) instead of his real name. that is him as a sole trader, right?

he also runs an LTD, but under a different name and address.

DanDare999

aoleks said:

macman said:

The obvious question is: what discussions have you had with your builder about the delays in completing the extension? What reasons has he given?
If the claim is under £10k then you can  use the small claims process, but you must send an LBA first.
Any solicitor can handle a civil claim for breach of contract, but your bill could well run into thousands with this sort of dispute.
If your contract states ten weeks, then you can commence your claim from the next day.
Make sure you are taking action against the correct entity: sole trader or limited company.

quite a few conversations over the phone and by text. it's always the same story: tomorrow, next week, bricklayer not available, next Tuesday etc. ...

as for the materials, they avoid answering the question. I keep asking for an order date, delivery date, specifications, nothing.

as for the entity, I signed a contract under his home address, VAT number points to his real name and home address, bank account is in his name and personal, but the invoice has a "company" name (not an LTD) instead of his real name. that is him as a sole trader, right?

he also runs an LTD, but under a different name and address.

So who do you have the contract with, the builder or a limited company?

aoleks

the builder

DanDare999

aoleks said:

the builder

Are you sure? Given there's a company name on the invoice. 

aoleks

pretty sure. everything on the invoice, other than the name (which can be anything, really) is linked to his full name and home address. the name given doesn't match the LTD, the address doesn't match the LTD, the bank account is a personal one and the VAT number links to his full name and home address.

there is literally nothing to even remotely suggest he's done this as an LTD. he probably doesn't know it yet...

so basically instead of using john smith, he used john building on the invoice, but this is nothing to do with the LTD.

macman

I'd be wondering why he's running separate businesses, one limited and one sole tradership?

aoleks

one business is with his friends, for companies that don't deal with sole traders because of legal and tax implications. the other "business" is him working as a sole trader. he takes all the money and then pays different people to do parts of the project, which is causing many of our problems. he can't find anyone to complete the project.

again, everything hints at a sole trader: VAT number, bank account name, bank account type, home address, address on the invoice etc.

I definitely don't have a contract with the LTD, which is registered at a different address and has a completely different name.

macman

It's absolutely normal for builders to subcontract parts of the job, as they are generally not plumbers, sparkies, chippies,  or even plasterers, but supplying and managing those subbies is entirely their responsibility.
If your contract states that the job will commence on date x and end by date y, then it's pretty much nailed down in your favour. So I would expect there to be get-out clauses.

aoleks

I get that, I'm just after some advice on how to proceed. I don't have a problem waiting until Sunday 23:59:59 to make sure they're in breach of contract. All I want is to get my money back (deposit + 50% of total cost), pay them for the little work they did (proportional, not a made up sum that's not in proportion to total cost) and move on with my life.

Should they be difficult, I'd like to sue them. Whether that's in a small claims court (I want to recover £20k, is that do-able?) or another, it doesn't matter much unless you tell me a "normal" solicitor won't be worth the amount requested.