builder not delivering - how to proceed?

DanDare999

aoleks said:

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.

Small claims limit is £10k.

eskbanker

aoleks said:

we had a contract for 10 weeks for the build of a rear extension, coming Friday will mark the end of the 10th week

[...]

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.

Is there a 'time is of the essence' clause in the contract to signify that a delay would definitely be regarded as a breach?

aoleks

no, it's a very simple contract stating the parties, the scope of the works, start and end dates and cost, along with a termination clause.

a delay is, as far as I'm concerned, the builder taking a bit longer (a few days, a week), but still with visible progress made. what happened in our case, where we literally have a strip of concrete (not a single brick laid) after 10 weeks, is not a delay anymore, but an abandonment. along with a silent refusal to provide information about what has been ordered (or when, from where and when it will be delivered), continuous lies about the availability of a fictional bricklayer and broken promises, it's obviously a serious breach of contract, is it not?

Make a court claim for money: Court fees - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

what's the thing about £10k limit? gov.uk talks about unlimited amounts with a claim for £20k having a fee of 5%. maybe I'm not using the correct term, but which court (or process) do I need to claim £20k from a builder?

Alderbank

Unless you included a contract term that time was of the essence, he's not necessarily in breach of contract at midnight on Sunday. I accept he would be a bit behind.

You should be looking to quantify your costs for the delay. For example if you had confirmed bookings for the extension as a holiday let and you needed to return fees paid that would be a quantified loss.

Since your claim is over £10K the court fee just to start your claim will be 5%, so about £1,000. Generously, your County Court will allow you to round the amount down, if necessary, to the nearest 1 pence.

If at all possible you would be better to get an agreement without going to court. After all, people you respect have had good work done by this builder and recommended him. He probably has a double whammy of difficulty completing other jobs he has started and problems obtaining materials and subcontractors. You are still on speaking terms so instead of demanding a full refund, could you both agree a fair price for what has been done so far, a partial refund for the remainder and both of you move on?

aoleks

leaving aside the breach of contract, I have a clause that allows me to terminate the contract. if I do that, I simply want my money back. I would not have entered into a contract with this builder had I known it takes ages. we have a little baby in the house and I can't risk the works extending in the autumn, they involve disconnecting central heating, the water main and demolishing a wall, basically compromising the security of our house. I made it clear when we signed the contract.

are you saying that unless I specify that time is of the essence, a start and end date is worth nothing? can you just enter into a contract with people and if certain terms are not there, you're basically not liable for anything?

macman

No, the small claims process limit is £10k, as you've already been advised.
If an LBA fails to get any result, then you can sue in the county court, with or without a solicitor, though, for a claim of that size, it would be advisable to have legal representation.
If you win, you should get your costs on top of the award. if you lose, the defendant will seek to have you pay his costs. So, your potential losses can be very high.
Bear in mind that winning an action does not 'get' you any money back. If the defendant chooses not to pay up, then you have to instruct bailiffs. If he has no assets worth £20k to recover, then you're stuffed. The majority of  CCJ's awarded are never actually recovered.

aoleks

he owns a house with quite a lot of equity in it.

Alderbank

aoleks said:

are you saying that unless I specify that time is of the essence, a start and end date is worth nothing? can you just enter into a contract with people and if certain terms are not there, you're basically not liable for anything?

Of course not.
Contracts that do not have ‘time of the essence’ clauses are required to be performed  within a ‘reasonable time’. What is ‘reasonable’ will depend on the facts and circumstances of each particular case. Helpfully the law considers 'reasonable' as that which would be considered reasonable by a reasonable man. A court will take into account post-Brexit and post-covid issues with labour and materials in the construction trade
A breach without that clause is not itself a ‘repudiatory’ breach which entitles the innocent party to terminate the contract. The innocent party (you) may still claim damages for losses caused by the delay.
That is why I asked about your quantified costs.

aoleks

But those issues were known when we signed the contract, covid and brexit and their impact were not new problems at the beggining of the summer.

can he just promise something with ckmplete disregard for the situation? Also, if something has been ordered, why not provide evidence or at least specifications for what was ordered?

what about stupid mistakes like measuring RSJs off a conceptual drawing (which specifically says NOT to use drawings for measurements)?

there are plenty of reasons to cancel and get a full refund. There’s no world in which 10 weeks is a reasonable time to lay a foundation of 6 by 4m, is there?

pinkshoes

A court will want you to take reasonable measures to give the builder a chance to finish. There are nationwide supply issues at the moment, so it is highly likely that he cannot get hold of certain things, so demanding he finishes at the end of the 10 week deadline is unreasonable.

I would write to him saying that you appreciate there have been delays, but as he is clearly not going to be finished on time, you would like in the next 14 days a written schedule showing milestones of what will be completed and when.

I would then state that if he is unable to complete the work (which you will assume if he cannot supply a timeline), then you are happy to pay him for the work he has completed so far (perhaps get a couple of quotes on how much it will cost to finish the job) but he needs to refund the rest of the money so you can employ someone else to finish the job. 

You need to be polite but firm.