builder not delivering - how to proceed?

Alderbank

aoleks said:

But ...

...so your losses arising from the delay are?

aoleks

There are no losses as such, but I’m not claiming any either. I simply want to terminate a contract that’s clearly not being taken seriously.

right now, £20k of my family’s money, that we pay interest on, are sitting in the bank account of a crook. I’m yet to see anything material for that money, other than a strip of concrete and a few plastic pipes valued at around £2500 according to checkatrade (2022 update).

on top of that, I haven’t been able to use my garden for 2 months because of a false promise. I had to keep my children inside the entire summer. We all know what the trmperatures were like.

since I’ll probably have to continue with another builder, who, according to the same logic you apply when excusing this behaviour, will only have time next year, it will probably cost me more.

I am risking my relationship with the neighbours too, since they agreed to a bit of disruption for a limited period of time.

to me, these are enough losses, but again, I’m not claiming any damages or losses from the builder, I just want my deposit back in my account, upon which I will happily pay the invoice for the work carried out so far.

from where the question about losses?

eskbanker

aoleks said:

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?

There's a massive difference between having some justified grievances and being able to secure a full refund!  Even if you succeeded in convincing a court that you'd be due recompense, actually extracting it from the builder would be an entirely different story, and all of that would probably take you well into next year, so if your concern is timescales then you should prepare for the fact that seeking a refund via a formal dispute is unlikely to achieve a swift resolution, hence the suggestions from others to adopt a more pragmatic approach....

aoleks

What’s more pragmatic? This has been going on since June. “Tomorrow. Tuesday. Friday. Next Friday. Early August!”.

how many more time do I have to pretend everything will be fine before a judge is satisfied I’ve given the builder enough chances?

at what point do we go from delays to blatant lying?

eskbanker

aoleks said:

What’s more pragmatic? This has been going on since June. “Tomorrow. Tuesday. Friday. Next Friday. Early August!”.

how many more time do I have to pretend everything will be fine before a judge is satisfied I’ve given the builder enough chances?

at what point do we go from delays to blatant lying?

I'm agreeing with the approach suggested by @pinkshoes, i.e. make a clear attempt to resolve the issues, rather than believing that suing will be the answer.

macman

aoleks said:

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

It's a bit difficult for a bailiff to seize a house, or even the part of it not owned by the mortgage holder... and probably owned in joint names anyway. For a builder, a car/van is a better bet, or equipment, if it's not on finance or owned by his company.
Why did you pay such a huge sum upfront for materials?
The advice you've been given above is spot on. The judge will expect you to show that you have attempted to resolve the dispute before commencing legal action, and at the very least that means a written exchange and then an LBA. You're jumping the gun.

aoleks

again, is accepting endless delays, in writing, on at least 10 occasions, along with a request to work quicker and finish on time not enough effort to solve it? this is what I'm asking: at what point does the law consider that I've done what's reasonable to try to solve the problem?

should I want another 6 months? allow the builder to lie to my face every time I'm told he'll show up tomorrow? Friday? next week?

just trying to understand how this broken system works, nothing more.

as for the amount, a bifold alone is nearly £4000... RSJs worth thousands again. skylights. bricks. concrete. skip. drains. it's not like I gave them £100k for something that costs £5k altogether.

I was also raised with principle. not lying, communicating honestly, openly, not taking people for fools. I'd like to believe that a handshake is still worth a penny...

eskbanker

You do seem to be finding this all very stressful, but, just to recap, your thread title is asking for assistance on how to proceed and the opening post included "do I have to give them a final chance (not sure at what) before terminating the contract?"

If you don't really want to hear the answers to these questions then just go ahead with whatever you feel is appropriate, but don't be under any impression that wading in with all guns blazing by formally alleging breach of contract will be a quick and easy solution....

born_again

One thing to consider. Going to court will not be quick. 

You mention bi-fold doors. have you seen timescales for these? Someone near us had to wait a year for theirs.
Same with RSJ.
So that quoted 10 weeks sounds like a best case with a following wind.

pinkshoes

aoleks said:

What’s more pragmatic? This has been going on since June. “Tomorrow. Tuesday. Friday. Next Friday. Early August!”.

how many more time do I have to pretend everything will be fine before a judge is satisfied I’ve given the builder enough chances?

at what point do we go from delays to blatant lying?

You said he was recommended by really good friends so he can't be that bad...

You also sound like you have been constantly harassing this builder (or at the very least VERY impatient) and his deadline hasn't even been reached yet. Are you sure you haven't just annoyed him by trying to project manage him and thus he says something to get you off his case?!?!

We are doing building work and some items have taken FOREVER to get hold of, so delivery estimates of 4 weeks have turned into 13 weeks!

See my previous post for a sensible way on how to proceed. Be realistic. He cannot just magic up supplies and has no doubt been let down by suppliers as has everyone else.