Not sure whether builder for garden studio has done a runner. What are my options?

powderyalabasterguzzler

Based in England. This is a bit of a long description, apologies. But I figured it would be worth providing enough context:

I hired a builder to build a garden studio for me last month. I found him on RatedPeople, he had overwhelmingly good reviews (except for one one-star review) and was the only builder who actually showed up to assess the job and provided a fair quote.

I initially hired him to do the foundation only, which he did and after I paid him that was that. I was planning to build the studio myself. About a month later, I realised I needed the studio much sooner so I asked if he'd please quote for the full job again, as I'd like to go ahead and hire him to do the build. I also felt comfortable working with him as he was honest and upfront for the foundation job.

We signed a contract in mid-March and I paid him an initial deposit (about 20% of the total project cost) to order materials and more expensive items like the uPVC doors. In the contract that we signed, the agreement was that I'd pay him in stages, so I'd pay the deposit first, then a further 30% on completion of the timber frame structure. Next would be the roof, the cladding, the doors, electricals, the skim, and finally the decking.

He completed the timber frame structure and at that point I paid him roughly 50% of the total project cost. Then he started working on the roof, and that's when the wheels started coming off. He didn't show up at all last week (w/c 3 April), claiming that he'd got the dates wrong or that the electrician wasn't available to do the wiring on the days when he was planning to work on the roof. During the week before (w/c 27 March) I'd been very understanding when he needed to leave early or postpone a day or two for personal reasons and he was usually quite upfront about it. But by the middle of that week he had stopped giving me a reason as to why he wasn't showing up. Finally, on Thursday morning he told me he was quite ill and had to go to A&E the previous day. I told him that I was sorry he was ill and not to worry about the job, that he needed to get better and that he should let me know when he was ready to continue working. He then asked to come to see me in person on Friday (when he's meant to be very ill) to discuss the project. I told him that he should stay at home if he's ill (he didn't say what was he was ill with) and told him that he could phone me at any time to discuss the project. I didn't hear from him for the rest of Thursday, and so I assumed he was recovering from his illness.

The next morning (Friday 7 April) he asked whether I would be home as he needed to collect some items he'd left at the building site and to take measurements for the electrician. I told him that we'd be out for the day but that he's welcome to collect anything he needed while we were out. That evening, while we were still out, he sent me a text asking for another £1,000 without giving me a reason for why he needed the money. He didn't say whether it was for materials or labour - just that his money was tied up having bought the materials for my garden studio and that he needed extra cash. When I probed a bit, telling him that I wasn't comfortable paying any more until he made more progress on the build, he just said that he understood my discomfort and that he'd find the money some other way (he claimed he needed the money by midnight on Saturday, which was also very strange).

I then asked him on Saturday to please explain what the next planned steps were for the build, because we were clearly off schedule now. Initially he had insisted that the build would be finished by today (13 April) which I thought was very ambitious, so I was prepared for some setbacks. He gave me a breakdown of work to be done this week and assured me that he'd be here on Tuesday (11 April) to continue the work on the roof. On the day, he failed to show up again. After multiple attempts to contact him by phone and text messages, he told me that now he can't continue the work until 18 April.

I'm now doubtful that he intends to finish the work. The new timeframe for completion is 22 April, but he refuses to return my calls or provide a reasonable explanation for these new delays (he's claiming personal issues and health reasons, but unfortunately I suspect it's related to the £1,000 he wanted from me last week, so perhaps he's taken up another job somewhere else). I want to know what my options are in this situation. Part of me no longer trusts him - the way he's behaved makes me think that at any point he could just demand more money upfront and fail to show up whether or not I pay him. I refuse to pay any more until more work is done. But another part of me recognises that to take him to court would be a fairly long process, and if he's short on cash then it's unlikely that I would see any of my money returned (given that he has about 50% of the money for the project, and only about 20% has been finished so far).

I'm looking for any suggestions as to what I should do. Should I stick it out and see whether he turns up next week to complete the build? Or should I tell him that I want to cancel our contract for non-performance reasons, get a new quote from another builder and take this builder to court to reclaim any monies that haven't yet been used on the completed portion of work? I don't believe that the work he's done so far amounts to 50% of the project cost, which I'd already paid him. I'd like to at least recover my deposit, which he told me would be spent on the materials he has supposedly ordered but hasn't yet delivered, e.g., the uPVC doors, cladding, and decking. I'd also be happy for him to just deliver those materials to me and I'll leave it at that.

I have documented every interaction with him so far, from text messages and WhatsApp conversations to bank transfers, photographs of the building site, and have a physical copy of the signed contract.

Thanks!

HHarry

So he’s been pretty reliable and you’ve been happy with his work, up until the last fortnight or so?  If that’s the case I’d certainly give him a bit longer to get back on track.

 There’s a 101 reasons why he’s been less reliable recently.  Genuine illness, kids are off school & the childminders sick, wifes run away with the milkman, his roof’s leaking, a warranty repair on a Customers roof.

 A lack of communication isn’t great, but he’s told you he has some personal issues, and fielding multiple calls isn’t going to make that any easier to deal with.  Perhaps a little patience for a week or so?

powderyalabasterguzzler

HHarry said:

So he’s been pretty reliable and you’ve been happy with his work, up until the last fortnight or so?  If that’s the case I’d certainly give him a bit longer to get back on track.

 There’s a 101 reasons why he’s been less reliable recently.  Genuine illness, kids are off school & the childminders sick, wifes run away with the milkman, his roof’s leaking, a warranty repair on a Customers roof.

 A lack of communication isn’t great, but he’s told you he has some personal issues, and fielding multiple calls isn’t going to make that any easier to deal with.  Perhaps a little patience for a week or so?

I'm willing to give him more time, however my intuition is telling me that something is off about the situation. I haven't exactly been harrassing him with phonecalls and text messages. I tried calling him twice on Tuesday when he failed to show up, and texted him three times (once to ask when he was coming, and then twice to ask him to please return my calls after he told me at 1pm that he was no longer planning to come to work that week). Haven't heard anything from him since his one text message on Tuesday. I haven't phoned him or texted him since Tuesday either.

His RatedPeople profile shows that someone hired him after my foundation job was posted, signed a contract, paid him the deposit and he never started the job. Of course, that's a fairly limited context, but it's still worrying.

A Companies House search also shows that there is currently an active proposal to have his company struck off the register (not sure whether I noticed this before I hired him).

I think given that he's claiming he will be back on 18 April to continue (for what that's worth), I can wait until next week to see if he shows up. If he doesn't, then I think it's fairly clear to me he's not intending to finish the job.

Peppa537

I'd wait and see if he does turn up and complete the job on his new dates before looking into taking it any further. If he doesn't then message him again. Although I do agree it does seem a bit odd now, especially as he's asked you for more money before it was due. However as the post above has said he may have many reasons he doesn't want to go into as to why he hasn't been. Or he may have taken another job in between to see him through financially,which although not ideal for you doesn't mean he won't be back to finish the roof. You're also happy with the standard of his work so far.
It's good that you've got all the communication and messages incase they are needed, although I'm hopeful he'll be back to complete the job. 

soolin

HHarry said:

So he’s been pretty reliable and you’ve been happy with his work, up until the last fortnight or so?  If that’s the case I’d certainly give him a bit longer to get back on track.

 There’s a 101 reasons why he’s been less reliable recently.  Genuine illness, kids are off school & the childminders sick, wifes run away with the milkman, his roof’s leaking, a warranty repair on a Customers roof.

 A lack of communication isn’t great, but he’s told you he has some personal issues, and fielding multiple calls isn’t going to make that any easier to deal with.  Perhaps a little patience for a week or so?

I don’t agree, there’s a number of red flags here and buyer has already been patient and waited several weeks. I am particularly worried about the urgent request for £1000, that is distinctly odd. 

OP my initial thoughts would be to outline your thoughts in a short letter ask outright if builder is able to complete the work . Obviously do it in a concerned way due to his stated health issues, but try and get an agreement from him that he either confirms a date to recommence or you agree that another builder needs to be engaged and suggest you need to meet to agree a partial refund on the work paid for but not completed. Ensure the letter is sent signed for , see what he responds to that before considering your next move.

Tucosalamanca

I'd wait a little longer. I don't know where you are in the country but the recent rainy weather has left my schedule in tatters (despite being reasonably good at planning and not overbooking)
I'm keeping customers informed but it's sometimes difficult to keep everyone happy.
Communication often isn't a strong point for trades.

I think you're right not to pay anymore for the moment.
It appears that their cashflow might be an issue. It's quite possible that they've jumped onto a 'quick payer' to keep them tiding over. Hopefully they'll be back soon enough to complete yours...

powderyalabasterguzzler

I think the idea suggested by @soolin to write a letter is a very good one. But I think I'll wait until 18 April to see whether he shows up before I send anything formal.

@Tucosalamanca - yes, I understand where you're coming from. I know that from a consumer's perspective, the building trade doesn't make a lot of sense and it can be very frustrating for us when tradespeople fail to communicate with customers or disappear from jobs altogether (I've learned this the hard way since becoming a homeowner). But I also know that the trades industry is unlike most any other, and builders are often at the mercy of many factors outside of their control: weather, suppliers, other contractors, customers, and their own staff. So I'm sympathetic to this builder's situation and am willing to cut him some slack. I just would like to be kept informed about what's going on rather than have my phonecalls and texts ignored.

I'll give him until 18 April to see what happens. If he doesn't show up then I think a formal letter should be the next step.

soolin

I accept the weather condition explanation, but there is no mention at all of that in the OP. Is it seriously usual then for a builder to not bother turning up, stating they are ill instead, surely a builder would phone or text and say they couldn’t come due to weather issues? Also why would that necessitate an urgent out of hours request for £1000. 

I would not be happy at all for a builder not to be communicating with me if the weather has caused issues, householders aren’t daft, if an outside job has to be delayed by the weather then tell us,  why go down the sickness route? 

Also, what about this bit ?

“A Companies House search also shows that there is currently an active proposal to have his company struck off the register (not sure whether I noticed this before I hired him).” 

OP I wouldn’t wait any longer , I’d get the letter sent today and then wait and see what happens. If builder is genuinely Ill but planning to return it gives him the opportunity to reply and let you know. If not, you may either end up having to write the money off or try and chase him via legal means assuming he has funds to make any part refund. Doing the letter today rather than waiting means you are a step closer to potentially knowing you have to find another builder before they all get booked up for the summer. 

macman

Is your contract with his limited company? if so, to whom have you been making the payments to: the limited company, or to his personal account?

powderyalabasterguzzler

@soolin the weather has been quite unpredictable here - lots of rain over the past two weeks, but also some very sunny days. He did mention the weather as a factor in delaying the roof work, but that was before he went AWOL and claimed he had got the dates mixed up, before then claiming he was sick and had to go to A&E.

Thing is, I don't know what the situation is with his business. He was very communicative and reliable for the foundation job, and for this job he was very reliable up until about the middle of last week. I took him at his word about being desparately ill and needing to go to A&E (he told me the reason he couldn't take my calls that day was because he was so ill he couldn't speak), but I'm not sure I believe that now given that he wanted to come speak to me in person the following day, presumably to ask for the £1,000 that he later requested from me via text message. His explanation about not being able to come this week for personal and health reasons (no details) also seems very odd.

My guess is that he's come up with the poor health excuse because he's gone and signed on for another job to help his cashflow situation. If that is what's happened, then he might be worried that if he told me the real reason for his absence, I'd then have reason to cancel our contract because he's deliberately taken on other work when he's meant to be working for me. But I understand that this is a common practice among builders (i.e., booking in multiple jobs to ensure there is always work in case something unexpected happens).

It does seem likely that he's not properly ringfenced his finances and possibly used the money I'd paid him on another job, and has now run out of money for my project and can't ask for more, so he's doing another job so he can get paid and continue my build. This obviously leaves me in limbo as to when my job will be finished, if ever - and concerned that he's going to continue using the pretext of more upfront payment when he gets jammed up again because of a cashflow shortage.

soolin

Just send the letter today, it gives you both some breathing space. It means he can either get well, or finish his current job (if that is the excuse) after he confirms his actions with you, and it means you are one step nearer to being able to consider any legal move going forward. 

I would not delay further.