help needed for tradesman dispute

aljsk8

Hi everyone I'm new to the forum

I have a dispute with a tradesman over a job I hired them to do on my driveway and I'm looking for any help as to whether I have a legal case against them.

Its a pretty long story so ill try to list out the relevant info but I'm happy to supply further information.

Hired tradesman to install new block paving on driveway and to landscape back garden.
There is no official signed contract but he did send over a written estimate/quote with the payment terms etc which I agreed to. Ill refer to this as the "contract"
The estimate had a min/max time frame to complete the job but not a completion date. (max 10 days for drive and max 7 days for garden)
The "contract" set out payment terms of 3 payments. One before the job started one in the middle and one on completion to satisfaction.
the first deposit was sent as agreed and work started.
The job started and difficulties were encountered during the dig - no written or verbal agreement was made as to whether these difficulties would incur further costs.
Around 1 week into the job the contractor asked for more money for the hard landscaping materials (blocks, porcelain slabs etc.) He showed me a list of how the 1st lot of money was used up on things he had ordered - various materials, machine hire and subcontractor services. Stupidly I sent him extra money even though the job was nowhere near half way. Some of the things on the list id had but most of it I had not.

As time went on every day the tradesman turned up at 10.30 and left at 2 or 3pm and it was looking more unlikely that the job would be done in the time frame. Everyday there was an excuse about traffic or something breaking etc. The company was traveling from Leeds to Wigan and every day. Each day for 2 weeks they said that the next day the team would be booking a hotel and arriving early and doing long days to claw back lost time. This never happened. there were 4 lads on the team - one guy would work and another watch. My immediate neighbors could see what was going on and were concerned for me.
during the second week there was an issue with the grab wagons that are used to remove waste material. Around 50 tonnes of waste material sat on my front garden for a week. Every day it was the same excuses - traffic is bad, machines are broken, issues with grab wagons etc. Eventually I'd had enough and I called a different grab wagon company they came the next day and removed all the material.
From this point things got worse. Work days got shorter. I started to worry about the actual work practices again I can go into this in detail if needed. They then said they had a situation with a niece in hospital with a life threatening situation and they needed a few days off. I reluctantly agreed. The agreement was to take Friday to Tuesday off to deal with the family situation and to turn up on Wednesday with a more serious approach to the work. Wednesday arrived - no one turned up - I chased they said it will be Thursday. I agreed Thursday was the last chance otherwise I want a refund. Thursday came - I got the traffic excuse again - this time it was a major accident on motorway. skeptical I text "photo and location" in order to prove it really was the traffic. I got a load of abuse and they didn't come. The next day I asked to cancel the job and to get a refund.

So since then there has been a dispute - without going into all the details this is the situation.


The job was 21k.
I have sent them 14k.
The site has been left in a terrible state and possibly unsafe so i need to get someone else in to sort it.
I want a refund for the materials that I sent him the money for that I haven't received which comes to 8.3k.
He wants to use the labor that I haven't paid for as leverage to send me a smaller refund.
He was here on and off for 3 weeks and not a single element of the job is complete - basically he dug and pushed materials around for 2 or 3 weeks.
My argument is the amount of labor needs to be consistent with what has actually been done - "you cant just say oh I've been here for 3 weeks and made a mess you owe me £x"
I would also argue that he needs to invoice me for the actual job he has done so far but that is a separate issue as the deposits I sent too early were for materials not labor.

So have I got any case against him? its going to cost me the same again to fix all this with a new contractor so I stand to lose a lot of money

I think I can take them to court for the 8.3k of materials and any legal expenses. Is it worth it would i get my money back?

If anyone has any advise it would be greatly appreciated.

Alderbank

aljsk8 said:

So have I got any case against him?

I think I can take them to court for the 8.3k of materials and any legal expenses. Is it worth it would i get my money back?

Yes, I think you would have a case against him.

What are those legal expenses and what sort of claim would you make to recover them?

If you win your claim the court does not recover the money for you. They give you a piece of paper authorising you to try to recover it yourself.
Do you have a strategy for this? Does the company actually own stuff which you could have seized to sell to get your money back?
If not, suing may not be worth while.

aljsk8

Hi Alderbank thanks for the reply.

The legal expenses would be the fee to take them/him to the small claims court and also any money I may need to send getting an RICS surveyor to do an expert witness report on the current site condition. I would claim (in much more detail) that he has not acted with due care and diligence (job has taken too long and not been done correctly) and he has not purchased the materials he has supposedly bought.

I'm not sure whether I should claim for the whole 14k leaving him with nothing - if I lost the case would I loose all the money or does the judge come up with his own amount to make it fair.

Alternatively I could just claim for the 8.3k he has supposedly spent on materials and services I have not received. (I don't think he has bought any materials and he has probably spent all the money)

I don't have a strategy to recover any money so I need advise on that... for claims like this should I hire a solicitor?

I think the company has things to seize such as vans and tools but not much... hard to know.
Is it better to sue the individual or the company - the individual will have a house a car etc.

If its not worth suing do I just accept whatever low ball refund he offers and then spend the rest of my life angry about the situation?

Alderbank

aljsk8 said:

Hi Alderbank thanks for the reply.

The legal expenses would be the fee to take them/him to the small claims court and also any money I may need to send getting an RICS surveyor to do an expert witness report on the current site condition. I would claim (in much more detail) that he has not acted with due care and diligence (job has taken too long and not been done correctly) and he has not purchased the materials he has supposedly bought.

If you claim less than £10k total you can use small claims court which is has advantages. You can claim court costs and expert witness cost but only £75 max for any other legal costs.

I'm not sure whether I should claim for the whole 14k leaving him with nothing - if I lost the case would I loose all the money or does the judge come up with his own amount to make it fair.

Before trial the court will encourage both parties to go to arbitration to try to find a midway point of agreement. I would do this if you are not sure what would be reasonable to claim.

For small claims court you must state (and have evidence for) exactly the cost of claim. If you get that wrong the judge could find against you even though the legal basis of your claim is sound.
If you lose the case then yes, you get nothing (and the builder might then sue you!)

Alternatively I could just claim for the 8.3k he has supposedly spent on materials and services I have not received. (I don't think he has bought any materials and he has probably spent all the money)

I don't have a strategy to recover any money so I need advise on that... for claims like this should I hire a solicitor?

Sadly, a solicitor won't go round to bang on his door to demand your money. You might need a bailiff to do that - his fee can be added on to the claim but if you recover nothing you will have to pay that as well.

I think the company has things to seize such as vans and tools but not much... hard to know.

It's tax efficient for a business to hire plant, office equipment and vehicles rather than buy them outright. Tools don't fetch much at auction

Is it better to sue the individual or the company - the individual will have a house a car etc.

You have no choice who to sue. You must sue the precise entity who you contracted with.
His wife might turn out to own the cars, house, TV, etc. You can't have her possessions.

If its not worth suing do I just accept whatever low ball refund he offers and then spend the rest of my life angry about the situation?

Sometimes the threat of suing or the arrival of court papers brings results. Also if your claim is well prepared and he runs to his solicitor the solicitor will advise him to agree a settlement with you out of court.

Whatever the outcome, certainly don't spend the rest of your life angry!

          

aljsk8

Hi Alderbank thanks for the reply again - really helpful info

looks like the chances of getting money back are pretty low. 

I feel I have a strong case and plenty of evidence.

if I do decide to sue and it scares him into submission can I just cancel the case at any time?

Alderbank

There are no penalties for cancelling but there are no refunds either, so you won't get your £80 court fee back.

You can't start the case up again after you cancel so get the money in your hand first!

If you have frightened him enough to beg you not to take him to court, it's usual to tell him you want your court fee as well.