Builder Dispute

Tophat06

We are in dispute with our builder who has taken an extra 6 months on our extension and still not finished. He issued us with an extra work bill but didn't discuss that any of the work would be extra as his quote stipulated (although vague) all of the things he's asking for extra money for.
He has been a nightmare to communicate with and has more or less avoided any conversation with us over the last months. 
He is now threatening to get a court order to enter our property and rip out the windows/ pipework that he deems is his property.
We have attempted to negotiate via letter but he wants the full amount. We have already paid him the majority of the money that we agreed to on the quote and he's left us with work to complete and things to fix.
We now think that we need to get advice from a solicitor but thought we'd try here first. Can anyone help please?
Thank you, we appreciate any advice.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

Hard to say on limited info but probably best to split it in two.

With regards to any work on the original quote, if this has been completed then payment should be made, if any isn't complete or not to a satisfactory standard then you would be entitled to a price reduction to cover the cost of completing/fixing any issues.

With regards to extra work, this is complicated, you say the work he asking extra for was part of the extra quote, what is his response to this and how clearly can you demonstrate it?

How much extra are we taking about? 

Tophat06 said:

He is now threatening to get a court order to enter our property and rip out the windows/ pipework that he deems is his property.

I don't think that's possible, AFAIK the courts usually deal with monetary awards, although they can stipulate specific performance of a contract I can not see it would be in anyone's interest to allow someone to rip out install pipes and windows over a payment dispute, it would be far more logical for a court to simply award their value (were it due) so this sounds like a scare tactic. 

I think you need to work out exactly what is what, without the builder's input, and put that in a letter. If it transpires he owes you money for work not completed/to a good standard then you can cite this (whether you chase that money or not is up to you) and you might find it wise to have an independent person inspect the quote and work and put what they think in a "report" although whether that is worth the trouble depends on whether we are talking £1000 or  £10,000  

Alderbank

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Tophat06 said:

He is now threatening to get a court order to enter our property and rip out the windows/ pipework that he deems is his property.

...I can not see it would be in anyone's interest to allow someone to rip out install pipes and windows over a payment dispute...

No doubt this builder remembers Nigel Gray, a builder in Sussex.

Gray was annoyed by a payment dispute with a customer after building a porch so he returned with a sledgehammer and demolished it.
No action was taken against Gray but the customer, a Council tenant, was made to pay for removing the pile of rubble and for making good the front of the house which was left the worse for wear.

Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-LqLU7CxeA

Tophat06

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hello OP

Hard to say on limited info but probably best to split it in two.

With regards to any work on the original quote, if this has been completed then payment should be made, if any isn't complete or not to a satisfactory standard then you would be entitled to a price reduction to cover the cost of completing/fixing any issues.

With regards to extra work, this is complicated, you say the work he asking extra for was part of the extra quote, what is his response to this and how clearly can you demonstrate it?

How much extra are we taking about? 

Tophat06 said:

He is now threatening to get a court order to enter our property and rip out the windows/ pipework that he deems is his property.

I don't think that's possible, AFAIK the courts usually deal with monetary awards, although they can stipulate specific performance of a contract I can not see it would be in anyone's interest to allow someone to rip out install pipes and windows over a payment dispute, it would be far more logical for a court to simply award their value (were it due) so this sounds like a scare tactic. 

I think you need to work out exactly what is what, without the builder's input, and put that in a letter. If it transpires he owes you money for work not completed/to a good standard then you can cite this (whether you chase that money or not is up to you) and you might find it wise to have an independent person inspect the quote and work and put what they think in a "report" although whether that is worth the trouble depends on whether we are talking £1000 or  £10,000  

Thank you for your response.
It is very complicated! We've paid for the majority of the build work, there is a £10k remainder to pay from the original quote and he's asking for another £12k on top of that as 'extra work'. As we've paid in instalments we thought that we had paid for everything at that stage of the build, so to get the extra £12k nearing the end is a shock.
He was 5 months over with the build time, and has been a nightmare to communicate with, often avoiding us when we needed to speak to him. He's also not done a full week for well over 10 months! He has damaged our front door, broken the garage door and left us with an inhabitable space. From the £10k still owed to him from the original quote, this was to be paid on completion and he hasn't fixed the floor, done the render on the outside of the building, fixed a crack on the exterior due to some subsidence and hung the internal doors.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Tophat06 said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hello OP

Hard to say on limited info but probably best to split it in two.

With regards to any work on the original quote, if this has been completed then payment should be made, if any isn't complete or not to a satisfactory standard then you would be entitled to a price reduction to cover the cost of completing/fixing any issues.

With regards to extra work, this is complicated, you say the work he asking extra for was part of the extra quote, what is his response to this and how clearly can you demonstrate it?

How much extra are we taking about? 

Tophat06 said:

He is now threatening to get a court order to enter our property and rip out the windows/ pipework that he deems is his property.

I don't think that's possible, AFAIK the courts usually deal with monetary awards, although they can stipulate specific performance of a contract I can not see it would be in anyone's interest to allow someone to rip out install pipes and windows over a payment dispute, it would be far more logical for a court to simply award their value (were it due) so this sounds like a scare tactic. 

I think you need to work out exactly what is what, without the builder's input, and put that in a letter. If it transpires he owes you money for work not completed/to a good standard then you can cite this (whether you chase that money or not is up to you) and you might find it wise to have an independent person inspect the quote and work and put what they think in a "report" although whether that is worth the trouble depends on whether we are talking £1000 or  £10,000  

Thank you for your response.
It is very complicated! We've paid for the majority of the build work, there is a £10k remainder to pay from the original quote and he's asking for another £12k on top of that as 'extra work'. As we've paid in instalments we thought that we had paid for everything at that stage of the build, so to get the extra £12k nearing the end is a shock.
He was 5 months over with the build time, and has been a nightmare to communicate with, often avoiding us when we needed to speak to him. He's also not done a full week for well over 10 months! He has damaged our front door, broken the garage door and left us with an inhabitable space. From the £10k still owed to him from the original quote, this was to be paid on completion and he hasn't fixed the floor, done the render on the outside of the building, fixed a crack on the exterior due to some subsidence and hung the internal doors.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

Hello OP

So I think you need to look at working out the cost of what is left to do/make good, deduct that from the £10k and pay the difference. This way you are acting reasonably and have paid for everything quoted minus the cost of finishing off.

Regarding the £12k extra, first step is to negotiate with the builder and if that doesn't get anywhere ultimately the builder would have to take you to small claims so a court could decide. 

I appreciate there is no doubt some animosity that has been built up over this situation but it's important to ensure you remain fair and objective as that is how a court will view and decide upon the dispute  

Tophat06

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Tophat06 said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hello OP

Hard to say on limited info but probably best to split it in two.

With regards to any work on the original quote, if this has been completed then payment should be made, if any isn't complete or not to a satisfactory standard then you would be entitled to a price reduction to cover the cost of completing/fixing any issues.

With regards to extra work, this is complicated, you say the work he asking extra for was part of the extra quote, what is his response to this and how clearly can you demonstrate it?

How much extra are we taking about? 

Tophat06 said:

He is now threatening to get a court order to enter our property and rip out the windows/ pipework that he deems is his property.

I don't think that's possible, AFAIK the courts usually deal with monetary awards, although they can stipulate specific performance of a contract I can not see it would be in anyone's interest to allow someone to rip out install pipes and windows over a payment dispute, it would be far more logical for a court to simply award their value (were it due) so this sounds like a scare tactic. 

I think you need to work out exactly what is what, without the builder's input, and put that in a letter. If it transpires he owes you money for work not completed/to a good standard then you can cite this (whether you chase that money or not is up to you) and you might find it wise to have an independent person inspect the quote and work and put what they think in a "report" although whether that is worth the trouble depends on whether we are talking £1000 or  £10,000  

Thank you for your response.
It is very complicated! We've paid for the majority of the build work, there is a £10k remainder to pay from the original quote and he's asking for another £12k on top of that as 'extra work'. As we've paid in instalments we thought that we had paid for everything at that stage of the build, so to get the extra £12k nearing the end is a shock.
He was 5 months over with the build time, and has been a nightmare to communicate with, often avoiding us when we needed to speak to him. He's also not done a full week for well over 10 months! He has damaged our front door, broken the garage door and left us with an inhabitable space. From the £10k still owed to him from the original quote, this was to be paid on completion and he hasn't fixed the floor, done the render on the outside of the building, fixed a crack on the exterior due to some subsidence and hung the internal doors.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. 

Hello OP

So I think you need to look at working out the cost of what is left to do/make good, deduct that from the £10k and pay the difference. This way you are acting reasonably and have paid for everything quoted minus the cost of finishing off.

Regarding the £12k extra, first step is to negotiate with the builder and if that doesn't get anywhere ultimately the builder would have to take you to small claims so a court could decide. 

I appreciate there is no doubt some animosity that has been built up over this situation but it's important to ensure you remain fair and objective as that is how a court will view and decide upon the dispute  

Thanks for your response, We are definitely trying to find an amicable solution.