How long do I have before I don't need to pay builder his final invoice

sherbert1964

Hi all,

Just purchased a house and have done extensive renovations of the property.

95% of the agreed amount has been paid to the builder and 3 weeks ago builder has asked for final payment of around £5k which is considerably more than anticapted. 

When I asked him why it was so much, he said it was the final payment plus to cover some of his costs (receipted items he had purchased for us like radiators and skips which I thought was fair enough. I asked him to send me the receipts and then some come back to the house and complete snagging (unfortunately there is quite a long snagging list but nothing unbearable, just small niggly bits) and then we would settle this final invoice in full, no problems.

I sent the snagging list and photos in a letter (whatsapped)  which I sent him over almost 3 weeks ago and I've not heard back. I even sent a chaser a week ago to nudge but still nothing.

I'd be quite happy to just call it quits - he doesn't need to come back and we won't pay him the £5k but at what point do I have any legal remit to do this incase this ended up going sour?

Jenni_D

To answer your basic question ... 6 years from last acknowledgment of the debt. After that time the debt still exists but the statute of limitations then applies, meaning you'd have a statutory defence that the claim is time-barred should the builder raise a court claim.

As to the rest of it ... I'll leave that to others.

Brie

Does the builder Whatsapp?  I never have until the last few months and completely miss notifications until someone says "well I sent you a message!" so maybe builder doesn't even know about what you've sent.

I'd be contacting him again via a different means to find out what's happening with the snags.  He might have missed the message, been out of town, been up to his earlobes with other work, whatever.  3 weeks is really nothing.  You owe the money so you should pay it and no doubt he'll come shouting for it sooner rather than later.

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

You may be correct that the builder would also be happy to call it quits, perhaps suggest this in a text message or similar (where you can keep proof of him agreeing) and see what he says.

Without proof of such an agreement, if the service doesn't conform to the contract (basically the snagging) you'd work out the cost of fixing those issues, deduct that from the £5k and pay the difference then there isn't particularly any money owed. 

Before getting someone else to fix the snags it would be best to send an old fashioned letter in the post detailing the snagging issues and give a 28 day time period for them to be fixed, this would show you have done your best to resolve the matter and acted reasonably. 

Would also be wise to photo all the snagging issues just to cover yourself down the line. 

OutdoorQueen

The builder may have changed his Whats app settings.  My phone won’t ring unless the number is already in my contacts list.  If the name is not in the list, the call comes through as a silent call.  

Have you checked to see if he has read the message?  

forgotmyname

As Jenni_D said 6 years, but they can pester you weekly or go quiet and then suddenly submit a small claim against

you in 5 years and 360 days.