Need advice about taking legal action.

Benthorseboy

Hello again.

A couple of days ago I posted about a failed render coating that had been applied to my house but I probably didn't explain my situation properly. 

After 4 years of being continually fobbed off by the trader it's obvious that he has no intention of carrying out repairs, so it seems that my only option is to take legal action against him. I've contacted Citizens Advice and while they were as sympathetic as they could be they weren't much help, so can anyone offer advice about how I go about instigating legal proceedings?

The evidence is clear for all to see in that large chunks of coating have peeled off of the gable end of the house, and the trader has palmed me off with every imaginative excuse he think of, but getting him to sort it out is proving impossible. 

Taking legal action is something I have no experience of and the thought of it is keeping me awake at night but I can't see any other way of sorting this out, so I'd be grateful for advice about how to proceed.

Martyn.

fwor

There's a User Guide at the government-run Money Claim Online website. It may be worth reading that and seeing if it answers the questions that you have:

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

Undervalued

Benthorseboy said:

Hello again.

A couple of days ago I posted about a failed render coating that had been applied to my house but I probably didn't explain my situation properly. 

After 4 years of being continually fobbed off by the trader it's obvious that he has no intention of carrying out repairs, so it seems that my only option is to take legal action against him. I've contacted Citizens Advice and while they were as sympathetic as they could be they weren't much help, so can anyone offer advice about how I go about instigating legal proceedings?

The evidence is clear for all to see in that large chunks of coating have peeled off of the gable end of the house, and the trader has palmed me off with every imaginative excuse he think of, but getting him to sort it out is proving impossible. 

Taking legal action is something I have no experience of and the thought of it is keeping me awake at night but I can't see any other way of sorting this out, so I'd be grateful for advice about how to proceed.

Martyn.

You will almost certainly need a report from a suitably qualified or experienced person saying what is wrong and what is needed to be done to put it right. Ideally not another tradesman who is quoting for the job.

Once you have that you will need to send the original trader a "Letter before action" (Google for examples) giving him a short but reasonable opportunity to put the work right or pay appropriate compensation, otherwise you will commence proceedings without further notice. 

tacpot12

If you have home insurnace, check to see if you have Legal Expenses cover. This is the sort of problem that your Legal Expenses cover can help with. They will guide you through the process, and will represent you in court assuming that they think the case is likely to be decided in your favour. Call the Legal Helpline provided by your insurer. 

If you don't have this cover, add it to your policy now. It won't cover this issue, but you might need it in future. If you don't have this cover, you will need to consult a solictor. They can guide you on how to get an expert report that will be accepted by the court as evidence that the work was not done to an acceptable standard. Do this before you send a letter before action (LBA) as they may want to check that the LBA is valid.

 

MyRealNameToo

Benthorseboy said:

The evidence is clear for all to see in that large chunks of coating have peeled off of the gable end of the house, and the trader has palmed me off with every imaginative excuse he think of, but getting him to sort it out is proving impossible. 

Evidence that bits are missing may be clear for all to see but the court will want to know why bits are missing and for that it's worth considering commissioning a report on the matter. 

Did you engage with this person directly or via a company? Have you checked that he/it has the means to pay you were you to get a court order? 

The vast majority of court cases get awarded in default (ie the defendant never responds) but recovery rates are poor with people suing the wrong entity, the entity folding or having no means to pay. Some will feel that just the CCJ is worth the money but others will have just increased their losses. It's always worth making enquiries before spending money on issuing.