Federation of Master Builders (FMB) - Dispute Process an absolute Joke!

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  • Furts
    Furts Posts: 4,474 Forumite
    You and I are at odds because, fundamentally, you refuse to be in the commercial world. Builders do not exist to hold your hand through a building project. Neither are they an education service. Neither are they a free quotation service. Neither are they a freebie way of getting a specification written. Builders exist to make a profit and this drives every decision. It follows that corners get cut, and all sorts happen - that is life and you and I are not going to change that.

    Having accepted all this ... one counters all this by adopting a professional approach and taking on professional help. Here you have failed dismally and from what I can determine you are still failing. In essence if you go to Court you will need professional advice, you will need facts and figures, you will need to quote technical standards, accuracy, and finishes. This means having, for example, a Clerk Of Works on board. Had you engaged one you would never be in your current situation. But perhaps better late than never.

    This in turn comes to where you and I differ in a second way. There is an unwillingness on your part to adopt a professional approach, to pay for help, and accept you might be wrong in the way you are going forward.
  • chris1012
    chris1012 Posts: 381
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    Furts wrote: »
    You and I are at odds because, fundamentally, you refuse to be in the commercial world. Builders do not exist to hold your hand through a building project. Neither are they an education service. Neither are they a free quotation service. Neither are they a freebie way of getting a specification written. Builders exist to make a profit and this drives every decision. It follows that corners get cut, and all sorts happen - that is life and you and I are not going to change that.

    Having accepted all this ... one counters all this by adopting a professional approach and taking on professional help. Here you have failed dismally and from what I can determine you are still failing. In essence if you go to Court you will need professional advice, you will need facts and figures, you will need to quote technical standards, accuracy, and finishes. This means having, for example, a Clerk Of Works on board. Had you engaged one you would never be in your current situation. But perhaps better late than never.

    This in turn comes to where you and I differ in a second way. There is an unwillingness on your part to adopt a professional approach, to pay for help, and accept you might be wrong in the way you are going forward.

    With regards to your first paragraph, this should then be made clear from the outset from the building companies.
    Like myself, my neighbours and colleagues alike in London, we all have these services provided to us as a standard...
    So maybe your ways of working is different to others. Evidently it is not a blanket rule/service.

    As mentioned to you previously, others have seen my situation through a different lens and feel with a building/quantity surveyor report, it should not be too much of a task to seek compensation/damages.

    I am not and have not refused legal help.
    I have had a solicitor advise me in alignment above.

    The forums were used since the issues started and a lot of constructive advise has come from it but the responses doesn't always dictate facts and nor will it not dictate the next steps/outcome...
    London, UK
  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 33,775
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    Perhaps these services do come ‘as standard’ but it doesn’t automatically follow that the person you employ is the most capable at all things.

    If you are ‘fussy’ then you need to employ someone independent to specify and oversee the work rather than scratching your head when you trust one person and they don’t get it right.

    My main client employs a ‘four sets of eyes’ approach, agreed between all of us so there is no particular hierarchy of decision making.
    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
  • teneighty
    teneighty Posts: 1,347 Forumite
    If the FMB conciliation service has failed to reach an amicable solution then the OP's only real option is Moneyclaim/Small Claims. At least they will get an unbiased impartial hearing, unlike the FMB.

    I don't see that Furts' default response of "its always the customers fault because they didn't employ a Clerk of Works" is very helpful.
  • Furts
    Furts Posts: 4,474 Forumite
    chris1012 wrote: »
    With regards to your first paragraph, this should then be made clear from the outset from the building companies.
    Like myself, my neighbours and colleagues alike in London, we all have these services provided to us as a standard...

    Which is why you are all victims of cowboy builders. All of you have placed sales, presentation, BS, and spurious other items above genuine ability, and genuine professionalism. I suspect all of you are commercially naive and clueless on building. The latter point is fine because nobody knows about everything. However are any of you even willing to follow fundamentals and common sense to avoid being conned?

    All of you are looking to buy into an "emotional experience", to go on "a journey", and to "engage". However, the construction industry does not work like this, yet the cowboys do.

    London is rife with "rooms in gardens", dodgy loft conversions, dodgy renovations and dodgy extensions because consumers are allowing all this to happen. It follows that the cowboys take advantage of this, and are attracted to the area like moths to a lamp. There are rich pickings to be had because the consumers think they know best and they believe they can run the construction industry better than those who work in it.
  • -taff
    -taff Posts: 14,423
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    Furts wrote: »
    All of you are looking to buy into an "emotional experience", to go on "a journey", and to "engage". However, the construction industry does not work like this, yet the cowboys do..


    Best laugh of the day....
    Shampoo? No thanks, I'll have real poo...
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