Had kitchen fitted, awful job, what recourse?

Had kitchen fitted, awful job, what recourse?

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Pete-mojsh

Original Poster:

355 posts

95 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
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My wife and I had a kitchen fitted at the end of last year, we bought all the units from Howdens and then offered the job on my builder, we took up a quote based on a quick turnaround. I should add that as we had a poorly newborn at that point we really took our eye off the ball, should have done things very differently and shouldn't have paid the final invoice. We just rolled along as we were incredibly stressed at the time, harsh lesson learned.

The short of it is that it's an awful job, so incredibly bad I could have done it better and we have people in now to put right everything that is wrong;

Wall units
Worktops
Seemingly every plug socket
Splashback
Upstands
End panels
Tall oven unit
Dishwasher cover panel

It's an absolute sh*tshow of clusterf*ckery.

We've made mistakes, ones I would like to think we wouldn't have done without an ill newborn and the complete lack of sleep that brings, what I am wondering is what we can do to try and retrieve some of the costs we are incurring to correct it, small claims? He's offered £275 but doesn't seem to accept that it's a bad job. I expect the company will dissolve and reappear under a different guise which may limit our options. We've got pictures of the extent of it so if he does pop up on any other sites we can add them in under reviews, we don't want anyone else to make the mistake of employing him.


smn159

12,448 posts

216 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
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You could try the small claims court, but they will want evidence / pictures of of the defects and that you gave him the option to correct them I would think.

Assuming that you asked him to fix things and he declined to do so, a report from the builder who are correcting the work might be useful - i.e. what they found to be the issues and a copy of their invoice to make good.

Worth a try - you can put in a claim online for about £80 IIRC

Simpo Two

85,148 posts

264 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
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You've slightly knackered yourself on procedure because (1) you didn't give the first fitter a chance to put things right (2) you paid his bill - which kinda says you were happy with the job.

If you want a fight you can try suing (there is a process to this, don't just send a summons), but you might not win - and you will get a load more stress to add to your collection. I'd be inclined to take the £275 and move on older and wiser.

Pete-mojsh

Original Poster:

355 posts

95 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
quotequote all
Yeah, we would have had a lot more power to influence things had we not paid, just not thinking straight at the time. We've offered opportunity to correct but been fobbed off repeatedly, I feel comfortable that we have covered that but we have made things difficult.

The wiring done for the sockets is definitely dangerous so I could report to HSE I think.

Old Tyke

288 posts

85 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
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For future reference you need to think hard about using traders on the various "trusted trader" type websites. If you were any good at your trade then 1. you wouldn't need to advertise on such sites because you'd have plenty of work from word of mouth recommendations which means 2. your lead time would be weeks or months, not the next day.

In summary : traders advertising on such sites = probably not very good. Traders advertising on such sites that can start work next day = avoid at all costs.

bigdom

2,072 posts

144 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
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I'm not sure I agree, but each to their own.

In the past few years, we used various trades from the tradeofcheck. All have been good at what we've had done, and would recommend. I do always go for the highly rating one's, go for 3 quotes and go from there. All the one's we've used usually have a month or so waiting list. Word of mouth is fine, although depending on who you talk to, their experiences can be quite varied.

Old Tyke

288 posts

85 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
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bigdom said:
I'm not sure I agree, but each to their own.

[...]

All the one's we've used usually have a month or so waiting list.
idea

Pete-mojsh

Original Poster:

355 posts

95 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
quotequote all
We only got the keys to the house 4 weeks before the baby was due and it took two solid weeks of graft to get it loosely liveable, the vendors had initially said they would be able to complete by end of August so we would have had more time to get things sorted, instead they stretched it out to end of September. I suppose that's their choice and we were stuck with it, we just ended up in a difficult situation that left us with this problem.


Kermit power

28,634 posts

212 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
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Old Tyke said:
For future reference you need to think hard about using traders on the various "trusted trader" type websites. If you were any good at your trade then 1. you wouldn't need to advertise on such sites because you'd have plenty of work from word of mouth recommendations which means 2. your lead time would be weeks or months, not the next day.

In summary : traders advertising on such sites = probably not very good. Traders advertising on such sites that can start work next day = avoid at all costs.
That's all well and good if you know people who've had a prior need for whatever service it is you require, but where would you go if nobody you know locally has used a kitchen fitter, plumber or whatever? I could recommend a builder by word of mouth, but not a plumber or standalone electrician, for example, as I've never needed one.

Just saying "don't trust someone who has to advertise" doesn't really help much, although I'm with you on the notion of not taking someone who can start tomorrow.

Old Tyke

288 posts

85 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
quotequote all
Kermit power said:
Old Tyke said:
For future reference you need to think hard about using traders on the various "trusted trader" type websites. If you were any good at your trade then 1. you wouldn't need to advertise on such sites because you'd have plenty of work from word of mouth recommendations which means 2. your lead time would be weeks or months, not the next day.

In summary : traders advertising on such sites = probably not very good. Traders advertising on such sites that can start work next day = avoid at all costs.
That's all well and good if you know people who've had a prior need for whatever service it is you require, but where would you go if nobody you know locally has used a kitchen fitter, plumber or whatever? I could recommend a builder by word of mouth, but not a plumber or standalone electrician, for example, as I've never needed one.

Just saying "don't trust someone who has to advertise" doesn't really help much, although I'm with you on the notion of not taking someone who can start tomorrow.
You're absolutely right and that's the dilemma - sometimes you have to take that gamble and hope it pays off. Anecdotally, some of the worst jobs I've seen have come from personal recommendations so there's no exact science to it but as a general rule of thumb the best tradesmen have at minimum several weeks (or even months) lead time before being able to do your work because they are in demand by everyone else that wants a top job doing. Cheap (comparatively) and can start tomorrow you say? No, no, no, no, nooooo! nono

Andehh

7,107 posts

205 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
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Got any pics of what the issue is? There might some stuff Pistonhead's can advise you on adjusting yourself - if it comes to the builder being a scrote and disappearing off.

For what it's worth we were in a similar boat. Builder finished the day we went on holiday for 2 weeks after an initial delay. Paid him on the day having had a quick check to make sure everything looked OK, but then over the coming few/months noticed a few odds & ends that needed adjusting/had been done sloppily. Builder now fitting IKEA Kitchens at a day a piece and just can't/won't fit us in. Only a days work to adjust/re-set stuff, but we've since given up chasing him on it.

Nothing major - but stuff that irritates me unfortunately! frown

Blakeatron

2,514 posts

172 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
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You will be amazed at how low some so called progessionals standards are, and sadly most people will happily live with it.

Some of the rubbish i have seen is unbelievable, work i would reprimand an apprentice for.

However most mistakes can easily be sorted by someone that knows what they are doing.

How much has it cost to rectify compared to total costs?

Alucidnation

16,810 posts

169 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
quotequote all
Pete-mojsh said:
The wiring done for the sockets is definitely dangerous so I could report to HSE I think.
Report the electrician to his scheme provider, details of those will be on the electrical installation certificate (eg NICEIC, NAPIT, Elecsa etc)

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
quotequote all
Pete-mojsh said:
we bought all the units from Howdens and then offered the job on my builder...

The short of it is that it's an awful job, so incredibly bad I could have done it better and we have people in now to put right everything that is wrong;

Wall units
Worktops
Seemingly every plug socket
Splashback
Upstands
End panels
Tall oven unit
Dishwasher cover panel

It's an absolute sh*tshow of clusterf*ckery.
What's the problem? Poor quality components, or poor workmanship?
Since you initially accepted it and are only now, four or so months later, querying it - is it just pernicketiness?

There are so many ways in which this could not go your way if you get legal...

Murph7355

37,651 posts

255 months

Wednesday 22nd March 2017
quotequote all
Simpo Two said:
You've slightly knackered yourself on procedure because (1) you didn't give the first fitter a chance to put things right (2) you paid his bill - which kinda says you were happy with the job.

If you want a fight you can try suing (there is a process to this, don't just send a summons), but you might not win - and you will get a load more stress to add to your collection. I'd be inclined to take the £275 and move on older and wiser.
This.

I would even think twice about reporting the wiring etc.

If your current installer is saying it's bad, ask if he'll act as a professional reference to the shoddy work (or even be prepared t report it himself). If it's your opinion, forget about it. You're getting it fixed, you know where you went wrong, you had mitigating circumstances so don't bet yourself up. Life's too short.

Busa mav

2,556 posts

153 months

Thursday 23rd March 2017
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How much did he charge you ?

Bristol spark

4,381 posts

182 months

Thursday 23rd March 2017
quotequote all
Alucidnation said:
Report the electrician to his scheme provider, details of those will be on the electrical installation certificate (eg NICEIC, NAPIT, Elecsa etc)
If the builder did it themselves, i highly doubt they are registered or even qualified.....

On another point, i wouldn't use a builder to build a kitchen (units/worktop etc), i would use a kitchen fitter as its there day job.


Cerbhd

338 posts

90 months

Thursday 23rd March 2017
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I think more info/photos needed for clarity.
My concern would be the wiring, I would definitely report it to his scheme provider if you think it is dangerous but what are you saying is wrong with it?

Wacky Racer

38,099 posts

246 months

Thursday 23rd March 2017
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How much are you being charged to have the bad work rectified?

£500? £1000 £2000........more?

Djtemeka

1,802 posts

191 months

Thursday 23rd March 2017
quotequote all
Old Tyke said:
For future reference you need to think hard about using traders on the various "trusted trader" type websites. If you were any good at your trade then 1. you wouldn't need to advertise on such sites because you'd have plenty of work from word of mouth recommendations which means 2. your lead time would be weeks or months, not the next day.

In summary : traders advertising on such sites = probably not very good. Traders advertising on such sites that can start work next day = avoid at all costs.
Untrue! Well, at least mostly untrue. 95% of my work is word of mouth and every now and again if I'm quite ill use one of the sites. Really good if a job gets rained off or I have a cancellation.