Advice about a builder

[Lanby]

Hi,
Any advice would be appreciated on this one.

We have been in discussions for a while with a builder and last week verbally instructed them to go ahead with the job, we agreed a start date of 16th Feb and he said he would draw up the contracts shortly - but never did.
Forward to today and I received a text message saying after careful consideration I should consider a different builder to do the job, mainly due to their growing workload.

I can't see their workload changing that much in the last week and am not particularly impressed with receiving the news by text, or that they are now avoiding my calls.

This builder has been in the background waiting for us to get planning and to do the job for the last 3 years so a very strange decision for him to make, but my question is, should I chase him on the basis verbal contracts are binding or be grateful I'm let down now rather than mid-build and just walk away and find another builder even though other quotes were £30k more?

Either way it's bloody annoying

[barker22]

Lanby said:

Hi,
Any advice would be appreciated on this one.

We have been in discussions for a while with a builder and last week verbally instructed them to go ahead with the job, we agreed a start date of 16th Feb and he said he would draw up the contracts shortly - but never did.
Forward to today and I received a text message saying after careful consideration I should consider a different builder to do the job, mainly due to their growing workload.

I can't see their workload changing that much in the last week and am not particularly impressed with receiving the news by text, or that they are now avoiding my calls.

This builder has been in the background waiting for us to get planning and to do the job for the last 3 years so a very strange decision for him to make, but my question is, should I chase him on the basis verbal contracts are binding or be grateful I'm let down now rather than mid-build and just walk away and find another builder even though other quotes were £30k more?

I imagine this may have something to do with not wanting the work any more, perhaps he has a more accurate recent quote on materials etc and decided it just wasn't worth it anymore.

[silverous]

If that's how he operates I'd imagine you are well rid, best to find another builder and get a contract this time - you can download a JCT one for a small fee and it gives pretty good cover.

[Lanby]

I appreciate and partly agree with your comments, but this guy has been after the job for 3 years, and only quoted after Christmas.

[silverous]

Lanby said:

I appreciate and partly agree with your comments, but this guy has been after the job for 3 years, and only quoted after Christmas.

Not sure what difference that makes. You have to ask yourself why he was £30k less. I suspect you may even have saved yourself some money....I know people who have had builders walk off jobs owing them money etc - he sounds unreliable to me.

[Vaud]

I think you are better off without him.

Look at the upside - at least he has told you now and not midway through...

[TooMany2cvs]

Lanby said:

should I chase him on the basis verbal contracts are binding

Do you have these verbal contracts in writing...?

[Borghetto]

OP you might think you have a verbal quotation and your builder may have only given you an estimate - two very different things.

[Collectingbrass]

Lanby said:

Hi,
Any advice would be appreciated on this one.

We have been in discussions for a while with a builder and last week verbally instructed them to go ahead with the job, we agreed a start date of 16th Feb and he said he would draw up the contracts shortly - but never did.
Forward to today and I received a text message saying after careful consideration I should consider a different builder to do the job, mainly due to their growing workload.

I can't see their workload changing that much in the last week and am not particularly impressed with receiving the news by text, or that they are now avoiding my calls.

This builder has been in the background waiting for us to get planning and to do the job for the last 3 years so a very strange decision for him to make, but my question is, should I chase him on the basis verbal contracts are binding or be grateful I'm let down now rather than mid-build and just walk away and find another builder even though other quotes were £30k more?

Either way it's bloody annoying

If you chase him on the basis you describe you won't get a good job as he will be doing it under sufference. He at least has had the grace to tell you he is unable to do the job, albeit in an unprofessional way and for a poor reason. As others have said though, you are probably better off without him if he thinks texts are an ok way to deliver bad news, but also because he was cheaper than the rest. From what you have posted, I would expect that the true cost is nearer the prices the others have submitted and he has now either realised his mistake, or more likely, won other work he will make more money on.

The construction market is heating up rapidly now, so to protect yourself it would be worth getting a proper pricing document put together, especially now you have planning, and putting the job out to a proper tender so you can compare prices on an equal basis. Give him a chance to submit a revised bid if you like, but don't accept the cheapest.

[GT03ROB]

Forget it. A builder who doesn't want to the work from the start is a disaster waiting to happen

[PorkInsider]

I'm sure it's staying the obvious, and has been mentioned several time already, but would you really want to force the builder to do the job under duress?

It's difficult enough to get a good job done without employing someone who doesn't actually want the job to do it.

[johnao]

Borghetto said:

OP you might think you have a verbal quotation and your builder may have only given you an estimate - two very different things.

+1

Whatever you might think you might have had you really didn't have a verbal contract. If it had come to an argy-bargy with the builder the courts would undoubtedly have upheld his claim to have given you nothing more than verbal estimate.

You are extremely lucky to have got out of this unscathed by the sounds of it.

Now, as someone else has said, do it properly this time and get three different builders to give you written quotations (not estimates). Get each one to show you an example of his work and talk to the customer whose work he shows you.

Depending upon the value of the contract it might be worth considering getting an architect to negotiate the contract under a Minor Works Building Contract. The architect will then periodically scrutinise the work carried out to date and issue periodic (usually monthly) certificates of work done with a final certificate at the end. Beware of, and avoid, any builder who isn't happy with this arrangement.

[jshell]

Lanby said:

Hi,
Any advice would be appreciated on this one.

We have been in discussions for a while with a builder and last week verbally instructed them to go ahead with the job, we agreed a start date of 16th Feb and he said he would draw up the contracts shortly - but never did.
Forward to today and I received a text message saying after careful consideration I should consider a different builder to do the job, mainly due to their growing workload.

I can't see their workload changing that much in the last week and am not particularly impressed with receiving the news by text, or that they are now avoiding my calls.

This builder has been in the background waiting for us to get planning and to do the job for the last 3 years so a very strange decision for him to make, but my question is, should I chase him on the basis verbal contracts are binding or be grateful I'm let down now rather than mid-build and just walk away and find another builder even though other quotes were £30k more?

Either way it's bloody annoying

I've just been through this with a builder who underpriced my extension and it bacame a absolute fking ballaching of a ttting time.

Walk, really.

[Evolved]

You've paid no money and he's started no work. Find another builder and ensure the contract is water tight before any work starts otherwise I foresee another thread concerning your spiralling costs on the build

[Lanby]

Hi guys,
I agree with the sentiment on here, but to defend myself, we did have written quotes from a number of builders and instructed this guy verbally to do the job.
Last week he said he would send me a contract and work out the build and payment schedule.
The architect has been involved during the whole process and was as surprised as me to hear this.
Just spoken to them and they said they didn't want to start the job and not be able to give it the attention it deserves as they feel they would be stretching themselves a bit thin.
Bloody annoying but better to know now.
Cheers

PS Anybody want to build a £300k+ extension next week?

[Lanby]

Evolved said:

You've paid no money and he's started no work. Find another builder and ensure the contract is water tight before any work starts otherwise I foresee another thread concerning your spiralling costs on the build

+1 100%

Your new thread comment did make me laugh

[annsxman]

Lanby said:

Hi,
....... he said he would draw up the contracts shortly - but never did.


.......should I chase him on the basis verbal contracts are binding.......

It's been said many times before that a verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's not written on.

And the fact that you were both going to go ahead with a written contract - albeit it never appeared - indicates that the verbal "go ahead" wasn't intended to be binding on either of you.

Indeed it would be surprising if what is clearly a substantial building project was to proceed without a detailed specification incorporated in a written contract.

So I suspect that you'll get nowhere with standing on your contractual rights since they seem to be non-existent.

If you rate this builder, then why not have a word and find out why he's adopting this tack. If it's because he now realises that being £30k less than the opposition is going to involve him in being a busy fool and not making a profit? In my experience holding someone - which as noted above I doubt if you can do - to an onerous contract is not a good idea - there needs to be something in it for him as well as for you. If there isn't can you really see him pushing to finish the job on time and to whatever spec is agreed, or can you see him performing the old construction industry trick of making no money on the contract but making plenty on the variation orders.

[JustinP1]

annsxman said:

It's been said many times before that a verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's not written on.

And the fact that you were both going to go ahead with a written contract - albeit it never appeared - indicates that the verbal "go ahead" wasn't intended to be binding on either of you.

My only bugbear from this is verbal contracts are actually usually written somewhere. A verbal contract is one which is expressed in words. Those can be spoken or written.

Apart from that, I agree totally. If they guy said that he was going to send a contract, then you have no contract as you hadn't defined the terms.

The shoe being on the other foot for a second, if when you got the contract back it said the payment terms were £300k up front, and a year to complete, you wouldn't sign. Of course, you wouldn't want to accept there was a contract in place...

It's a shame. It might just be that he can hold you over a barrel. If he knows you've been waiting years and might wait 6 months for another builder, he might have another job in the pipeline and not too desperate, but if you bunged another 10% his way, he'd drop it.

That might be his game, but just isn't so cheeky as to say it straight.

[Tribal Chestnut]

Yep, a 10% sweetener might get him back on board. On the other hand, you'd probably find yourself paying an extra 10% for the same poor service. Shame you're not down here as I know a very good guy who would be available.

[allergictocheese]

A £300k extension? What are you extending? Chatsworth?