Taking Builders to Court
Discussion
Am about to start chasing builders for money. Long story short - we've paid 75% of the agreed total, they've done about 40% of the work.
Fired them earlier this week.
They've left a load of stuff at the house. I asked them to come and collect it all today and they haven't shown.
How long do you think its fair to keep it for them before slinging it all in the skip/giving it to the new builders?
I asked them 3 times via email (earlier in the week) to come today - no response. In that time they've attempted to coerce me into paying more by suggesting that it won't get building control sign off unless they finish it (they sent this message literally an hour after I'd walked around the site with the building inspector who's main concern was to get mt email so he can invoice me asap).
Any constructive feedback appreciated. I have had a surveyor go round today to give a professional independent assessment of where exactly the job is. I intend to give them 14 days to return the overpayment before starting a small claims proceeding.
Fired them earlier this week.
They've left a load of stuff at the house. I asked them to come and collect it all today and they haven't shown.
How long do you think its fair to keep it for them before slinging it all in the skip/giving it to the new builders?
I asked them 3 times via email (earlier in the week) to come today - no response. In that time they've attempted to coerce me into paying more by suggesting that it won't get building control sign off unless they finish it (they sent this message literally an hour after I'd walked around the site with the building inspector who's main concern was to get mt email so he can invoice me asap).
Any constructive feedback appreciated. I have had a surveyor go round today to give a professional independent assessment of where exactly the job is. I intend to give them 14 days to return the overpayment before starting a small claims proceeding.
Terzo123 said:
Sounds like a potential world of pain
Before going nuclear, try and come to an amicable agreement
Think long game, in stead of short.
Is probably good advice.Before going nuclear, try and come to an amicable agreement
Think long game, in stead of short.
How has it got to this position? What contract do you have in place? What escalation steps have you taken before getting to this stage.
Unless it's an established company, there may be little there to take to court. Bob's Builders tends to be Bob & his dog, and you'd get as much out of his dog as suing the company.
Marty Funkhouser said:
Am about to start chasing builders for money. Long story short - we've paid 75% of the agreed total, they've done about 40% of the work.
Fired them earlier this week.
They've left a load of stuff at the house. I asked them to come and collect it all today and they haven't shown.
How long do you think its fair to keep it for them before slinging it all in the skip/giving it to the new builders?
I asked them 3 times via email (earlier in the week) to come today - no response. In that time they've attempted to coerce me into paying more by suggesting that it won't get building control sign off unless they finish it (they sent this message literally an hour after I'd walked around the site with the building inspector who's main concern was to get mt email so he can invoice me asap).
Any constructive feedback appreciated. I have had a surveyor go round today to give a professional independent assessment of where exactly the job is. I intend to give them 14 days to return the overpayment before starting a small claims proceeding.
Are they a one man band Mickey Mouse outfit or are they a reputable company employing a dozen people?Fired them earlier this week.
They've left a load of stuff at the house. I asked them to come and collect it all today and they haven't shown.
How long do you think its fair to keep it for them before slinging it all in the skip/giving it to the new builders?
I asked them 3 times via email (earlier in the week) to come today - no response. In that time they've attempted to coerce me into paying more by suggesting that it won't get building control sign off unless they finish it (they sent this message literally an hour after I'd walked around the site with the building inspector who's main concern was to get mt email so he can invoice me asap).
Any constructive feedback appreciated. I have had a surveyor go round today to give a professional independent assessment of where exactly the job is. I intend to give them 14 days to return the overpayment before starting a small claims proceeding.
SydneyBridge said:
Have they left any tools or anything that may be useful to them?
If so, put them inside somewhere safe until sorted
They have and I have. I asked them 3 times to collect them and they didnt show up. I think I’ll just put them aside and give them a fortnight then they all go on the kerbside. If so, put them inside somewhere safe until sorted
To explain a bit. They made us many promises to get the work done very quick - 12 hour days/all the people on the firm going at it/sleeping on site if needed. None of this happened.
They are a registered company and i dont expect to recover our money. If I can publicize their performance, waste their time and maybe drive them out of business that will do.
Edited by Marty Funkhouser on Saturday 19th October 20:25
Terzo123 said:
Sounds like a potential world of pain
Before going nuclear, try and come to an amicable agreement
Think long game, in stead of short.
Theres no chance of that. We had meetings to try and sort this 1st one they got aggressive (rang to apologise a day later) 2nd one they threatened to walk off as they had much more lucrative jobs they could be going to. Before going nuclear, try and come to an amicable agreement
Think long game, in stead of short.
Marty Funkhouser said:
To explain a bit. 12 hour days/all the people on the firm going at it/sleeping on site if needed. None of this happened.
It would never have happened and should have been at this point you got someone else in. Edited by Marty Funkhouser on Saturday 19th October 20:25
Builders are trained for lots of tea breaks and also to be home between 3 to 4pm...
Marty Funkhouser said:
They have and I have. I asked them 3 times to collect them and they didnt show up. I think I’ll just put them aside and give them a fortnight then they all go on the kerbside.
To explain a bit. They made us many promises to get the work done very quick - 12 hour days/all the people on the firm going at it/sleeping on site if needed. None of this happened.
They are a registered company and i dont expect to recover our money. If I can publicize their performance, waste their time and maybe drive them out of business that will do.
“ drive them out of business “To explain a bit. They made us many promises to get the work done very quick - 12 hour days/all the people on the firm going at it/sleeping on site if needed. None of this happened.
They are a registered company and i dont expect to recover our money. If I can publicize their performance, waste their time and maybe drive them out of business that will do.
Edited by Marty Funkhouser on Saturday 19th October 20:25
What an odd thing to want to happen to a company and it’s employees.
Regardless of what’s happened in the past , you’ve lost any credibility you had by wishing that on other people.
Buster73 said:
“ drive them out of business “
What an odd thing to want to happen to a company and it’s employees.
Regardless of what’s happened in the past , you’ve lost any credibility you had by wishing that on other people.
I disagree entirely, builders with such low ethics & someone who would happily drive a homeowner to the edge through taking the money & doing a runner. No shortage of examples of this on pistonheads. No doubt builder has done this before & will do it again. He doesn't deserve to continue practicing with that mentality. If u had that mentality in What an odd thing to want to happen to a company and it’s employees.
Regardless of what’s happened in the past , you’ve lost any credibility you had by wishing that on other people.
OP, tuck the tools away & I wouldn't offer them up as they are probably the only value you can get out of this situation.
Prepare a concise factual emotionless account of work done, work promised, money paid, what more can work id required & get some quotes from other firms to complete, include the communications to date. Only include stuff you can prove & have evidence for it.
Claim for the value of money to get you back on track, don't get too greedy.
Raise money claim online, very easy to do & follow the process through.
Buster73 said:
Marty Funkhouser said:
They have and I have. I asked them 3 times to collect them and they didnt show up. I think I’ll just put them aside and give them a fortnight then they all go on the kerbside.
To explain a bit. They made us many promises to get the work done very quick - 12 hour days/all the people on the firm going at it/sleeping on site if needed. None of this happened.
They are a registered company and i dont expect to recover our money. If I can publicize their performance, waste their time and maybe drive them out of business that will do.
“ drive them out of business “To explain a bit. They made us many promises to get the work done very quick - 12 hour days/all the people on the firm going at it/sleeping on site if needed. None of this happened.
They are a registered company and i dont expect to recover our money. If I can publicize their performance, waste their time and maybe drive them out of business that will do.
Edited by Marty Funkhouser on Saturday 19th October 20:25
What an odd thing to want to happen to a company and it’s employees.
Regardless of what’s happened in the past , you’ve lost any credibility you had by wishing that on other people.
All they need to do is honour their commitments and I'm sure OP will call a truce.
Countdown said:
Based on what the OP has posted they don't sound very professional or ethical. Who knows how many times they've done it in the past or how many people they've ripped off in the knowledge that most people will just take it on the chin and move on?
All they need to do is honour their commitments and I'm sure OP will call a truce.
I’d like to hear their side of the story in fairness.All they need to do is honour their commitments and I'm sure OP will call a truce.
Buster73 said:
I’d like to hear their side of the story in fairness.
Of course there are two sides to every story. They started in June and promised to be finished by mid August - we had agreed to pay a premium to get the job done asap. Day 1 their foreman turns up with a notepad and pen and says “I just want to run through what we are doing”. We had had weeks of meetings and emails discussing precisely what we were doing. Granted there were some unforeseen extras - underpinning (2 weeks), replacing 60% of the roof timbers and relocating a bathroom. We obviously didnt hold them to the original deadline and agreed to move them. My issue is/was from day 1 there was not the urgency promised (and paid for!) prior to the unforeseen things.
Then we had a meeting where they presented us with a list of extras totalling £65,000....about £5-10 were legit. The rest seemed to be attempts to pay for things we had either already paid for or for things that they had inflated hoping we’d just accept it.
OP, you are in dispute over a substantial five figure sum, and you are seeking free legal advice from random people on a car forum. Good luck with that!
This place is great for a chat about speeding and so on, but it never fails to amaze me that people will gamble on significant sums without taking steps to protect themselves such as having written agreements and taking insured advice.
This place is great for a chat about speeding and so on, but it never fails to amaze me that people will gamble on significant sums without taking steps to protect themselves such as having written agreements and taking insured advice.
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