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Good Evening ladies and gentlemen.
My apologies in advance for the length of the following.
Early this year my mother and I decided to seek planning permission to build a small detached house next to our current house on our existing plot of land. We were given the name of a gentleman who may be able to help. He visited for the first time in June and we discussed potential options then he went away to give us time to make a decision. He returned some 2 weeks later and gave us 2 books containing many different house plan ideas, which we were to choose from. We agreed to a sum of £1000 up front (which we paid at this time) and a further £1000 upon completion and he gave us a copy of his T & C's. Some 5 weeks later when he called to ask for a decision, we asked for a little more time but he told us that this would not be necessary as he knew exactly what we wanted and would call on his considerable experience to design something perfect for us. We chatted for some 2 hours about what we wanted and advised him that we desired a small 3 bedroom detached property and gave him some clear instructions to be followed:
The house could not be any higher than the existing house and as such a chalet style be used, should have the lounge and master bedroom at the rear of the house and have a downstairs toilet. We also stated that we would not want dormer windows. The building size we gave him to work with was 9 by 5 meters. I even had drawn a very rough idea of what we imagined the internal plan may look like, which he took 1 look at and disregarded.
What he designed was 1.5 meters higher than the existing house, had the lounge and master bedroom at the front of the house and did not include a downstairs toilet. This was coupled with the fact that the design was much more suited to a large open space and not the small, narrow plot which we have. It was almost as if he had taken no notice during the conversations we had.
When he visited to go through these plans and I told him that they were not suitable, he became very agitated and rude as if I had dented his ego. I told him that with some revisions the internal plans looked fine but the height and design of the house was not at all suitable.
His next move was to send out plans of a previous chalet style house that he had designed years ago saying he thought it would be perfect. It was an unattractive and unsuitable design that was 11 meters long and had 2 enormous dormer windows.
Since this time, he has become very rude and difficult to communicate with. I advised him at the start of the project that I work until 5-6pm every day of the week and as such would need to call him in the evenings. He said at the time that this was fine but has since advised me that he will not speak with me after office hours end at 5pm.
My mother also contacted him to ask if he would visit again to discuss amending the plans and he shouted at her down the phone and brought her to tears.
He has since sent 3 letters claiming the following, all of which are completely untrue:
That we were constantly moving the goal posts
That upon visiting me with the plans, I agreed to proceed and take the remaining £1000 to him the following weekend
That he has made 7 visits to our house amounting to 14 hours
I decided on the 15th of October to write him a letter explaining my/our version of events and letting him know that we would no longer need his "assistance". Due to the fact that he had completely ignored the brief and none of the plans he drew were of any use, and because of the way he treated us I stated that I felt strongly that he should return the £1000 pounds we had paid him. I also stated that if this was not done I would be seeking advice on starting small claims court proceedings to reclaim our money and I would be contacting the local newspaper to tell them of the unprofessional manor in which he had acted and about his abhorrent nature.
I have returned home from work today to find a Claim form from Northampton County Court advising me that he has started court proceedings against us to reclaim the remaining £1000 he believes we owe him! This includes interest on the amount and a daily rate of £7.50 until a judgement is reached.
After how he has acted, how can he be taking us to court?!! I assume he has done this to 'strike first'.
My mother is now besides herself with worry as I have no experience of legal matters, I have no idea how to respond.
many thanks for taking the time to read this. Any advice you can offer would be very greatly appreciated.
kindest regards
James
My apologies in advance for the length of the following.
Early this year my mother and I decided to seek planning permission to build a small detached house next to our current house on our existing plot of land. We were given the name of a gentleman who may be able to help. He visited for the first time in June and we discussed potential options then he went away to give us time to make a decision. He returned some 2 weeks later and gave us 2 books containing many different house plan ideas, which we were to choose from. We agreed to a sum of £1000 up front (which we paid at this time) and a further £1000 upon completion and he gave us a copy of his T & C's. Some 5 weeks later when he called to ask for a decision, we asked for a little more time but he told us that this would not be necessary as he knew exactly what we wanted and would call on his considerable experience to design something perfect for us. We chatted for some 2 hours about what we wanted and advised him that we desired a small 3 bedroom detached property and gave him some clear instructions to be followed:
The house could not be any higher than the existing house and as such a chalet style be used, should have the lounge and master bedroom at the rear of the house and have a downstairs toilet. We also stated that we would not want dormer windows. The building size we gave him to work with was 9 by 5 meters. I even had drawn a very rough idea of what we imagined the internal plan may look like, which he took 1 look at and disregarded.
What he designed was 1.5 meters higher than the existing house, had the lounge and master bedroom at the front of the house and did not include a downstairs toilet. This was coupled with the fact that the design was much more suited to a large open space and not the small, narrow plot which we have. It was almost as if he had taken no notice during the conversations we had.
When he visited to go through these plans and I told him that they were not suitable, he became very agitated and rude as if I had dented his ego. I told him that with some revisions the internal plans looked fine but the height and design of the house was not at all suitable.
His next move was to send out plans of a previous chalet style house that he had designed years ago saying he thought it would be perfect. It was an unattractive and unsuitable design that was 11 meters long and had 2 enormous dormer windows.
Since this time, he has become very rude and difficult to communicate with. I advised him at the start of the project that I work until 5-6pm every day of the week and as such would need to call him in the evenings. He said at the time that this was fine but has since advised me that he will not speak with me after office hours end at 5pm.
My mother also contacted him to ask if he would visit again to discuss amending the plans and he shouted at her down the phone and brought her to tears.
He has since sent 3 letters claiming the following, all of which are completely untrue:
That we were constantly moving the goal posts
That upon visiting me with the plans, I agreed to proceed and take the remaining £1000 to him the following weekend
That he has made 7 visits to our house amounting to 14 hours
I decided on the 15th of October to write him a letter explaining my/our version of events and letting him know that we would no longer need his "assistance". Due to the fact that he had completely ignored the brief and none of the plans he drew were of any use, and because of the way he treated us I stated that I felt strongly that he should return the £1000 pounds we had paid him. I also stated that if this was not done I would be seeking advice on starting small claims court proceedings to reclaim our money and I would be contacting the local newspaper to tell them of the unprofessional manor in which he had acted and about his abhorrent nature.
I have returned home from work today to find a Claim form from Northampton County Court advising me that he has started court proceedings against us to reclaim the remaining £1000 he believes we owe him! This includes interest on the amount and a daily rate of £7.50 until a judgement is reached.
After how he has acted, how can he be taking us to court?!! I assume he has done this to 'strike first'.
My mother is now besides herself with worry as I have no experience of legal matters, I have no idea how to respond.
many thanks for taking the time to read this. Any advice you can offer would be very greatly appreciated.
kindest regards
James
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