Claim against a house builder

[NBluth]

I hope this thread will be of help to someone else in a similar situation. The one thing I would do better if I had to do it again would be to file clearer particulars of claim upfront.

[jaguarsuk]

Congratulations and I hopefully they’ll pay promptly. If they don’t then post in this thread and we’ll go through enforcement.

[Shaunyd7]

Hello mate,

I’ve just read through your thread and I’m happy you ended up winning!!

I’m going through something similar in regards to a brickwork issue. They built one of the walls on the house out of plumb which they acknowledged and rebuilt. When they rebuilt it, I got a builder round and it’s still out of plumb and doesn’t meet LABC tolerances.

LABC are now involved and they’ve told the developer to fully investigate the defect but I’ve still not heard from the developer.

I read in your thread that you also got the insurance company involved but I believe the developer still didn’t rectify the issues?

Is there any guidance you can give me from your experience?

Thanks

shaun

[NBluth]

Sorry to hear about your problems. You need to push the LABC to confirm in writing that they agree that there is a defect. Also, if possible get them to issue you with a Technical Manual Report which sets a deadline for when the work should be done by the developer - if it’s not done by that point, you can ask the LABC to take over. They will try and refuse, and I had that with some other works, but the FOS explicitly state if it’s not done by that date, the insurance element under your warranty has kicked in.

[Shaunyd7]

Thanks for your reply. I believe the developer has till tomorrow to respond with their report following their investigation but I haven’t heard from the developer...

are you saying that because of this, LABC can step in and take on the investigation as I think I would prefer that.

Thanks

[NBluth]

Yes, that’s effectively it - if there’s a report with a deadline and the developer fails to deliver the work by the stated deadline that’s the point at which the insurance element of the warranty kicks in.

if the LABC refuse you should complain and see how they respond. If they respond poorly, don’t be afraid to raise a complaint with the FOS.