Rogue Builder becomes Ltd Company after defective work

[chuppachup]

Hi, firstly thanks in advance for any advice. In March 2018 a builder started work on a modest extension to our house that was supposed to run 3 months and ended up going on to 6 months. During 3 months of the build we lived with my mother 20 miles away. There were a few issues with getting things done on time during the course of the build however we didn't realise the extent that this builder was doing things untoward with the build. Neither myself or my wife are very savvy when it comes to construction, we knew the builder personally and trusted him in doing the work. Ultimately there were major structural issues and errors with the build which has resulted in costly repair work >£30k so far. This work was carried out over the summer of 2019.

Prior to this (around March 2019) our solicitor sent him 2 letters advising him of the issues and that we wished to discuss remediation for what he had done. This fell on deaf ears and we heard no more. We then proceeded with working towards issuing court proceedings to him. We undertook a costly survey of the defective works but there was a delay in getting the report due to the surveyor taking ill. At the time the work was carried out the builder was NOT a limited company however he has now registered as one from November 2019. Due to the delay in the report we were unable to proceed with the court proceedings until now. We are aware that suing limited companies can be a lot more difficult but as he was not a limited company at the time he undertook our extension work does this mean that we can continue to sue him personally?

Sorry if this is long winded. We only found out today about the registration as a limited company and haven't been able to discuss with our solicitor the ins and outs of what this means yet. Thank you for any advice.

[pt2537]

You sue the party to the contract. In law a limited company is a legal entity in it's own right so to sue his company would leave you in real difficulty in my view.

Your solicitor will tell you who to sue I'm sure but clearly you have no contract with the limited company rather it seems the contract is with him personally

[chuppachup]

Thank you. We always went into the process knowing there may not be any monetary outcome for us (one would be greatly appreciated however!) but we wondered whether by doing this he had somehow completely shielded himself from our upcoming issuing of proceedings against him.