Threat of court action

[Ted62]

The structual engineer produced a drawing that had an error the caused the material used for a steel structure to be wrong. The contractor whom chose the structual engineer for my project said he lost money on the delays to my project and swiped the funds that I already had paid for other parts of the project, he then said that he never lost money on the materials used for the project taken from the drawings.

The structual engineers fee was £2500 and I had already paid £1700, when the main contractor took off with my funds the structual engineer came forward to claim his £700 remaining fee, however I refused to pay him because the main contractor said the delays caused by the error caused a financial loss to him.

Now the structual engineer is threatening me with court action to recover the monies.

What should I expect from a court?

He is also threatening to get debt collectors on to me, but dont you first have to tak ethis matter to a court?

The main contractor and the structual engineer are friends so the main contractor says he never lost money because of the erros on the drawings, they are looking after both there interests.

your views appreciated.

Thanks

[wales01man]

Presuming this was for building works overseen by Building control were the calculations submitted to BC

[Ted62]

Presuming this was for building works overseen by Building control were the calculations submitted to BC

No, the error was discovered by the main contractor after the materials had been produces but before delivery, so apparently the steel that had been cut to size had to be rejected.

[Pezza54]

Unless you have an agreement with the structural engineer and are paying him direct, the engineer's contract is with the builder.
The structural engineer should be chasing the builder for the money, not you
Has the builder charged you for the delay he suffered so you have decided to deduct the money from the engineer's contract, assuming you have a separate contract for the engineer's design

[Pezza54]

Yes court action and a successful claim are required before bailiffs

You should check your buildings insurance. A few companies include legal expenses cover automatically. Most require customers to pay for it as an add-on

[Ted62]

The main contractor put him on the contract but made me administrator, so I was responsible for the structual engineer, however the main contractor put him on the signed contract which really means that it was the main contractors choice whom chose his own team.

Looking back I realise that the main contractor had already planned to swindle me, collecting funds for future works and making the site look like it was a site in progress when in reality much of the work was not correct but made to look nearly finished, example the wireing was just left hanging in places but was incorrect some wires were plastered over to make look complete.
I have been the victim of fraud, the main contractor used another company belonging to his partner to buy materials on account and not pay, other contractors were never always paid.

It has been and still is a complete nightmare, I have lost a lot of money and their does not seem to be a way to get any back as it seems many builders hide behind a limited company that has no assets.

I terminated his contract, yet he insists that I still owe him money for his final invoice.

Thanks

[PallasAthena]

He is also threatening to get debt collectors on to me, but dont you first have to tak ethis matter to a court?

Debt collectors and baliffs are entirely different (baliffs now like to call themselves 'Enforcement Officers').

Debt collectors are just companies that anyone can hire without any evidence that you actually owe the money. No court case is needed. Debt collectors have no legal status and zero legal powers. They have no rights to do anything, no right to enter your house or take your property. You can simply tell them to go away and refuse to open the door to them.

Baliffs act on behalf of the court and have a range of powers so baliffs can only act if the case has been to court and judgement has been given against you and a CCJ has been issued.

[Pezza54]

You should contact your Local Authority and ask for building control surveyors, electrical engineers etc to inspect the builder's work and report on whether the work can be approved or has to be rectified/condemned
My advice is not to pay the builder any more money. He could end up owing you a significant sum

[Ted62]

I have already terminated the builders contract, something he wanted because he got all the money, his claim that I still owe him money is a ploy to stop me chasing him I guess, as a limited company it seems pointless to chase this builder as he has no assets so what have i to gain.

[Pezza54]

If you have paid the builder for the structural engineer and the builder has not passed the money on, the engineer should chase the builder
If you agreed to pay the structural engineer separately and the contractor has tried to claim money from you for delays (and then left unfinished work), you may have a claim against the structural engineer as well as the builder.
You say the builder has no assets, have you checked this out on the Companies House register?
You should get a couple of builder's quotes to finish the work (you will need electrical certificates)
You could warn the structural engineer you are considering claiming or counterclaiming for the financial loss he caused when the project was delayed due to his design fault

[Pezza54]

duplicate post problem with server

[Ted62]

I agreed to pay the structural engineer separately, he wants his money yet he wont meet me to discuss the situation unless I pay him £150, I said I would not pay him, now he want s to take me to court and also mentioned that he may do a joint case with the builder as the builder claims I owe him £20'000.

I know deep down that the builder has robbed me and I am uncomfortable with the thought they they my get to gether and take me to court.

I told the structural engineer that you never produced the final correct drawing for the roof structure as it was produced by others ie the builder and the architect and also a mock up wooden roof was put up to show the strructual engineer where he had gone wrong, this was done through live cam because he could not attend because he is semi retired living overseas, the mock up was done at my cost..

Do I have grounds to withhold his final payment?

[JK2054]

Hi, its difficult to tell without seeing the contract of the stuctrual engineer. Please can you confirm what the terms of his payment were under the contract?

[Pezza54]

Over 2 months has passed since your previous post #9 Did you arrange for Building Control to visit and employ another builder to finish outstanding work?

[Ted62]

There were no terms that I am aware of. Because building control are not based in london they do ask for photos on most things, I have got another builder finishing off the build, its a long process with new costs coming all the time.

In my thinking, if the structural engineer did not issue the final drawing of the roof but is was done by others that were not employed as a structural engineer then they are not liable for any structural issue as they did not issue the drawing and the others were not authorized to issue a drawing etc. So legaly Im not covered by the structural engineers liability insurance am I ?