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Hi all,
I’m in need of some advice on what to do next with a potential small claims case against my landscape Gardner. (Based in England)
To give brief background:
We hired a landscaper to redo our back garden, quoted in feb 2021, timeline was May for starting, job didn’t start until November, finished in December.
By March (and with no one using it), noticed the paving was loose in areas, he eventually fixed in May and put it down to frost, applied some bonding substance to stick it back down (think no more nails type) and despite telling him in July 2022 it was still a problem and despite a pomise to fix it he hasn’t been back since and downplayed the extent of the problems when I said I felt the whole patio needed re-doing
Since last contact I’ve had an independent expert survey done which has basically pulled it apart for being a cowboy job and advising it all needs ripping up and re-laying.
I’m just unsure of my next steps - Im aware will have to write to him with the findings of the report and request it being remedied in a letter before action, especially given his fondness for fobbing off and saying the right things “oh we’ll fix it, we’re coming to you next etc” but then from a legal perspective where do I stand if he offers to fix it? As I have lost faith in his ability to do it and don’t want to be in same boat in another 6 months if he does “fix” it again.
Can state the lost confidence in his ability in the letter before action and ask for a full / partial refund instead? Or do I have to give him the right to remedy it on his terms first? When I’ve mentioned before I felt the whole thing needed relaying he was insistent he would tackle the problem ones but that the rest were ok and he wouldn’t be relaying everything so think he’s going to push back from that perspective despite the expert survey
If he refuses to do anything then, is it a case of offering mediation and dispute resolution service before taking him to small claims?
Also, in terms of the business, I believe it’s an LLP based on his invoice, am I likely to be successful with any potential claim or is he likely to shut up shop and start a new business? He and his work van are still active around the area but on Google it says the business is “temporarily closed” and he’s posting new pictures of his projects on his individual social media rather than the business one
The total cost of the job was £11,500 and I’m not bothered about claiming for that amount (or even the limit allowed under small claims) I just want enough back to pay someone else to do it right!
This has caused lots of friction at home as well as being unable to use the back garden due to concerns over safety of the patio area.
Any help or advice greatly welcome!
I’m in need of some advice on what to do next with a potential small claims case against my landscape Gardner. (Based in England)
To give brief background:
We hired a landscaper to redo our back garden, quoted in feb 2021, timeline was May for starting, job didn’t start until November, finished in December.
By March (and with no one using it), noticed the paving was loose in areas, he eventually fixed in May and put it down to frost, applied some bonding substance to stick it back down (think no more nails type) and despite telling him in July 2022 it was still a problem and despite a pomise to fix it he hasn’t been back since and downplayed the extent of the problems when I said I felt the whole patio needed re-doing
Since last contact I’ve had an independent expert survey done which has basically pulled it apart for being a cowboy job and advising it all needs ripping up and re-laying.
I’m just unsure of my next steps - Im aware will have to write to him with the findings of the report and request it being remedied in a letter before action, especially given his fondness for fobbing off and saying the right things “oh we’ll fix it, we’re coming to you next etc” but then from a legal perspective where do I stand if he offers to fix it? As I have lost faith in his ability to do it and don’t want to be in same boat in another 6 months if he does “fix” it again.
Can state the lost confidence in his ability in the letter before action and ask for a full / partial refund instead? Or do I have to give him the right to remedy it on his terms first? When I’ve mentioned before I felt the whole thing needed relaying he was insistent he would tackle the problem ones but that the rest were ok and he wouldn’t be relaying everything so think he’s going to push back from that perspective despite the expert survey
If he refuses to do anything then, is it a case of offering mediation and dispute resolution service before taking him to small claims?
Also, in terms of the business, I believe it’s an LLP based on his invoice, am I likely to be successful with any potential claim or is he likely to shut up shop and start a new business? He and his work van are still active around the area but on Google it says the business is “temporarily closed” and he’s posting new pictures of his projects on his individual social media rather than the business one
The total cost of the job was £11,500 and I’m not bothered about claiming for that amount (or even the limit allowed under small claims) I just want enough back to pay someone else to do it right!
This has caused lots of friction at home as well as being unable to use the back garden due to concerns over safety of the patio area.
Any help or advice greatly welcome!
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