Kitchen horror

[Golconda]

Re: Kitchen horror

Swifty, I agree with you. Out of the two new quotes, the first one quoted 5 days and £2,500.

[Golconda]

Re: Kitchen horror

What on earth are they gonna do for 3grand plus id love to see the plans and the quote does it include electrics and plumbing?

Yes it does include electrics and plumbing plus a new plasterboard to bypass the waterpipe which the bozo failed to accommodate.

[Golconda]

Re: Kitchen horror

Hi, I'm back with a legal question. I havent made any progress with the kitchen - just collecting quotes and the prices are quite hefty - well over £3k. I wanted to ask if there is a consumer lawyer who can answer me this question: If I start proceedings against the fitter, am I supposed to keep the kitchen as it is now? Someone told me that I shouldnt have the refit until I have the court case out of the way and the estimates are sufficient at this stage. I dont think I can bear living like this for another 6 months until the case comes to court!

[enquirer]

Re: Kitchen horror

I wanted to ask if there is a consumer lawyer who can answer me this question: If I start proceedings against the fitter, am I supposed to keep the kitchen as it is now? Someone told me that I shouldnt have the refit until I have the court case out of the way and the estimates are sufficient at this stage. I dont think I can bear living like this for another 6 months until the case comes to court!

No - it is unreasonable to expect you to live without basic facilities.

What you should however do is ensure that the state of the kitchen is exhaustively documented. That means plenty of photographs with closeups. A video walkaround would be good too. Get written opinions and reports from trade professionals that describe the defects in detail and the costs of putting them right.

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: Kitchen horror

Im not much help with dimensions and stuff (typical girl buys 2 pots of paint just in case) but I can find a decent website occasionally

Have you tried anyone from here?

http://www.trustatrader.com/search/?...sers_location=

[Golconda]

Re: Kitchen horror

Thank you both for your advice which is really helpful. It's very hard convincing a contractor to prepare report specifically for this purpose. At least in the quotes I had one said the ceiling hadnt been plastered to a professional standard and has to be redone and another one quoted me £950 to retile my floor!
I like the way trustatrader is set out. I used another website which sent me larger scale contractors and thats why their prices were higher. I've narrowed it down to two guys, depending on the quote due from the second one (whom I prefer). I pray it goes well this time!

[Golconda]

Re: Kitchen horror

I appreciate your help with my case. I sent a letter before action on Thursday and have received two nasty twisted emails from the fitter with all sorts of bizarre accusations and he says he is going to counter-sue me. I dont understand in reality what grounds he could have for suing me, although I am slightly nervous. He treats his pathetic estimate like its a proper contract or like I have employed him and owed him notice to ask him not to come again. He seems to think he can sue me for getting rid of him and loss of income. He deliberately dragged his feet for 3 weeks to charge me more and insisted on staged payments so he was paid weekly for all three weeks. Yet he keeps swinging between what he feels he is due for his time and what he feels he is due for his work. Since the estimate wasnt a contract and didnt have a break clause how can he make a claim against me? He hasnt a clue about contractual law and seems to think everything he concocts will stand up in court. He is even citing the work he hasnt done!! It is really bizarre. The trouble is he is a borderline sociopath and a total liar so he can say anything. Should I be worried? :tinysmile_hmm_t2:

[IanM]

Re: Kitchen horror

I appreciate your help with my case. I sent a letter before action on Thursday and have received two nasty twisted emails from the fitter with all sorts of bizarre accusations and he says he is going to counter-sue me. I dont understand in reality what grounds he could have for suing me, although I am slightly nervous. He treats his pathetic estimate like its a proper contract or like I have employed him and owed him notice to ask him not to come again. He seems to think he can sue me for getting rid of him and loss of income. He deliberately dragged his feet for 3 weeks to charge me more and insisted on staged payments so he was paid weekly for all three weeks. Yet he keeps swinging between what he feels he is due for his time and what he feels he is due for his work. Since the estimate wasnt a contract and didnt have a break clause how can he make a claim against me? He hasnt a clue about contractual law and seems to think everything he concocts will stand up in court. He is even citing the work he hasnt done!! It is really bizarre. The trouble is he is a borderline sociopath and a total liar so he can say anything. Should I be worried? :tinysmile_hmm_t2:

I wouldn't be worried. I would follow enquirer's advice to document the state of the kitchen, which I doubt the builder has done, and get the kitchen finished as soon as you can, if he does try to sue you before you progress your claim against him, prepare your evidence and counter sue for what he owes you for a crap job.

[Golconda]

Re: Kitchen horror

Thank you Ian - in a way I wish he would sue me first!

[IanM]

Re: Kitchen horror

Thank you Ian - in a way I wish he would sue me first!

You're welcome! I doubt he will try to sue you, it sounds more like he's trying to intimidate you into not trying to claim against him, not that you will get much out of him by the sounds of it!

[des8]

Re: Kitchen horror

Would someone like that have liability insurance? Clearly this is the kind of question I should have asked him the first time I saw him.

Just been reading this so a bit late posting, but for what it's worth Tradesmens Public Liability policies only cover liability arising from ACCIDENTAL damage.

[Golconda]

Re: Kitchen horror

The things he has said in his email are so bizarre eg he didnt bother to connect my new fridge which dispenses water to a water pipe! He has built up that side of the kitchen so the work would have to be undone and redone to allow this connection. He now states categorically that I said I didnt want it to be connected to the water pipe. Why would I go to the trouble of buying a side by side fridge which dispenses water if I didnt want it connected? It is so illogical that I dont even know how to answer that. How do I prove that I did not say that? Also he listed some end panels on the order list, which I paid over £730 for but actually he hasnt even allowed for them in his measurements so they dont actually fit into the run of units, and he hasnt used them. Now he is pretending he was going to use them instead of the panels that the tall units came with but he hasnt actually done so! So what kind of statement is that? Everything he has cited is twisted and untrue. I cant help wondering where I would stand if any of this drivel was actually believed by the judge in the small claims court. Part of me thinks they've probably seen and heard thousands of cowboys and should be intelligent enough to spot one after 5 minutes of this drivel. But then you just dont know which way it will go.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Kitchen horror

Just been reading this so a bit late posting, but for what it's worth Tradesmens Public Liability policies only cover liability arising from ACCIDENTAL damage.

And unfortunately not arising from the accident of the alleged fitter having been conceived.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Kitchen horror

The things he has said in his email are so bizarre eg he didnt bother to connect my new fridge which dispenses water to a water pipe! He has built up that side of the kitchen so the work would have to be undone and redone to allow this connection. He now states categorically that I said I didnt want it to be connected to the water pipe. Why would I go to the trouble of buying a side by side fridge which dispenses water if I didnt want it connected? It is so illogical that I dont even know how to answer that. How do I prove that I did not say that? Also he listed some end panels on the order list, which I paid over £730 for but actually he hasnt even allowed for them in his measurements so they dont actually fit into the run of units, and he hasnt used them. Now he is pretending he was going to use them instead of the panels that the tall units came with but he hasnt actually done so! So what kind of statement is that? Everything he has cited is twisted and untrue. I cant help wondering where I would stand if any of this drivel was actually believed by the judge in the small claims court. Part of me thinks they've probably seen and heard thousands of cowboys and should be intelligent enough to spot one after 5 minutes of this drivel. But then you just dont know which way it will go.

Does he drink a lot? :rofl:

[Golconda]

Re: Kitchen horror

I dont know if he drinks - he probably thinks that way. He is clearly a sociopath and I must say I'm slightly worried if he might inflict some harm on me or my property.