Dodgy builders............

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Dear All.
I'm in need of a lot of advice if anyone out there can help?
We have had our house re roofed and dormers added by a builder "friend", who has made a really bad job of a lot of the work that was done. The cladding has been fitted incorrectly, the dormer roofs have no ventilation and they have damp in the walls, the sun tunnels are fitted incorrectly, insulation has large gaps in it in places, other areas of the roof space are blocked with insulation and it can't breath, none of the new stud walls are square- some are out by 2.5cm over a 50cm run -and the plastering is poor.
Because he WAS a friend and we trusted him, we have had little in the way of invoices from him (no detail in the ones we do have) and we paid him some cash....
He has been back to re do some of the work but it has been left either in a worse state than before, or unable to be completed.
He is now saying that he is happy to refund the money for the cladding, after we have paid an outstanding invoice of £6,500 +VAT. WE DO NOT OWE HIM ANY MORE MONEY....
We have shown pictures to a surveyor who has warned us that if we go to court with this we could end up losing a lot of money, not because we are wrong but just because that is what often happens.
Has anyone been in a similar situation or can anyone help please?

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Re: Dodgy builders............

Building defects are normally always a matter of opinion and unless you are qualified to give that opinion then it comes down to his word against yours. You would need to prove that the defects you describe are actually defects and that would mean employing the services of a Building Surveyor to give you a report. However, before all that you need to try and resolve the matter amicably through negotiation if that is at all possible. I would suggest the following:

1. Don't part with anymore money by paying the invoices.
2. Get a quote from a reputable builder for putting right the defective work.
3. Write a formal letter to your current builder listing out the defects.
4. Arrange a meeting. If necessary meet at a neutral venue and discuss the issues with him. Tell him that if he doesn't correct the work you will have to employ others to put the work right and seek to recover the cost from him.
5. If 1-4 prove fruitless you will have to ramp things up. Get a Building Surveyor to give you a report and a cost to put the work right. Ask the builder to contribute to the cost of the report. You could both choose someone together.
6. Establish a contractual link, it needn't be in writing. Providing the elements of a contract can be found then you should be able to sue him for a breach of contract, which in your case will be a breach of either the Supply of Goods & Services Act, Supply of Goods Act and/or Consumer Protection Act which I think came into force in March last year.
7. You could also try adjudication or expert determination. Adjudication is not mandatory in domestic situations as it is under the Housing Grants Construction & Regeneration Act. However, you could word the engagement letter so that both parties are bound by the decision.

Bear in mind that if you co to court you will probably be better suing him personally rather than his company. He can easily bust his company and start again, it's not so easy when you are personally liable.

Finally, have a look at the Pre Action Protocol for Construction and Engineering Disputes under the Civil Procedure Rules. From here on in everything should be in writing as you may need to provide evidence to the court.

Hope that helps.

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Re: Dodgy builders............

Thankyou so much. The problem we have is that we are reluctant to ask him to do any more work because he did such a bad job the first time. We just don't think he is capable of doing it right. He is also saying that because he didn't fit the light tunnels we have to claim the money back directly from his worker who did fit it!
I'm not sure if we should see a solicitor first or get a surveyor first................?

[Ripped-Off]

Re: Dodgy builders............

A solicitor could cost you upwards of £200.00/hr and unless he is also a qualified Building Surveyor then I suspect he/she will eventually want to involve a BS to survey the work. Try the negotiation route first then try the solicitor. Even if you won in court you may not recover anything if the company has no assets or cash.

As far as the light tunnels are concerned, unless you engaged the worker to fit them, then he is, as we say, vicariously liable for the actions of his agents or servants. In other words he is responsible for their work and don't let him fob you off:

'A contracting party can enter into an arrangement by which some other person may perform his obligations for him, and the other contracting party will be obliged to accept that performance. The contracting party will, however, be liable for any breach that may happen, and the other contracting party is not bound or, indeed, entitled to sue the substituted person for breach of contract, although there may, of course, be a remedy in tort.'

Chitty on Contracts 31st Ed at 19-081.

Firstly, write to him, list all the defects and invite him to correct these at his own cost. Tell him that you are prepared to negotiate a settlement but you are not prepared nor obliged to pay him any further money until the defects are corrected. You may wish to ask how he has concluded that you owe him £6.5k. Advise him that he has provided a performance different to that which was contracted for and that unless the works are corrected you shall have to seek redress through the court.

If he does not respond or rejects your letter, then you will have no option but to go legal, but remember the requirements of the Pre Action Protocol for Construction and Engineering Disputes. If the claim is less than £10k it will more than likely be assigned to the small claims track, which you can pursue yourself and we will help where we can. In the small claims track, the other party will not normally be allowed to recover their costs and nor will you, but you will be able to recover certain fees. See the Civil Procedure Rules - Part 27 and Practice Direction 27. Unless you intend pursuing the claim in the High Court I doubt whether you will also need to read Part 60.