Neighbour’s son lying

[Whothought]

Whothought · Today 16:29
Right, so we’ve been naive and sorry this is long.
We share a garden wall with our neighbour, joint ownership on the deeds. It was in a dangerous state of repair, made all the more apparent after both of us stripped ivy from our own sides of the wall. When two large coping stones fell off and almost hit her whilst she was removing ivy, both parties agreed that the wall needed to be rebuilt.
My DH and I got three quotes and went for the lowest priced option which was £7k. Both of us agreed to split the cost but the builder only wanted to issue one invoice and so we agreed to pay the full amount and our neighbour would reimburse us directly- this is where we were clearly naive - and requested our bank details. The work was completed to a high standard and she was happy with this, however she had four pillars which had been erected as a precautionary measure by a previous owner and before she was prepared to to pay for the work on the wall, she wanted us to agree to pay half for the removal of the pillars. As we enjoyed a harmonious relationship with our neighbour we were prepared to do this if the cost was reasonable and asked them to get a quote. This is when everything went pear-shaped.
The neighbour’s son got involved and the neighbour is now refusing to pay anything, claiming that his solicitor said that as there was no Party Wall Agreement, they were not liable for any costs. The son is also denying that the parent ever had any of these conversations with us or agreed to anything, needless to say, we have nothing in writing.
AIBU to pursue payment?

You aren’t unreasonable to want to pursue payment, but how will you prove it was ever agreed to?

I would definitely have drawn up a signed agreement with the neighbour to split the cost before paying for the work. I don't know how you can pursue payment without any proof of an agreement. Was the builder witness to neighbour agreeing to pay half? Would he provide a witness statement if you took them to court?

As Judge Judgy would say: PROVE IT! Where’s the agreement? Where’s the contract?

sorry to say but suspect the builder was in on it from the off because he could have put both parties names on the invoice easily, suspect he was bunged something not to.

An agreement can be verbal - a contract doesn’t have to be in writing

I would say it’s worth taking to County court - standard of proof is lower than criminal court it’s on balance of probabilities and you sound sure of your steps in this agreement so I think that gives you a good chance. You could even take it to small claims court if the amount you’re claiming is less than a certain threshold

We can’t totally prove anything but we do have emails between us and the builder which more or less show that we are telling the truth. Unfortunately the neighbour, late 70s, has no technical capability so we have communicated verbally in person rather than by email.

So you have nothing in writing from the neighbours saying that they will pay half? Just emails with you telling your builder that they will?

Small claims court will decide on balance of probabilities. You don't need to absolutely prove it. The wall is jointly owned, there is some supporting correspondence with the builder and the neighbours clearly cooperated with the work given they cleared the ivy and presumably gave access to their garden for the repairs - I'd imagine that's a decent making of a claim. Could the builder testify at all too?

I would go to the small claims and whilst you might not win, the odds of probability are high enough to take the gamble and it’s worth it financially.

Go down the small claims, you don’t really need a solicitor to fill out the claims form. Just make it succinct and to the point. Provide supporting evidence of the emails.
As previous posters have said a contract does not need to be in writing albeit it does help. I suspect once the son sees the claim form served on his mother they will come to their senses and pay half.

@Whothought for spite, I would demolish the new wall!

Then borrow seven huge dogs from friends.

Agree with pp above. You have enough to pursue a small claims action and the financial risk of losing is relatively low. You probably have more than they do in terms of evidencing your respective positions. Fill the forms out yourself. I suspect they’ll offer a settlement ahead of any action.

have you had the conversation face to face with the neighbour with the son present? If they are denying it to your face, then you have little hope.