Workmen have abandoned our job but left their cement mixer. What to do please?

[Marcipex]

We have no idea what to do now.
We paid contractors to make a driveway. They began, made a huge mess, left it for weeks, and won't answer our calls.
We've written to them and sent it recorded.
Nothing.
Now we've given up on them finishing the work and employed someone else.
We'll have to pay twice, basically.

But the first lot left stuff in the front garden, including a cement mixer. It's ugly, it's in the way, we've nowhere to put it out the way, and they won't collect it.
What do we do with it? They won't answer our calls. It's been there 3 weeks now. It's too big to go in our car.
We'd be very grateful for advice, we're utterly bewildered.

Gumtree? eBay? Any way you can rid of it & make a bit of cash?

Why did you pay the contractors before the work was finished?

I wish we hadn't paid, obviously, but we did.
They kept ringing until DH paid them.

But the cement mixer isn't ours to dispose of. I can't even take it to the tip, it's so big.

You can't just sell the cement mixer and other goods. You have to serve appropriate notices on the contractors first. See the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977, particularly Section 12 and Schedule 1 Part 2. Once you've done that you have the right to sell the goods.

You can take action against the original contractor in the small claims court to get your money back. Whether or not it is worth doing so depends on whether they have enough money to pay. If they abandoned the job and their equipment because they ran out of money there may not be any point pursuing them.

Thank you prh47bridge.

I'll look that up tomorrow.
I don't want to sell it, I want them to collect it, but they won't reply. They drove past today, turned round then drove away.
No idea what's going on.
Can I put it in the road? Where a car would park?

You don't have to move it from the front garden, but you can't put it out on the pavement in case it gets stolen.
You must follow the requirements if the 1977 Act to the absolute letter.

If it's the front garden where anyone could come and pinch it, I would dump it miles away (ie at a dump, not fly tip) then email the contractors and say 'thanks for finally taking away your shit from my garden' and then deny all knowledge of shifting it yourself.

If they left it unsecured, it's their problem, surely?

My plan is not necessarily legal, I know that, it's just what I would be VERY tempted to do.

How can they dump it when it's too if for the car?

*big

The cement mixer might be hired. It is at risk of being stolen and I am suspicious that they drove past (probably to check the mixer is still there). Put the mixer round the back and cover it for just now.

Sometimes you need a bigger boat [jaws]

so i'd find a way of borrowing a bigger car
and actually I know people with transits but i appreciate that not everyone has access to a hairy builder's already-filthy van

again, i know my plan is dodgy but i'd have got the arse and lost all sense at this stage

Put it in a garage / shed if yo have one. They'll have driven past to see if you were out as they'll want it back. They'll hav to knock on your door if they want it back.

I'd phone trading standards re the botched / unfinished job, and start a claim against them. It only costs a few quid

If it's hired it might have the number of the hire firm on it somewhere - have you looked?

I never thought of that Tunip, it's filthy but I could look tomorrow.

TracyBarlow, thanks but we want them to take it and they won't. I'm not trying to prevent them, I'm trying to get rid of it. It's in our way.