Builder nightmare

[missedtherainbow]

Hello I’m hoping someone may be able to give a bit of advice please?
We hired a builder last October to do a loft conversion, small kitchen extension, lay new patio and drainage and to fit a new kitchen.
We went out and visited the last job he was just finishing, got him to sign a contract and thought we were being careful.
Work commenced and we had been happy with his work although progress was slowing down after Christmas. He had been invoicing us weekly and we were paying by bank transfer.
We ordered a new kitchen through his trade account and gave him the £12000 to pay for it by bank transfer. The date of delivery and fitting arrives and there is no sign of him or the kitchen, this was a month ago now and the old kitchen had already been ripped out ready for the new one to be fitted.
We spoke to the supplier who were also trying to contact him as he still hadn’t paid for the kitchen, told them he was having problems with his bank account.
After weeks of chasing him he has told us this week that he had been issued bankruptcy papers linked to a partnership he was in years ago.
He had also stated by email that he is unlikely to be in a position to ever give us the £12000 back for the kitchen.
He has said he is willing to send the lads out to finish some of the other work but we would have to pay them direct and pay for all materials.
He has also said not to worry if we want to use someone else (we do) he is drafting a final bill!!
Now putting aside the £12,000 he owes us for the kitchen, the loft conversion still needs the roof tiled, windows supplied and fitted, new fire doors were being fitted throughout the house none of these are finished and were 2 doors short, a staircase was supposed to be supplied and fitted, paving supplied and laid outside, kitchen floor levelled and a lot of electrical work to be done.
This was all included in his original estimate and his weekly invoices.
According to his own invoices he has sent us we only have £5000 left to pay but the work left unfinished exceeds this.
And he still owes us £12000 for the kitchen!!
Can he seriously be expecting us to pay a final bill?
He is a sole trader not a LTD company.
Any advice gratefully received.

Well, he might expect you to lay, but don't pay a penny.

It is helpful in a way that he isn't limited as he is personally liable, but now he has been issued with bankruptcy proceedings you will just become a creditor and will be considered along with others against any assets he may have.

You will need to get a new builder in but make sure that payments are tied to work done. I never pay deposits, or pay money when ahead of schedule.

I'm sorry you are in this position but don't engage with him finishing it if it involves parting with more money

What a nightmare. I'd be inclined to just ignore any further correspondence or 'final bill'.

What's he going to do? Take you to small claims court? In which case you put in a counter claim at that point for the kitchen, paid but unfinished project and associated costs with finding someone else. The court will find his claim is cancelled out by your larger one, and he will wind up owing you money.

Of course, you will have little hope of getting said money back if he's bankrupt. As pp said, you will be added to a list of creditors at that point.

You could preempt the above and take him to small claims yourself, but this will be mostly a paper filing exercise simply to be added to the list of creditors.

Thank you for your replies. We’ve managed to get some legal advice through our home insurance are they are filling a claim against him on our behalf.
I doubt we will see any of the money as like you have both said we will just be added to the creditors list.
We have found another builder to finish the work, with the missing kitchen money he will owe us around £20,000.
We’re just going to let the legal department deal with all correspondence from here forward.
I hope I never see him again, just want it all to be over!
Thank you

As a sole trader, if you have his address and he owns his home, if you successfully sue him, you can put a charge against his property.