Fear of builders taking us to small claims court

[techiemom]

We have been working with a builder to do quite big house renovation and extension on our newly purchased house. We were originally told the timescales would be 4 to 6 months but we're now approaching 12 months. At the start, the builder was far more professional and making a lot of effort but over time he has become far less professional and it's quite hard to get a hold of him. We didn't have a signed contract but he did give us a written quote from the outset that had quite a bit of breakdown as to what he was going to do. This was never signed but we received it via email. There's never been any written down payment schedule, but he's just asked for various payment along the way as work has progressed. Whatever end dates he has given verbally have come and gone and although work is progressing, they are moving at a snail's pace.

I feel right now I have paid him for more work than there is left although he claims the opposite. I'm not keen on firing him and getting another builder in as it seems like it is so close to finishing but he seems to be dragging his feet even more. Also, when I do talk to him, he has mentioned several times about "I don't want to go to a small claims court" he says this half jokingly but it comes across as a very sly threat. Additionally, he likes to talk about previous clients who have tried to go to small claims courts and lost. His stories seem a little made up but who knows.

In summary, if I did end up terminating work with him and getting another builder in to finish the job. Where do I stand legally? There is no signed contract and from my perspective, I've paid him more than the work that is left to do. I'm happy to write this off to just move on and get another builder to finish the work but what if he takes me to small claims court saying that he is owed money for work already done?

How would that be settled in court? How would I defend that and what would be the cost to get solicitor representation? If I won, could I then bill him my solicitor costs or would that be a cost I would have to absorb.

I've never had building works before, nor had to go to small claims court so I'm completely new to all of this and really scared. I feel like I'm being taken advantage of with his mild threats but I don't know if I have a leg to stand on with the situation.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Surely it would be better to resolve this and get the work completed with the current builder?

Can you work out what the original quote plus any agreed changes would cost and compare this to the instalments you’ve paid so far? How much is still owing?

I’d work all that out and then ask for a meeting with the builder to run through the current situation.

It is frustratingly very common for builders to sign up for the next big job before they have finished the old one, so the customers of the previous job get frustrated that it takes time to finish whilst the new customers are frustrating that the new job is slow to start.

If the issue is only the delay, then I don't think you'll get anywhere. How much more is there left to do? You need to work together and agree a schedule. It's very annoying but the ultimate goal is for the work to be finished.

If you terminated the contract and he sued you, the courts would decide on the balance of probabilities based on the evidence. If you can show that the cost to complete the work is at least as much as the remainder of the cost with the existing builder, you would be fine. You should not use a solicitor for the small claims court. If you did, you would not be able to claim your solicitor's fees from the builder.

Before any talk of going to court, you need to see if you can get the current builder to finish the job. I agree with NewIdeasToday. I would also agree a schedule with the builder and make it clear that the contract will be terminated if he doesn't stick to it.

@prh47bridge

If you terminated the contract and he sued you, the courts would decide on the balance of probabilities based on the evidence. If you can show that the cost to complete the work is at least as much as the remainder of the cost with the existing builder, you would be fine. You should not use a solicitor for the small claims court. If you did, you would not be able to claim your solicitor's fees from the builder.

Before any talk of going to court, you need to see if you can get the current builder to finish the job. I agree with NewIdeasToday. I would also agree a schedule with the builder and make it clear that the contract will be terminated if he doesn't stick to it.

Your whole response is based on their being a contract but there was no contract. There was nothing signed. There was a quote given with a price and a high level breakdown of the work to be done. Emails and whatsapp have been used for other communication for additional work.

How could the builder sue for terminated contract when there was no contract and nothing was signed?

Of course my first preference is to continue with the builder and get them to finish the current work. But if they take months to finish what should take a couple of weeks, then at some point I have to kick them off and get another set of builders to finish the job.

As I mentioned, the original timescale that was verbally mentioned was 4 to 6 months. We're now just shy of 12 months from start to finish. A lof of the delay is there have been many days when workers do not come at all and sometimes when they do, it's just one worker rather than a team of people.

Be aware that the costs of building materials have gone up massively over the last 12 months, and that's if you can even get them. This might be part of what's causing the delays.

But, in addition to that, if you've got a quote that's 12 months old, and the builder is sticking to it (i.e. isn't asking for more money due to materials increases) then I think I'd stick with him, as any builder you get to do the remainder is likely to be 30-50% more expensive. And that's disregarding that you think you've paid for more than your current builder has done, so would effectively be paying twice for some of it.

Another thing to consider, if you want to salvage the relationship, and I don't mean to be rude, is could he be avoiding you because you're causing difficulties and he's pissed off? Have you decided you want to change things after they've been done? (moving sockets or switches after walls are plastered / changing where you want radiators or sanitary ware after the plumbing has been done / changing what flooring you want meaning the levels are all wrong, that kind of thing?)

You’d be hard up to find a builder willing to finish someone else’s half done work. They may prefer to restart some of the work and can basically charge what they like to take over someone else’s work.

If nothing was signed, you’re also accepting you didn't sign to an agreed timescales so you don’t really have a leg to stand on with that argument.

Emails and whatsapp are recognised as legal so doesn't matter you have no signed contract. You have noted additional work so this, along with CV will escalate the timeframe. I suggest that you email him, lay out what's been done, what's been paid and request a final timescale and cost for the remaining works. This may however be delayed if anyone needs to SI.

OP you have a contract, I think its important you realise that.

If the builder sent a quote for work and a price and a timescale, and you replied and said 'Ok great we'll start work on X date"that was you accepting those terms. When you sent a WhatsApp saying 'actually can we add in retiling the en suite?' and he replied saying 'Sure that will be an extra x' and you said 'ok cool' that was an addendum to the contract.

You don't need to have a signed document, the fact you don't have a payment schedule just mean your contract isn't as good as it could have been. There's nothing stopping you renegotiating or updating it.

In your position I would write out, in detail, the work that has been carried out, and when you paid him for what. See how it corresponds with the original quote, and the extras added in. Then you should have an idea of where you are. If you have said 'Actually I'd like to add in tiling the en suite' and he said 'ok cool I'll start that next week' and you never actually agreed a price, then it gets a lot trickier.

But if you think you can take him to court and dispute things because you 'don't have a contract' you're in for a rude awakening. Think of it this way: if an employer sent you a job offer, you accepted, they said 'great we'll get HR to draw up the contract' and then you started on Monday before HR had done that, there is absolutely no way you or them could pretend just because you hadn't signed the contract yet you weren't an employee.

Do a spreadsheet, write down exactly what has been completed and what hasn't, exactly what has been paid, and exactly what is left to do. Send it to him, and give him a chance to dispute it. Then negotiate a timeframe and payment schedule for what is left. If, when you do that, it becomes clear you've paid more than was agreed in the quote and the extras, then make that clear to him too, written down in black and white, and see what he says.

Your whole response is based on their being a contract but there was no contract.

My response is based on the law.

There is a contract. It may not be written down, but it clearly exists as he has been doing work for which you have been paying. Those are the only elements that need to exist for there to be a contract. The content of the contract would be determined by the quote and your communications with the builder. Since he quoted for the full renovation/extension job, that is what the contract covers.

You can 'fire' him in the sense that you can tell him to go away and not come back. Practically, of course, that leaves you with uncompleted work, but that's your problem.

If you are happy not to sue him for what you think you've overpaid that puts the ball in his court. He might want to sue you, but that could only be because you've underpaid or he's bought materials that can't be returned or used for another job. Before he does that he should send you a final bill and then a letter of claim saying that if you don't pay the final bill he will sue. He can' claim for work he hasn't done, because (simplifying a lot) he can't just sit around drinking tea and claiming from you for it; he has to make a reasonable effort to find other work, and it rather sounds as if he's done that already.

It would be good to have all your documents sorted, as leakymcleak suggests. That way if he does produce a final bill you have the basis on which whether to decide whether to pay some or all of it, and then if need be to follow it up in court.

Disputes between householders and builders are quite common in Small Claims. You don't need a lawyer; the court will give you instructions on what to do, and the hearings are fairly informal before a judge who will be wearing a suit, not red robes and a long wig.