Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Legal matters

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have any legal concerns we suggest you consult a solicitor.

Dispute

3 replies

GLucyB · 16/11/2021 18:45

Hi,

Just reaching out for some advice... we are nearing the end of a renovation project where we had one main contractor and then sourced a couple ourselves... everything was going ok until our main contractor started showing his true colours... We have been so pleasant to them the whole project (having drinks with them after work, offering lunch to them and snacks, giving him time off when he needed) and now he appears to be taking the micky... Last week he simply didn't show up on Thursday and Friday and didn't let us know he wasn't coming (we didn't chase him).. this week he didn't show up on Monday so we called him to ask what was happening and he said he was unwell but will keep us up to date for what will happen the rest of the week. Today, he didn't show up again so we messaged him around midday in our group whatsapp chat with his labourers and he properly kicked off. Literally all we said was 'hi, just wondering if you were coming over today?' and he exploded at us saying he was in bed and wouldn't be coming in. He proceeded to ask why we needed to know if anyone was coming to our house and that we were being idiotic and didn't have any concern for the fact that he is unwell. He then simply deleted me and my partner out of our own whatsapp group... this has come completely out of the blue & as you can imagine I am at a loss as to what to do... there is still a lot of work to be finished... Can someone please offer some advice? I genuinely think he may have some sort of anger/mood issue as I have seen him explode at our house before but never at us...

Thank you

OP posts:
prh47bridge · 16/11/2021 20:14

You should write to him giving him a reasonable deadline to finish the work. Make sure the deadline is achievable. If that doesn't achieve the desired result, you can tell the builder you don't want him to carry on working for you, pay him for the work he has done and get someone else to finish the job.

AnotherDelphinium · 16/11/2021 21:10

By all accounts, he’s been quite ill if he wasn’t in since Thursday?! I think you need to back off and give him some time!

Yes, he could be more professional about it, but I’d be getting cheesed off if my work chased me like you’ve been chasing him, especially after he’s already told you he’s unwell.

You need to instigated the contingencies you had in case he was taken ill, and manage anything time critical. In a few days I’d apologise for the chasing and ask how he’s doing, then take it from there.

Snowjive2 · 16/11/2021 21:14

@AnotherDelphinium are you kidding?! The main contractor is not OP’s employee, it’s a contracting counterparty with enforceable obligations.

OP, what does your contract say about time for completion and delay?

New posts on this thread. Refresh page