Small claims court help......

[loubieloo4]

Hi

We contacted a bathroom fitter back in January to completely renovate our bathroom.

Agreed price and fixtures and fittings in May.

Start date was June 13th, For umpteen bullshit reasons, he still hasn't completed the bathroom. We have a half working shower and that's it. We have paid him £6k in total so far. He has stopped replying to messages or calls. I have sent him a formal complaint in writing from a template citizens advice gave me.

Now sadly dh (42) has terminal cancer and has now been put on end of life care. He wants to stay at home to die, we do have a working toilet downstairs but dh will eventually be unable to get downstairs so we desperately need the bathroom finishing. The bathroom fitter is aware of this.

How do I take this man to court and how long does it take? Will McMillan take it over for us? Can I now rip him apart on social media so no one else uses him.

First you write a letter before action setting out the facts, stating what you want and giving a reasonable deadline. Say that you will take court action without further reference if he doesn't respond by the deadline. You can then start a claim using Money Claims Online, a government service. You can claim the difference between what you have paid him and the value of the work he has actually carried out. You can also claim court fees from him.

Cases generally take 3-9 months.

No inside knowledge as to whether McMillan would take it over for you but I wouldn't have thought so.

Ripping him apart on social media is not advisable. He could take action against you for libel. Even though you would win provided you can prove that your comments are true, you would end up substantially out of pocket.