Elderly Father Ripped Off and Left in Dangerous House by Builder

[keepcrackingon]

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. My vulnerable elderly father recently paid a builder £5k to instal a staircase in his house and, to cut a long story short, the job was horrendously botched. The work, which has now been reviewed by two further builders and an electrician, is unquestionably dangerous and unsound - exposed live wires, staircase the wrong width and length, gaping holes left in the walls, filth everywhere etc etc. It has now (weeks later) started to collapse: a wood support fell out and was revealed to be two pieces of wood glued together and held in place on the staircase by only three nails. So an open-and-shut case of incompetent and dangerous work.

I have written to and emailed the builder to request a full refund (including a letter before action), but have received no response. I will now report him to Trading Standards and initiate small claims proceedings, but am aware that he may not show up, already have CCJs against him etc.

Does anyone have any advice about any other legal steps I can take to pursue him, both in terms of enforcing repayment and to reporting him as a rogue tradesman?

Is the builder a sole trader, or a limited company?

You need to be sure that the builder (or his company, depending on who the contract was with) can afford to refund the money. If he can't, legal action would just run up further costs.

Start with Citizens Advice and Trading Standards. Call them. Both will help direct you.

I'm sorry to hear that this has happened to your father. It's upsetting, and incredibly common, since there is very little in the way of regulation around builders and the Consumer Protection laws are, arguably, not fit for purpose.

If it's a company, you need to register with the Companies House website and follow the company. That way if he tries to dissolve it you can ask them to pause the process (although this is not guaranteed).

The problem with a limited company is that the builder can declare himself insolvent and start up again under a new name. If he is a sole trader, perhaps he can be forced to liquidate assets if the judgement goes against him? Some legal advice would be helpful, perhaps through your father's home insurance?

Agree with advice to contact Citizens Advice. As I understand it, individuals can't report these matters directly to Trading Standards, but once you've gone through CA, they will deal with you directly and determine whether to investigate and potentially involve the police.

You need to be aware that getting any money back is likely to be difficult and may not happen, but taking steps to try to prevent them doing the same thing to others, is still worthwhile, in my view.

Thanks, all - that’s helpful. Unfortunately he’s a sole trader whom my dad (currently undergoing investigation for dementia) hired impulsively after seeing his van, on which the builder had advertised expertise in loft conversions. As far as I can tell, he’s a local man with an NVQ in carpentry and a very limited internet presence. I am dubious about getting any money back - painful as quotes to fix the damage are 6-10k - but want to pursue him out of principle.

I’m currently going through small claims against a trader who caused damage to our home and walked off the job.

We started the process by speaking to CAB who were very helpful. We then contacted a solicitor through our home insurance (check if he has legal expenses cover on his insurance). They had a helpline and we were able to get loads of advice before submitting a claim through insurance (the claim doesn’t affect our premium).

You may have to ask for Repeat Performance unless you can claim that you’ve lost all faith in his ability (but I think a judge would set the bar high for that). CAB will advise. It’s common (as either our trader) that they’ll refuse to come back and fix the problem, especially as he’s already ignoring you. If he refuses the repeat performance you can request a refund ( get three quotes for repairing the works) and if that fails you start with a pre action letter warning him you’ll take him to court.

We followed the Consumer Rights Act to the letter which has given us confidence that we have a good case against him.

I’m no expert but I think if he’s a sole trader you’re in a potentially better situation to win a case than against a Ltd company who, as mentioned by others, could just close it down and start up again under another name.

Good luck!

Thanks @Tsc2011 this is really useful and clear advice. Currently, the builder is still ignoring all email and postal communication, but has sent my dad a text message telling my dad to stop harassing him or he will call the police on him. Clearly rattled, and I will proceed as per the advice from posters, for which many thanks.

Yeah, he’s definitely rattled, and it’s certainly not harassment. The police won’t care as it’s a civil matter. Ignore that and press on with the CAB. Good luck!