WWYD, bad advice from Architect

[faithfultoGeorgeMichael]

What would you do in this situation, I will be as brief as possible.

I was diagnosed with MS in 2023, and it was obviously very upsetting and a difficult time. I was admitted to hospital for a week and then stayed with my mum because I was too tired to get up the stairs etc. and her house was more suitable.
DH and I had discussed getting a small extension before this started. In my absence DH discussed with an architect who was recommended to him and went ahead with drawing plans and submitting to planning. With hindsight this was a scam, and DH was naive in trusting him. I was very unwell and unable to fully understand what was going on.
The plan was rejected by planning, changed slightly and rejected again.
I then made a recovery and stabilised. I contacted a local architect I know who spent a lot of time studying the local plan and history of our house. He spoke to the planning dept and tweaked the plans. They passed, we have the permission and are starting the work next week.
I can see very clearly that the 1st architect was either very bad at his job or a scammer. The work proposed had no fit with the local plan and was far too big. The revised plan was no better.
The new architect has also shown us that the drawings the original architect did are incorrect by up to 10cm in places.
I have written to him and been fobbed off. The original architect's work cost £4000. I am considering taking him to small claims court and wanted advice on whether there was any value in doing this? I feel very upset we were ripped off at such a vulnerable time and do not want him to carry on doing this to other people.
Thanks for any advice you can give.

Or…. What your DH asked for and the architect drew up accordingly was was the problem

“With hindsight this was a scam, and DH was naive in trusting him”

that might be the way to go how was it a scam?

You spent £4k on what?

and the fact that no planning department didn’t pass the plans…. No way will you be successful.

I reckon the issue lies with your DH and fact you weren’t present

You say the architect was recommended. By whom?

Was there a written brief/contract of engagement? And can you be more specific about the errors made by the first architect so we can judge if it was unprofessional on their part, or whether they were actually following your husband's direction? They may well argue that errors were due to the latter, so you would need to show that they advised your husband negligently (eg they drew something that would prove unsafe/impossible to construct when a builder started to follow the plans)

What size extension did DH want? Most architects follow instructions and around here loads are turned down on first application. There are of course policies they follow but most have “grey” areas open to interpretation, The second tweaks should have brought it into line but I guess you had no input into that either.

A small extension can be permitted development too so are you not allowed to have this? I assume, therefore, DH didn’t ask for a small extension. If the first architect is RIBA, how are they a scammer?

How are the plans 10 cm out? You have ditched the plans! How can they be incorrect as you aren’t using those plans? Or are you? 10cm isn’t much but what were they asked to do? The footings would match the plans but it didn’t get pp, so who really cares?

You say that all the new architect had to do was tweak the plans

So presumably most of the grunt work had already been done by the previous

The 1st architect produced a design and drawings under your DH instruction, and your DH was presumably very stressed and rushed at the time due to your illness. Lots of initial designs fail consent because architects tend to push the boundaries to end up with the largest extension possible. Your second architect had to do minimal work to get the design through. Being 100mm out on measurements I don't think is really significant. Your second architect added value by spending time on the local plan and your house history, but I think it would be difficult to establish that the first one was negligent to not do this.

You did get some work of value from your £4k as architect 2 didnt have to start from scratch. You might think Architect 1 was shit and not recommend him, but I dont think you can claim money back. As pp said you'd have to establish negligence for this, and that's a high bar. Just reframe it as the 1st step towards your lovely new extension and try to let it go.

What were the reasons the applications were rejected, specifically - and were those things your dh actually asked for ? How much did dh get in writing?

I think it could be hard to prove your case

DH asked for a small extension with a downstairs bedroom and ensuite, he was advised he could "achieve much more than this" with his budget and went along with it. I understand it is buyer beware but it's very clear he took advantage of a man who was panicking and vulnerable. DH is ASD and took a recommendation from someone at work.
The key points are that the measurements were incorrect and there was no consultation with the local plan/restrictions. The contract states that he offers professional advice and this advice was so poor as to be useless, which is why I question if there is merit in pursuing it. I do not want this man taking advantage of other families.

If your husband was vulnerable and naive and “panicking” - he shouldn’t have been given this responsibility.

If the second architect only had to make tweaks to the plans - it would indicate that the majority of what the first did was acceptance

Who recommended him?

Can you genuinely not see that clearly your DH fluffed it

but despite this… the vast majority of the work was fine if the next one only had to tweak it!

I agree it will be hard to prove anything and angry about it, which is no basis for legal action

This is in legal, I’ll like advice on that basis please. Thank you

The new architectdid a new plan, then tweaked after discussion. The original man’s plan was 4x the size of what was permitted

You have no case

It’s pretty wild an architect who can’t measure a building is not considered to be unprofessional imo

You certainly can’t get away with this kind of sharp practise in my profession

I have a few options to explore and think it’s important he doesn’t carry on doing this to people.

is the first guy even a qualified architect? my friend had a guy who wasn’t fully qualified draw up her plans. that failed. cost thousands.

Who recommended him to you?

I bet you’re cross with your DH too!

Someone panicking, naive, vulnerable shouldn’t have been meeting with the architect

I don't think you could take someone to court for offering to do more than you asked. You could argue that any type of offer that is money off if you hit a certain amount/price is that and it's fully legal! It's a bit like DH going to the supermarket to get a 1.5 litre bottle of coke, buying the 2 litre bottle because the offer it's on makes it cheaper than the 2 litre bottle and then you complaining at the supermarket because you only wanted 1.5 litres of coke! DH said what he wanted and the architect said he would do a bit more... 100% not the architect's fault DH didn't say no.

However, the incorrect measurements and the lack of consulting local planning restrictions is most definately the architect's fault and I think you should be able to sue for that. I hope you are well at the moment.

I totally agree the first guy sounds shit. You could chance your arm at a small claim. Don't bring in anything about you being vulnerable, or DH being ND etc. Just state the facts around how the architect failed in his contractual and professional obligations. Your outlay will be minimal and it might get you a partial refund just to get you off his back.

I'd think carefully about putting yourself through a load more stress though.

What do you mean when you say the measurements were incorrect?

Sorry about your diagnosis, but glad you're doing better now.

It’s an oddly shaped building and 4 of the measurements were between 6 and 10cm incorrect. The new architect pointed this out

This is what I am considering, thanks
I don’t want the stress and do want to dish out ‘punishment’ which is no way to make decisions

thank you

Did she have any redress?