Builder hasn't finished job, but is asking for more money

[9unctured6icycle]

Hi all. This is my first MN post. Would be grateful for some advise re our builder who has agreed to leave our long-overdue building project unfinished but still wants almost-full payment.

Started building works beginning Nov on the basis of a quote, no formal contract. Yes that was not smart, don't know what I was thinking. Estimated six weeks to completion. Total work = 20k(ish). We paid every invoice within 24hrs of receipt. Currently around 3k still unpaid.

End of Feb - 15wks later - still not finished, we're not happy with finishes and everything has slowed to a crawl. Project management a shambles, not doing what was agreed, eg all paint on walls already even though still a building site. Discussed amicably with builder that we needed keys back and it was time to call it a day. I suggested he send us a revised quote for work actually done. He agreed.

He now claims we owe him about £300 less than the amount originally quoted. So basically he's asking for the full amount despite bodges/unfinished work.

The carpentry alone is going to cost £1200, decorator maybe £1000. Will cost to buy more blinking paint to repaint over what was all painted far too early. Will take closer to six months than six weeks.

I am ok with trying to work this out offering to let him come back and finish (if he turns up I will eat my hat) and in the meantime just getting it finished by someone else.

So, what do do? Should I just pay him off, or offer half or something? Or just keep agreeing to have him finish the work (he won't)? Is this something that is likely to go to small claims? The outstanding amount is less than £3000 and we're willing to pay some of that.

I expected to be better at this sort of thing by now. :-(

Ask him to sit down with you and go through the revised quote. He needs to justify why the project is costing you the full amount (nearly) but isn't finished. Have a written estimate from another builder for the unfinished work to show him. Come to an amicable agreement and get it in writing. Best to avoid the stress of him threatening small claims court in my opinion.

Yes, thank you, good idea. I keep thinking if I keep saying 'Ok, we will pay when the job is done so let us know when you're available' he will run out of steam. If we sit down and he goes through it item by item he may be forced to reconsider his figures.
A bedroom ceiling was very wonky and in attempting to fix it they brought it down. I'm sure it was unstable before they had at it, you could see it was inches lower than the edge of the walls, but he didn't quote us for more than just fixing it and he kept telling us how it was all part and parcel of an old house and it would not be charged as an extra item, he would absorb the cost etc etc so now he wants to charge us for it. Equally I said I'd pay for the rubbish mdf skirting he tried to give us as the skirting material was not in the spec. I have had to eat the cost (about £500) of the paint that will now need reapplying too. So if he can make a case for his costs I can make a case for mine.
Urgh, never having work done again.

The think you are trying to be too nice and reasonable. I'd send him an official letter outlining how he has gone over the deadline and the list of jobs still outstanding + give him a deadline for completing all the work and saying how happy you'll be to pay the final install,net once the work is completeled to go a reasonable standard.

If he doesn't do it, then Id take photos of the bodges and just pay someone else to do it. If he tries to take you to small claims, you'll be able to evidence that he didn't fulfill his contractual obligations and demonstrate how much you had to pay to sort it out. I doubt that he'd have a leg to stand on and, frankly, probably wouldn't take you to court anyway.

Sorry about the typos

I agree with jojosm2

I don't suppose his quote was itemised/ broken down? I find that makes things a lot easier

JoJoSM2 the thing is I'm not being too reasonable, I want him gone and consider him paid, but if he continues to fail to turn up to finish work I'm hoping he'll come to that conclusion himself. Trying to avoid locking horns in case he does something unhinged. He was looking distinctly unhinged last I saw him.
Initially we had a great working relationship, then it all went on the slide and he kept telling us he had some kind of distressing family problems. We've arranged at least three times for him to come and finish various stuff and he hasn't turned up once. I am hoping he will dig his own hole deeper and deeper and I won't have to fight w him.
When we asked for the keys back I wrote him an email confirming what we'd said, that it had gone over double the estimated time and we needed our house back, that he could come back and finish agreed jobs that week and very little of it was done. On two more occasions he arranged to return to clear the garden of rubbish and didn't turn up. So I'm tired of agreeing dates for no-shows. We live 150 miles from this house and it has cost us £1000s to be there every week to keep an eye. It costs us £100s when he doesn't turn up.
As you suggest we've taken photos of it all and have estimates (and work dates) to have it fixed. I like your suggestion that we sit down and go through the new 'quote'.

Goosegettingfat no, that would make everything easier wouldn't it?? Maybe I should ask him to go back and do that.

Meant to say I'm grateful for the replies, many thanks all.

Make sure you have estimates from several companies or he likely to just say that the work doesn't cost that much and they are trying to rip you off.

Update: Have invited builder to meet and discuss several times. He set up a time to come and do what he seemed to think was snagging on Easter Mon so we got back to him to say that was a bank holiday and the following week he replied to say he had been away for the whole of the Easter weekend. So now he is just playing silly buggers.
DH said we could meet to discuss in a public place and builder refused, saying he would only meet at the house (DH is alone as my mum has taken ill). Well this is just stalling really, he won't meet anywhere else to discuss anything and wants full payment, end of discussion as far as he is concerned.
What next?
Had to get a roofer to look at the shed the builder had fixed about 18mos ago. (Shed was meant to be a small taste of builder's work before we got him onboard for the whole house.) Roofer says roof is leaking because it was fixed badly, wrong materials, lead applied incorrectly etc. So now we have to fork out an additional £400 for more bad work. We're in the hole for about £1600-2k due to this builder. What to do now?
We are happy to just call it a day - no additional work, no additional payment - but builder insisting on last payment (less than 10% outstanding).
I am inclined to write it all out saying we're sorry he refused to meet DH to discuss but as far as we are concerned the work was not completed after 26wks so we have retained a percentage for snagging still incomplete and we consider the matter closed. It is all very well-documented (photos, emails, texts, invoices both from builder and for remediation done by others).
Urgh, we are so wound up about this and my mum has been in hospital etc, we have other things to worry about.
Any advice welcome.

Hi, this is my first post and I will greatfully appreciate your help with this matter.
We had our bathroom and outhouse done by the same builder this month.The issue is the day they did my shower room , we paid him in full. They asked us to sigh a small piece of paper saying I am satisfied with the work. But later when we used shower, the shower door wasn't holding water and it was over flowing on the floor. We immediately rang them and mentioned the fault.

As promised worker came and fixed it but made a temporary fix. As he couldn't fix it and said his boss did it so he can't do more otherwise the glass panel may break. And I told him to pass this information to his boss ( as he was on holiday)

We were assured once he will be back, they will fix it or replace it permanently.

Then same guys were meant to do my out house. We already had a quote for both jobs from them and we agreed to go ahead.

A copy of contract was sent to us to sign for the work to be started for outhouse.

I didn't signed it And still not signed by me or him and rang him to come and see the out house job once again so that he knows what he is doing. As job meant to be done wasn't fully mentioned in contract. So twice, the job was shown to him and asked him what was he going to do about the job that we talked about in the beginning but he didn't mentioned in that contract.

( Like he need to do the floor too and I will provide the tiles and as I already had light and plugs everything in that room before so I told him I will need them there but I will provide new switch board and light, he need to replace them, he will need to fix the fix the small window on wall as it was covered by a wooden board which was done by the previous owner)

All this wasn't mentioned on the contract so that's why I asked him to come and see the job. After mentioning this he was like yeah yeah it will be done.

The only thing that wasn't on contract was to plaster the room and later when I asked him to come and see the job again before start, I told him I want plastering done too to have a better finish. He said I had to pay for it and I agree to pay extra only for it. Which he I did, he got and guy and I was told to pay in cash to him as it was extra job that was added so he had to get a plasterer from outside.

( I also mentioned him that I will pay him for switch and lights if he gets one but later I got it for myself)

So verbally with mutual understanding we agreed with what he is supposed to do. Not forgetting that he will be done on same price as mentioned before.
And he said not to worry that's all will be done, even though it's not it contract. As he can't do walls and tile without labelling floor.

He did the job but it wasn't professionally done. Wall was insulated, boarded and floor was done but he left a huge gap underneath so basically wallboard and floor are not attached. Tiled very unevenly ( now he is saying it uneven as he can only raise floor to certain level)

Later, I was asked to pay and also to mention that they did the shower door same time while they were working for outhouse ( mend the same old door)and told us it's done and we can use after a day as the sealant need to dry.

I used the shower and same again water was leaking out and we figured out that they turn the door upside down to show that it was wrongly fitted that why the water was leaking and now its fixed and left with a chip on the panel door.

So, I rang him again, told him that I can't pay until unless they replace the door and fix the gap. They said they will put skirting to close the gap but now asked me to pay for it, which I did. I bought skirting and adhesive for it. Now, because we hold the payment he is saying that he is not doing skirting as it wasn't mentioned in the quote so I need to find someone my self to do it.

I said I needed skirting because he has left an inch gap between floor and the wall. And he had tiled the floor so uneven that his worker struggled to label the skirting.

He asked his working not to do skirting and job is left in middle.

Later, he sent msg saying we need to pay him full as he has done what had mentioned in original quote.

We said we can't unless he fix n replace new shower door as promised. He threatened us to take to county court. We said go ahead .

We offered him to pay partly and rest once he replace the shower door. And after text msg back and forth, he eventually said ok I can hold some amount.

We are still holding £250 and rest all paid.

Today, he send us an envelope with his worker and it's states that leaving aside that £250 ( that was hold for shower door) we owe him extra £280 because we asked him to fix the light wire, do the floor and apparently for he is charging us for cement used on floor, some 10 bricks and also £180 extra for Labour charge.

Just to let you know, when his worker finished job( which for them they did but for us it wasn't) socket was left open, wire hanging from ceiling and door. Gaps left as it is.

His worker gave me a contract to sign that I am satisfied with work and there it was mentioned what he did and total cost I had to pay was £925 ( right price as we agreed in the beginning )

For insulating, Tile n grout, fixing vent. I didn't sign it and told him I need to talk with his boss before I make any payment.

So now we got three different invoice, 2 stated same price as we agreed from first and and new one extra told telling us to pay £280 extra on top of it coz we asked him for doing floor, light and bits n bobs.

His worker who gave us letter and told us that he will come this afternoon to fix the light and skirting and wire. But gave us a envelop and when I opened it there was new invoice for paying £280 extra.
If not he gonna take us to the court. Can some one please guide us to the right direction.

Thanks

Sent from Samsung Mobile on O2