Screwed by a builder - what can I do?

[Givemecoffeeplease]

We are doing a loft extension on our terraced house. The building contractor has been hospitalised with mental illness and nobody has been on site for 3 months. We were happy to wait for him but it has become apparent that he won’t be able to come back to finish the job. We have been as sympathetic as possible but we need to balance getting our home back together with supporting him. We’ve had 4 builders round to quote to finish. We want to claim on our original builder’s insurance (assuming he has insurance!) to finish the job. All 4 builders who’ve been round to quote have been shocked that we have paid £50k to date saying that actually we’ve only had about £15k of work done. We think the original builder was unwell and was taken advantage of by his crew who have scarpered now he is ill.

What rights do we have? We have a contract and it’s obvious that the work we have paid for hasn’t been done (I know, we are idiots, but we haven’t done this before). How do we claim on his insurance? Can we sue him (which I’m loathe to do with the state he’s in)? What rights do we have? For another builder to finish the job we will be approx £20k out of pocket and I want to know if there is anyway I can reclaim this money.

Thanks for any light you can shed. We are trying to stay calm in an incredibly stressful situation. We wanted so much to be good people, and support him. However I think that we’ve been shafted

Bump! Aka desperation....

I am not sure that any policies that a trader has would cover this type of thing?

Maybe others can shed more light. For my employer, the policies tend to cover injuries to visitors etc, rather than being generally crap at what we do.

You should get a QS in to quantify the work that has been done, and then you may be able to claim through the builders professional indemnity insurance (if he has any).

Thank you. I feel so sad that we’ve been so let down. I just need to make a plan now.

Speak to your insurers - if you have legal cover they may be able help.

As others have said...

Speak to your insurer, and check if you have legal cover.

Speak to some QS firms (look on RICS website for local, small practices specialising in residential). They will value the actual work done, the cost to complete, and what you've paid. Fees will run approx £350 - £500 depending where you are for that piece of work.

You could pursue independently through the courts, via legal cover if you have, or the QS firm can also do so.

Get your paper work in order. Contract, invoices, receipts etc. Go outside and photograph the work done, and also any materials the builder has left.