Beastly builder - really sick with worry and don't know legal position

[TodgyCat]

Hi

I'm so stressed I'm in bed. I am shaking like a leaf and really anxious, have taken time off work. I suffer from pernicious anaemia which is made worse by stress and I think my health has just fallen off a cliff. We are almost 2 years into building hell. Builder is invoicing huge amounts for work he hasn't done (about 50K plus VAT more than I think we owe).

His part-finished build breaks building regs in two ways and the raised patio he built can't drain and is 5cm above DPC. I offered a payment plan starting with him fixing the building control issues. He laughed and invoiced again. He has admitted in writing that he lied to us about the building control on this, although his email is so illiterate and evasive it is hard to know what he is saying.

I'm trying to get legal advice but it is slow and the stress just ramps up as I wait. I made some dumb errors on contracts. Have engaged a surveyor and am trying to contact a lawyer, am using Which? Legal atm. Which? say he hasn't a leg to stand on. Absence of proper contracts is hard though.

Imo he is in breach of contract (work not done to reasonable quality or timeframe - he is months past expected finish date) - can he invoice when the build is in such a mess?

I have taken a lot of succour from other people's anti-builder rants on here. It is complex, I'm pretty sure I'm in the right, I keep proposing mediation and I'd settle for paying more just to end this all - but he is asking for about 50K more than I think I owe him and my house and garden remain wrecked. He hasn't yet engaged a lawyer so I suspect he is on the back foot really -- but this arguing has been going on for months already. Meanwhile my garden is a building site and 10 rooms in my house are unusable.

He can invoice you as much as he wants, you are under no obligation to pay for work not done or to a substandard degree. Photograph everything and document how it’s unsafe. Get a new builder, and tell this one to fuck off.

@FenellaMaxwell that's just what I want to do! Am seeing lawyer tomorrow. So I'll be paying to do the obvious because I'm frighted of doing the wrong thing legally. The stress of ambiguity is too tough, need to sort it.

Thanks for the moral support. I have dozens of photos...

Agree with fenella couldn't have put it better, builders, especially bad ones, are very experienced in encouraging people to pay for substandard work. The only Shame is the impact it has on you.
You are doing the right thing getting a surveyor involved and get them to value the work done based on the quote pricing. This is not an exact science but it is a proper figure from a professional and might clarify the builder's mind.
We were lucky with ours we had an architect on board from the beginning of the project and it turned out to be thousands of pounds that was actually well spent, but there's nothing to stop you paying a suitable professional by the hour (with care!)

Ignore his invoices – you should in no way be intimidated into paying for sub-standard work that doesn't meet building regs. As well as getting legal advice and a surveyor in, ask another builder to come round and cost up how much it's going to take to put the shoddy work right. See what the legal advice is, but I'd be tempted to invoice original builder for that money! Also call Trading Standards for advice. Illiterate or not, you have it in writing he lied to you about building control. I'd also be tempted to go to your GP and get them to write a letter confirming how the stress has impacted your condition - it might be something to have in the arsenal if you go to court.

I know it's easy for someone else to say, but try not to worry and stay strong. It sounds like you hold all the cards here.