landscaper took axe to my patio - destroyed out of spite

[destroyedgarden]

Yesterday my landscaper asked me for more money because he had mis measured the amount of porcelain tiles needed to complete my patio. we had a written contract which did not specify any measurements which was in breach his terms and conditions . I refused to pay the extra £1700 he wanted for the 12m2 he had mis-nmeasured on a 50 m2 patio, and I also refused to pay the outstanding 30% of the bill - which is in his contract he terms a “satisfaction payment” (£3,000) until the work was completed.

I had made staged payments - he has 70% already

In response he took an axe to half of my patio completely destroying it and leaving me with the waste to clear up. .I had called the police as he threatened to burn my house down, he did this in front of four police officers who did not intervene saying that it was a civil matter. He has now sent me an invoice for the outstanding payment . Obviously I'm not going to pay him and will be taking it to small claims I have contacted trading standards who are investigating but the police I've said this wasn't a crime it was simply an incident and they were just there too keep the peace . Has anyone been in a similar situation is there anything I can do will stop I imagine that taking him to small claims will be fruitless as he doesn't appear to have any assets it is a sole trader and not a limited company . I have already named and shamed him on Facebook, what else can I do?

How is it not criminal damage?

I would be calling back the police to ask that.

Wow. He sounds completely unhinged.

How is that not something to be arrested for?

How can it not be a crime? I'd escalate that just for the principle, although that won't help you.

Might your insurers be able to help?

Sole trader is better for you in terms of assets. It means if he's sued, any personal assets go towards his net worth. Limited companies are only worth the value of the business and often wound up as soon as there is any threat of legal action.

Ask for the case to be reviewed by a more senior officer this is bloody ridiculous!

Speak to the police again and say that you want him charged with criminal damage. If no luck lobby your MP for support.

If you haven't paid for all the patio is he within his rights to smash it up? I'm not being difficult, but could he claim you are refusing to pay for it? So it's not criminal damage to your property?

I’m amazed the police didn’t regard this as criminal damage or breach of the peace tbh. But I’m also gobsmacked at £10k for a patio so maybe I’m way out of touch. We are having ours replaced later in the year, admittedly with stone not porcelain but it is costing a fraction of that.

What outcome do you want?

Awful and nasty behaviour, did you not assess this lone patio layer. before your hired him.,plus he seems dodgy, charging that much for the job,even before the smashing up business.

Hopefully he only smashed up the 30 % that he owned.

So overall you owe him £4,500 that you are refusing to pay?

Might be worth speaking to trading standards?

Wow, he sounds dangerous and deeply unpleasant.

I'm normally an advocate for standing up for yourself, but in this instance, I'd walk away from the whole thing, block him and complain to the police for not doing more. You have 30% of the budget left. Could you get it finished with that?

He threatened, in front of police officers, to burn your house down??

Arson is a criminal offence which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment under the Criminal Damage Act 1971. Get on to your local police station and ask for a review of the incident by a senior officer; ask them to speak to the officers who visited you and find out why they said this was a civil matter.

And get legal advice, seriously.

What a bastard. I'd have been terrified. Are you OK?

@Jossbow

Hopefully he only smashed up the 30 % that he owned.

So overall you owe him £4,500 that you are refusing to pay?

The OP owes him nothing. The contractor provided a written quotation to carry out the work which the OP accepted. When you quote for work it is a risk, if you make a mistake, you cant just ask the customer for more money.

£1700 worth of materials is a pretty big cost. Did you realise he had made a mistake when you got the quote and compared them to the others that you got?

Not that he is entitled to be a violent thug about it. Obviously. That sounds terrifying.

It's definitely criminal damage. Did you video him? In any event make a complaint to the police.

Unless you patio is inlaid with gold, he has massively overcharged you for a patio in the first place!

Sounds like a con man

It's criminal damage of course, and yes it's a crime. However, the police are a bit shit. I don't think you'll persuade them to prosecute this. They hide behind the "civil-matter" excuse for all sorts of things when they think they can avoid doing some work. I'm doubtful that they even know what it means. Just about every crime also happens to be a civil matter. The victim could invariably sue the perpetrator if they wanted to. Doesn't stop it being a crime.

I'd definitely be contacting my local police liaison officer and asking why a clearly violent person wasn't removed by officers from my property and questioned under caution about the episode.

I'd also make a statement to the police about the threats and intimidation related to this same individual making threats of arson.

I'd then make a small claims court claim asking for the 'landscaper' (for 'landscape' read 'violent nutjob') to pay you back for the amount already handed over to him.

I'd probably also make sure my home security was up to scratch and fit some sort of surveillance equipment in case the aforementioned violent nut job decides to come back and do a bit more 'landscaping' to your property - including vehicles parked on your drive/on the street.

He sounds like a serious threat and you must have been terrified.

I have some industry knowledge. Prices for builders, due to Brexit, Covid, and shortages due to the fact that lots of people having loads of work done to their homes (WFH, no commuting costs, no holidays etc), have rocketed.

Typically, according to a report on the BBC website, they are paying 7-8% more for materials, 30%more for cement..

If the quote was a while ago, he may be panicking about making a loss. But a quote is a quote, that's business.

Threatening to burn your house down, smashing the patio up? The police need to get involved.

Did you pay with a credit card - if so you can start a section 75 claim. Even if you paid with a debit card there is some recourse via chargeback speak to your bank about this.

of Op that must be so distressing. Keep going to insist the police take this seriously as a criminal matter. My Dad's really good advice was always to go to the top. So contact the chief constable of your force. If that does not work, go to your MP. This cannot be palmed off as a "civil matter". The police were no doubt referring to the matter of the bill when they said that. They cannot just ignore the damage and threat to you and your home.

Just having our patio done with porcelain, £1700 for 12sqm is £141 per sqm, I know prices have gone up, but that seems really excessive, I had to buy some more as decided to pave a bit more and it had gone up £10 per sqm, but yours is nearly 4 times mine (and mine was not the cheapest, I would contact the place he got it from and check his prices.
Also do not give up on the police he cannot just damage your home and threaten you. Hope you get it sorted.

Something isn’t scanning right with your story.