How to handle AWOL builder

[Callmejudith]

Looking for advice please on how to handle this situation. Anyone on the extension thread will know that my builders have been dire. We now have the interior work complete minus 2 doors. However the exterior still needs to be rendered, coping stones installed, drainage complete, manhole needs to be flattened down and some guttering. We also have a velux window that has never worked which needs to be seen by a velux engineer.

I have not heard from the builder since November. He repeated said that he would come in to plan the finish but nothing. I am not prepared to chase him anymore.

We owe him £6k payable on "completion". He has not asked for this payment.

What I would like to do is pay someone else to finish the job but I'm not sure how to handle it with the current builder. We are on a standard JCT contract which they have not stuck to at all and the finish date on the contract is 1 Oct 2021.

I'm also concerned about building control sign off but the advantage there is I know the inspector personally so have also asked for advice. I'm assuming they don't actually care who finishes the work as long as it's done to their standard.

So what now? My idea was to email the builder and simply say "Unless you complete all jobs fully by end of January we will be engaging a different contractor to finish the works and paying them the completion monies" - is that ok?

Hi @Callmejudith! have you got legal expenses insurance?

You need to write a careful letter setting out everything that remains asking him to 1. Confirm that he will be completing the contract;

1. Giving a date by which a) he starts the work and
2. Will have fully completed the work.
3. Gives a date by which you will arrange for someone else to finalise the work. I would make reference to the fact that it is your home and that you consider his failure to complete the works in a timely fashion and to communicate effectively is a breach of contract.

Have you already paid for the work outstanding or will the £6k cover it.

You need to document very carefully in writing and be excessively reasonable unfortunately as county court can be very unpredictable. We had to pay an electrician once who hadn't actually done the work he invoiced us for.....

Thanks so much @nomoneytree that's exactly what i need to know. I do have some legal insurance. We haven't paid for the outstanding work and I believe £6k will cover it. I will start drafting a letter.

The great thing about the extension threads is that I have a record of all the times he has either lied to me or failed to turn up.

Oh that's odd, I'm typing the letter and the builder rang me - I wonder if he's on mumsnet! Cancelled the call. I will only liase by letter.

Also, make sure any quotes you get by others to complete the work are comprehensive and only include the stuff he was meant to be doing not extra. What a pain.

Ok this is really odd, the owner of the whole firm also just called me. I am ignoring both of them, they've ignored me for months.

if you're reading this I HATE YOU YOU USELESS TWITS

@Callmejudith go back to the contract as a first step and see what it says
I don't use JCT without a Contract Administrator (which is what I guess you've got) very much so I don't have one here to look at but there should be a process in there. If you want help deciphering scan me a copy and I'll go through it with you.

Thanks @wonkylegs just reading through the contract and we are allowed to cancel if the contractor "is not at the premises regularly to carry out the work" and he has 7 days to correct the matter after receiving a written warning from the customer.

So that's perfect for my letter.

Actually I know why they are ringing me, I bet the building control guy has contacted them after I asked him for advice FFS

Just spotted this @Callmejudith sorry you're having this problem!!! What fuckers. Looks like you've had good advice.

Oh wow, I just listened to a voicemail from the head guy, he said "let me know when we can come in and fit the kitchen door and then we're done" he has no idea

DH also pointed out that they have two walls to plaster also upstairs!

The only thing I would add is that in going through something similar, we have said that if the amount we've held back is more than what it costs us to pay someone else, we'll give the builder the balance begrudgingly We don't have a JCT contract though.

Thanks @Africa2go that's good to know

He’s trying to control the narrative @Callmejudith. I know you won’t be silly enough to let him do that. Ensure you have a comprehensive list in writing before you even consider answering the phone to him. Expect him to use bully boy tactics so he can get paid with minimal effort. I have been there!

Thanks @wonkylegs no way am I going to be a soft touch here. I am so incredibly grateful for the extension threads as I have every instance of them ignoring me on there. There was one week where we hadn't heard from anyone for days, I called the foreman 7 times with no answer and basically left a begging message for the owner with a load of whats app videos asking him to help me get things back on track. He called me and said to me that he'd be at the house that Monday. He didn't show and I haven't heard a word from him since.

Letter done and have added a list of items. BOOM.

Yay! Well done callmejudith. I would try and get your building reg sign off ASAP so that you know upfront if there are any other issues whilst having this wrangle.

Yep I'm a bit annoyed that the building reg guy has obviously contacted the builder (especially as he's a friend of a friend) but nevermind, at least they know I'm cross

Any idea of how much work they’ve done already (cost wise)?

@Winniemarysarah I would actually say that what is left is probably the value of what we owe them. 95% of the work is done and we've paid them accordingly.

Right now it's almost more the principle!

I also strongly feel that I don't actually want them back in my home but I will have to suck that up if they do want to complete it. If they do I am going to be insisting on 8-5 everyday, no pissing off for hours of breaks, no waiting around. The minute they don't stick to that they can do one.

Another missed call from the head guy this morning. I'm enjoying rejecting his calls greatly. Letter just emailed and I have requested they reply in writing. Also included a list of what I believe is still to be completed. I don't want to discuss on the phone with them as I've had to listen to their BS too many times.

I have also asked DH to take this over if they do say they are going to finish the work. Talking to our decorator about it this morning he reckons for the sake of £6k they may just say stuff it and go forward with the cancellation. That's what I'm hoping anyway.

@wonkylegs sorry just tagging you because you are so brilliantly helpful

Main guy has replied to my email with a lot of waffle. One of the points is that we were expecting them to fit ACCO drains but he's now saying that's not included. Unfortunately it's not on the quote. Would you expect that to be done as standard? I'm not sure whether we just leave it and sort it out ourselves.

They've said they'll have everything resolved next week. I've asked DH to deal with them moving forward. Fuckers.

@Callmejudith are the ACO drains shown on drawings or mentioned on the spec/drawings/ any of the paperwork that forms the contract - could be the schedule of work?
Are they part of the patio - if so how is it described if it's something like all necessary works including drainage it wouldn't need to say ACO specifically as that would be covered by the expectation of drainage.

It really depends on how the contract docs are put together - the drawings and spec are part of these documents so if it's on the drawings and they are the drawings mentioned in the contract then anything on them should be included unless specifically excluded.

Sorry I know 'it depends' isn't really a helpful answer
By the way ACO is just a brand name they can also be referred to as slot /patio / channel /line drain

If they are fitting a patio /paving / tarmac I would have expected some discussion at some point about the drainage for this so personally I would think it should be included but they may argue if it wasn't mentioned or marked them it's not specifically included.

Amazing I didn't think about the drawings will check THANK YOU