Asked the tradesmen to leave after damage, should I pay?

[WhatAPickleThisIsAtXmas]

Hello, bit of a moral and possibly legal dilemma.
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Have only just bought a house and I have never dealt with renovations before, and what a treat it is! I've been stupid...

Agreed to a quote via Facebook messenger for stripping and lining my children's bedrooms. It was actually the most expensive quote I'd had, but my youngest has additional needs and will not use the space, so i just wanted to try and make it for him. Guy said it would take 4/5 days, it would be cheaper if it took less.

First day they (2 guys) were nearly 2 hours late and left after 3 and half hours, very little progress. I went home to look before school collect and noticed a large puddle in the room, some water under the cabin bed, i mopped it up, and then noticed the laminate flooring had warped in 4 areas. I flagged this to the guy who said it wasnt them, i said it could only have been the steamer had been left flat or leaked, as the puddle under the bed didnt leave any warping, so I assumed it must have been heat plus water. Eventually he said hed take £100 off after sayjng it couldnt possibly have been there fault. Second day only 1 guy turned up 45 minutes late and left after 4.5 hours, some progress but still very little. I started stripping my other sons room and then received a message from the missing decorator to say I shouldn't be doing that as he'd booked out the whole week for me. Third day he told me he couldn't make the next day and confirmed he doesn't have public liability insurance to cover floor damage.

I told them that I wouldn't like to continue with the job as I didn't feel comfortable with how it was panning out. I was very polite and they just sort of nodded.

The floor is also damaged in the area where the steamers were kept. The flooring has to be pulled up, I started one corner and the floorboards underneath were wet, the beading had sponged.

I got some advice and took photos of the damage. I will also get a quote for replacement flooring to send to them. No invoice was provided breaking down costs.

Now he's messaged me to say he's sending over an invoice for work carried out. I absolutely hate confrontation and certainly don't want any trouble, but I also don't feel I can pay when I'm having to rip up flooring, pay for skip, and pay for replacement.

I want to do the right thing and wondered if anyone had similar experience?

You need to work out which invoice will be more, his for the work dones so far or yours for the damage. Then you can chose if you want to settle or fight over the difference.

I suspect if confronted with your invoice in return he'll go away (but with some anger).

So they did 3 hours work, left when they realised they had ruined your flooring and are now invoicing you? Ask them for their insurance details.

They confirmed they have no insurance.

3 hours one day two of them.
4.5 hours next day just one of them.
One day canceled.

I was told repeatedly the whole week was booked for me.

Poster has already said they don't have insurance. If they don't play ball, threaten them with "trading standards", make sure you post their details on FB, with your experience.

I know he doesn’t have insurance, I’m saying if he says he wants to be paid you simply reply with “and I want to claim against your insurance for the damage you caused”.

They will probably be headhunted by a housing association soon

Maybe if someone could suggest what the hourly rate for a decorator in your area is; you could use that as a guide for what to offer to pay them for their time- I wouldn't be offering more than £100/200; just to make them go away drama free. However, if you're more up for some back and forth, say that they've only done 10ish hours of work and cause X amount in damage, you'll happily pay for their hours if they cover the damage. Good luck!

“Thanks for sending your invoice. Once you pass on details of how I can recoup the X pounds of damage caused by your steamer, I will be happy to settle the bill.”

Attach screenshots from checkatrade for replacement flooring and manpower, plus skip hire.

Hes pressing for payment of the amount he has invoiced, which works put based on a 40 hour week much much more per hour.

I'm actually a bit scared as he knows where I live and that I'm on my own.

I'd like to wait until I have a flooring quote? Is that reasonable?

I'd contact Trading Standards and CAB first thing tomorrow, see if they can help.

I'd also email/text him and say that you're taking legal advice and you won't be paying his invoice. You could also ask him to break down his costs because the invoice was much higher than anticipated, considering the very little work they did.

Don't let him bully you. 💐

Speak to your home insurance and see if you have legal cover, they may do the hard work for you!

I would go to CAB for advice. You'll feel much bolder with the support of a neutral party.

I had a horrible experience with a fireplace company and some of their bullying tactics were really getting me down (late evening threatening phonecalls etc). I was really surprised how much better (and objective) I felt about the whole thing once I'd chatted it over with them, and they'd helped me with a response.