Hi Raj

Completely agree with sending the 7 day legal notice - I may have even gone further to threaten him with a winding up order though that does cost! As someone else has recommended send him a link to this thread with a polite note that if money is not returned to you immediately you will have no alternative but to name and shame him on here and also to report him to YPN and the organisers of the events where he speaks - If Simon or other organisers are associated with him they will soon cancel his events - I would hope.

Whichever way - if a builder asks for money up front for materials offer to buy them and have them delivered to your 'plot' - never, ever give them temptation by paying up front - there is no reason for it...EVER!

Good luck which ever way you go - hope the stress is not too much for you and your inlaws!

See you monday at LNPG if you are able to get away

Venessa, I have know him for quite a few years but never had any refurb work done by him. He lives in the same town where I have bought the property so based on others recommending him etc I agreed to have the works done.

His quote was fine and everything was OK. He had issued a contract with various T'c and C's which had not been signed and all was well until he said he made a genuine mistake and the job would now cost £1700 more so we had little choice but to pull out as not affordable

Its interesting someone else has suggested that I dont name and shame him....he may get a no win no fee solicitor involved and try to sue me instead for defamation, so I might need to tread carefully. At this stage the "facts" I have highlighted are my facts I guess although I have a string of emails with dates and discussions

Based on advice I have been receiving, I have now issued a FINAL NOTICE BEFORE LEGAL ACTION giving him 10 days to settle otherwise we will instigate legal proceedings on or after 9th July 2012 without further notice

(Thanks Lisa Orme/Williams for the advice)

I have learned lessons regarding payments upfront so will need to be more cautious next time

I agree with Paul , there is no reason to pay money upfront to a builder EVER under any circumstances. and my advice to everyone would be. If a builder insists on ANY money upfront then simply walk away. nine times out of ten these are rogue trader tactics.

Sorry to hear this Raj and I know you probably don't want to hear this now/again, but like Tony says - NEVER PAY A BUILDER UP FRONT.I got quotes from 3 builders and I specifically discuss payments with each.One of them said that they usually receive payment up front and the other two said that they don't want payment up front, they only want paid at each stage for the work that they have done. These are the guys you want.

I appreciate all the helpful comments about how to deal with builders in the future but whats happened has now happened so at the moment its a case of how to deal with the current situation

Final Notice Before Legal action was sent and ignored.

It is sad that I will have to take legal action on someone I know (and trusted). To justify his own means and ends, he continues to be selective about the dates of relevance to him. Also reckons he paid for materials. If he has he will have returned most of them. I bought most of them anyway. Also has said he had to give his subbies last minute notice that job was off....he should compensate them as he hiked the price which led to the cancellation in the first place. Where has over £4500 gone??

These were the email dates and times (originals and not para-phrased). He only focuses on the 2nd email where I cancelled the job

Email from him to me:

Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:17 - “Having revisited my original proposal I have noted that I made an error in the costing of the plumbing portion of this project”. THE PRICE WENT UP BY £1700

Email from me to him cancelling the job:

Sent: 25 April 2012 22:32 - “I have now discussed the revised quote discussed with parents and unfortunately the latest quote is not affordable for them, based on this my parents do not wish to proceed”

Email back from him to me:

Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2012 06:40 - “I realise the uplift came as a bit of a shock. I cant say im surprised given I left the plumbing labour out by mistake”

He has “been in the process” of returning the money to us since the above dates.....not a penny, nada, zip

A claim against the defendant has now been made via MCOL but I am not 100% sure of what happens next ie if he defends his position or ignores the claim

Raj,

Thanks for the update.

Are you getting legal advice from a solicitor?

John

I did speak to a solicitor before this all kicked off and his general advice was to pursue along the MCOL route for claims less than £5000

(16-07-2012 10:28 PM)Raj Wrote:  John

I did speak to a solicitor before this all kicked off and his general advice was to pursue along the MCOL route for claims less than £5000

Great. Just asking as some will do things and later find out they have muddied the waters. If they asked a solicitor earlier in the process they could have avoided further complications.

It sounds like you have useful advice and now need to follow the process until things are settled.