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Not sure if I am posting this in the correct section so apologies if it should be somewhere else.
I employed a building company to build an extension (he came recomended by a local man who had used him a lot and also by my highly reputable local architect)
Anyway, this builder, started work and immediately we could sense that their were going to be problems.
A couple of weeks into the project and we knew we'd made a huge mistake in hiring his company.
From day one they started demolishing our garage ready for the extension using a sledge hammer and an angle grinder without any safety equipment, no barriers or warning signs and were causing damage to both my brand new landrover and my neighbours car which was parked on our shared driveway.
Lumps of the garage roof were flying everwhere and then the roof finally caved in.
Worked seemed to escalate after the garage fell down and the extension finally started to take shape.
By week eight they were four weeks behind schedule and the cracks were starting to appear again. The work was being completed totally wrong according the the architect plans and the staff were cutting corners.
Things that I considered important werent correct like the window lintels were loose, the roof hadnt been tied on, they had plasterboarded over empty cavities that should have been filled with insulation, a fire wall was plasterboarded up empty the overflow pipes in the new build had been snapped off at the wall, plasterboarded over and not redirected, the patio doors were fitted below the damp course and fitted the wrong way round.....oh, the list of their mistakes went on and on and on!
I am a wheelchair user and my downstairs WC was demolished and I was left without a WC for 8 weeks and the entire extension was built to DDA standards.
Staff werent turning up or if they did, they were late or hadnt got the right tools equipment etc..
Eventually, I had enough and I told them all to leave after forking out over £55,000
I took legal advice and an independant surveyor was employed. His list of problems made up an 11 page document.
Anyway, my legal team have told me that because this company was a LTD one, he has now closed the company leaving me without any legal rights whatsoever unless I want to go to considerable expense taking him through the courts.
I had to employ another builder and in the end, it cost me £38,000 over the original budget and some of the work quoted for still isnt completed.
He is now trying to sue me for an imaginary £12,000 (he's trying to charge me because the garage wasnt constructed how they thought it was so it took longer to demolish and because their original plumber plumbed in for a combi boiler, but when the proper plumber arrived he complained that we were having an ordinary one.
He's also charged me for a 60w boiler but only installed a 24w one. (when we challenged him about this he said that you dont count the beans in a tin of heinz do you??)
Right, so, how do I get this B*&tard back without going through the courts or if I do persue the courts route am I likely to win???
I am reluctant to employ someone to knee cap him, but admit that the idea is tempting.
We have since found out that he has closed the company down and had been registered as four different companies in as many years and his name hasnt appeared on any of the company documents either becuase he is an undisclosed or undischarged bankrupt!! The company is in his wifes and his daughters names.
Sorry that this has turned out so long but would really appreciate any advice that you can offer.
Thank you.
Regards Pookspoons
I employed a building company to build an extension (he came recomended by a local man who had used him a lot and also by my highly reputable local architect)
Anyway, this builder, started work and immediately we could sense that their were going to be problems.
A couple of weeks into the project and we knew we'd made a huge mistake in hiring his company.
From day one they started demolishing our garage ready for the extension using a sledge hammer and an angle grinder without any safety equipment, no barriers or warning signs and were causing damage to both my brand new landrover and my neighbours car which was parked on our shared driveway.
Lumps of the garage roof were flying everwhere and then the roof finally caved in.
Worked seemed to escalate after the garage fell down and the extension finally started to take shape.
By week eight they were four weeks behind schedule and the cracks were starting to appear again. The work was being completed totally wrong according the the architect plans and the staff were cutting corners.
Things that I considered important werent correct like the window lintels were loose, the roof hadnt been tied on, they had plasterboarded over empty cavities that should have been filled with insulation, a fire wall was plasterboarded up empty the overflow pipes in the new build had been snapped off at the wall, plasterboarded over and not redirected, the patio doors were fitted below the damp course and fitted the wrong way round.....oh, the list of their mistakes went on and on and on!
I am a wheelchair user and my downstairs WC was demolished and I was left without a WC for 8 weeks and the entire extension was built to DDA standards.
Staff werent turning up or if they did, they were late or hadnt got the right tools equipment etc..
Eventually, I had enough and I told them all to leave after forking out over £55,000
I took legal advice and an independant surveyor was employed. His list of problems made up an 11 page document.
Anyway, my legal team have told me that because this company was a LTD one, he has now closed the company leaving me without any legal rights whatsoever unless I want to go to considerable expense taking him through the courts.
I had to employ another builder and in the end, it cost me £38,000 over the original budget and some of the work quoted for still isnt completed.
He is now trying to sue me for an imaginary £12,000 (he's trying to charge me because the garage wasnt constructed how they thought it was so it took longer to demolish and because their original plumber plumbed in for a combi boiler, but when the proper plumber arrived he complained that we were having an ordinary one.
He's also charged me for a 60w boiler but only installed a 24w one. (when we challenged him about this he said that you dont count the beans in a tin of heinz do you??)
Right, so, how do I get this B*&tard back without going through the courts or if I do persue the courts route am I likely to win???
I am reluctant to employ someone to knee cap him, but admit that the idea is tempting.
We have since found out that he has closed the company down and had been registered as four different companies in as many years and his name hasnt appeared on any of the company documents either becuase he is an undisclosed or undischarged bankrupt!! The company is in his wifes and his daughters names.
Sorry that this has turned out so long but would really appreciate any advice that you can offer.
Thank you.
Regards Pookspoons