Guttering cowboys

My next door neighbour (semi-detached house)
has just been caught by some roofing cowboys, and I'm suffering as a result.
They agreed to having soffits,fascia, bargeboards and guttering all replaced with upvc - the original soffits,fasci and bargeboards remain in place, with the new upvc overlaying them. The original guttering was OSMA squareline, to be replaced with identical guttering. The job has been botched - at the front of the house where it meets my guttering at the propertyline in the middle of house, the new guttering is between 1/2 and 1 inch higher than my guttering. The joining bracket they used to attempt to connect the two pieces of gutter has been smothered in mastic to try to get a water tight seal. Worse still, as the back of the property, the new gutter is too short
to connect to the joining bracket properly at the property line, as well as being 1/2 inch too high and they have tried to bridge the gap with masses of mastic. This a complete bodge job, those joints, if they are water tight now, will likely fail within a few months. The work was agreed to as a result of a single cold call - but the contract makes no mention of the required 7 day cooling off period (this is a criminal offence, I understand). The work was completed within 2 days of the contract being signed; fortunately, no money has exchanged hands yet (not even a deposit).Any advice would be welcome.

heeelllooo maninthestreet and welcome

the covering off the old soffits bargboards ect is correct providing the wood underneath is in good condition as in no rot


ok my understanding and i could be wrong!!!!

if you invite someone into your house you lose a lot of you rights as you "invited" them in
i dont believe its a criminal act to not state your rights and i also know you have less of a cooling off period when you invite them in compared to a contract when they arn't present [i believe the distance selling act]

you dont actualy have a cooling of period with work anyway if you agree for it to take place once youve agreed thats it you have a binding contract once its started
you only get a cooling off period if its a service that hasn.t made any physical differences

now having said all that you/they have to express your concerns and allow them to complete the job to a reasonable and satisfactory standard before final payment

i dont know if your entitled to withhold the full amount i am shure that depends on the contract they signed

get leagl advice or try the CAB

oh and show your neighbour!

Big-all, sorry but you are wrong; from the DTI website:

"Doorstep Selling and Cold Calling Fact Sheet
URN No: 06/1865

Subject: Doorstep Selling, Cold Calling

Relevant or Related Legislation:

• The Consumer Protection (Cancellation of Contracts Concluded away from Business Premises) Regulations 1987.
• The Consumer Protection (Cancellation of Contracts Concluded away from Business Premises) (Amendment) Regulations 1988.
• The Consumer Protection (Cancellation of Contracts Concluded away from Business Premises) (Amendment) Regulations 1998.

These are more commonly known as the 'Doorstep Selling Regulations'.

Key Facts:

The Doorstep Selling Regulations give consumers:

• The right to a seven day cooling-off period during which they may cancel an agreement to buy goods or services worth more than £35 from a trader whose visit is unsolicited.

• The same right to a seven-day cooling of period where a visit by a trader follows an unsolicited doorstep or telephone approach.

The Regulations also provide that:

• Traders who fail to inform consumers in writing of their right to a cooling off period will be committing a criminal offence.

• Door-to-door sellers must provide a notice setting out cancellation rights when any agreement is made. Failure to do so makes the agreement unenforceable. This is the case whether a deposit is paid or not. "

So a criminal offence has already been committed. The neighbours (an elderly couple) already know about the problem; I have advised them not to pay a penny until the problems have been rectified.

ok no probs with that but the work has already commenced as in the contract has started by mitual concent so the cooling off period dosnt apply you cant say ooooo i have changed my mind when the work is nearing completion
he let it start so he has agreed to honour the contract!!!! :

It sounds like the job is resonable except for the joining area concearned at the back. Another 20 mins or so work from the roofer should sort the back out then your neighbour can pay them. If your neighbour is not sure what to say, tell her to send them round your house where you can politely explain.

Just be nice and say youre not happy and they will sort it.

I'm not party to the contract, so I can't start making demands of the roofer in this way, but I'll make 'suggestions' if I'm asked, and see how responsive the roofer is. The problem is at the front and rear, so I think it will take more than 20mins.

Oh I forgot to ask - the suggested gradient/drop for guttering is 1:600, isnt it?

I'm not party to the contract, so I can't start making demands of the roofer in this way,......

Click to expand...

No, but you can make demands of your neighbour. You should have had a "Party Wall" agreement before the work started.

The Party Wall Act does not apply to guttering!

The mastic may be extra insurance or just not as bad as described, also just because the neighbours gutter is now higher, does not mean it is wrong - perhaps they have corrected a long term incorrect gutter level and it is now in fact correct to achive adequate flow - and the OPs gutter is too low?

The facts are the OP is making assumtions on what may or may not happen. He's also making assumptions on the quality. He has no basis for any dispute untill the joints fail or his property is otherwise affected.

He is not party to the contract and does not know the terms of it - perhaps the neighbour has paid less for a cheaper quality job?

The bottom line is that there are too many ifs, buts and maybes, and at this stage the OP has no basis to question the work.

With regards to no payments being made yet, then it would be a severe breach of contract for the neighbour not to pay for the work done. He would have to pay the agreed sum (or a negotiated lesser sum) and seek redress afterwards. He would also need an experts report to back up any claim