Builder going past agreed date, penalties?

NHW said:

The least that i am doing is charging him for the takeaway meals that i have incurred going past that date because it is the kitchen which is literally unusable at the moment.

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I Really suggest you refrain from that,as others have said.That could really back fire on you in the future

Notch7 said:

Usually customers that record every single detail in that way do so to knock the builder at the end. Builders are often poor at paperwork and lots of extras get done without charging. Or even more common is a customer insisting that something has been done wrong and needs redoing or the customer assumes something is included when it isnt. Without considerable contractual detail and a daily variation sheet it would impossible on most building contracts to totally avoid any misinterpretation at all.

For example, I had a client email me to say the 1st fix electrics were unacceptable, he had measured the light switch back boxes and there was a 12mm difference (3 boxes, 1was 5 metres from the other, the 3rd in a different room). I thought it was a game he was playing, so I pulled the plasterers off the job until I got written confirmation he was happy with all aspects of the electrics.

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Hi Notch,

Mine is more a case of the fact that i have always had a back garden cam which faces my house, and that i have most of my downstairs fitted with surveillance due to past issues with security. I didn't go in hot-wired with a secret mic and cam in my clothes if that's what it sounded like lol My phone runs a program called "auto call recorder" and records all the calls i make due to the influx of calls i get on a daily basis, so that again is just a byproduct of my own record-keeping. It's essentially the combination of these things is how i can pretty much recall all aspects of what has been happening with this project.

To be honest i would love to have been in that situation of being on the receiving end of these 'extras' but sadly i am not because i am pretty much just getting 'what i paid for' since we itemized out all the stuff in the initial quote process, and in some ways i am getting less than what i paid for considering cheaper materials were used, and this is stuff that cannot just be re-done simply. You would have to take the entire front facing wall down in order to swap out the insulation, I specified a specific type of kingspan product to be used, a specific type of joist hanger, a specific type of board etc, if a customer goes out of his way to specify these types of products to be used and to be quoted for you should be quite sure that he is going to be checking. But alas he ended up using cheaper materials anyways and tried to do it behind my back.

If i am shelling out tens of thousands of pounds for something then does it not make sense for me to check that i am indeed getting what i am paying for? Youre right in the fact that i have insisted that things have been done wrong, and on all those occasions i have been proved right. He even tried to convince me that something was ok to do (to save himself labour) when i had a feeling it wasnt and decided to ask someone at local Building control and they told me that it would breach health+safety and fire regulations, i told him this and for some reason he got annoyed that i even spoke to building control about it.

Look i'm not painting any types of pictures here, but in my position i have not been getting what we signed up to pay for. We signed the documents linked to a particular set of drawings which also had product specifications, if i was going to be a total ass about it i probably could have legally made him re-do everything to match up to what was agreed.

In regards to your comment woody about making the payment and then retrieving a portion back via legal means, would i even be liable to make payment when the end-product that i am getting isn't what we are actually paying for? The basis of making the payment is for completion of a product/service but what i am getting isn't what i 'ordered'.

You might well say that yes it is still an extension which matches upto the measurements, but now the materials and spec are below the grade which was agreed on that payment. There was no heads up by the way in regards to these downgraded materials, he never came to me and said 'i cant get ahold of this, or i have an alternative product which is similar etc' he literally just straight up threw them in there whilst i was away and hoped i wouldn't notice, when i confronted his about them all he said was "yeah but its not illegal to use them though, they still do the job". If a car salesman sold someone a fully-loaded BMW, then on the day they collect the vehicle they turn up and get given a Basic 5 series and says "yeah but its still got wheels and gets you from A-B, so its not like illegal or anything" you would rightly think this person is pulling a fast one on you.

You need to call your builder in and have a man to man talk with him.

NHW said:

. I didn't go in hot-wired with a secret mic and cam in my clothes if that's what it sounded like lol

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I thought you were a secret agent.

Since youve come this far, a bit of patience is needed to get to the end.

I can appreciate youve had a stressful build, which is a shame since it should be an exciting time.

Unfortunately when trust is lost the work relationship turns sour.

Unfortunately on a forum its not really possible to provide much in the way of specific advice, we only get one side of the argument, so no history to draw on.

Take Woodys advice on the legal stance and try your best to get your builder to have a site meeting. Make a list, get dates. Ensure you both have a copy and keep on top of getting it done.

I hope you have a working kitchen again soon.....maybe the end of the week.