Where do I stand legally?

Question

Ok so here's the deal.

a month ago I hired a plasterer to do some work in my house. He was plastering for about a week and seemed like an honest guy and did a great job. He said he'd be finished on the saturday so saturday morning I paid him in full as I had to go to work. He said he'd send me an invoice. I get home after work and the work isn't finished, there are two walls that haven't been plastered. a month later after endless excuses and many times when he said he'd show up to finish i'm still left with 2 unplastered walls. Just wondering where I stand legally? Can I get money back off him for not finishing the work? I have no proof that he did any of it as I never got the invoice. I realise it was stupid of me to pay him before the job was finished but I trusted the guy. Any idea what can be done, I live in the UK by the way.

I was thinking of filing a claim online at www.moneyclaim.gov.uk I figured it would be unlikely that he'd defend and it would probably motivate him to come finish the job.

Unfortunately I paid cash, he said we could skip the VAT if I paid cash.

I got him out of the yellow page

:(

Answer 1

Truly, you need to consult a barrister or a solicitor. In all likelihood, the damages you've incurred are insufficient to justify the cost of a civil action, and you may just as well to hire another to do the remaining work.

Obtaining the evidence to prevail against him in a proper court will be both time consuming and costly, and the legal process is itself maddening -- even if only for the demands of discovery!

It is a pity you've been shammed by an unscrupulous chap, but beware the potential liability to you if you slander him in his occupation.

Proceeding to defame him without the support of a legal judgment in your favor is likely to result in the most austere penaties being assessed against you, even if you are later able to prove the truth of your allegations.

Again, you are in need of legal advice from a practitioner in your locale.

Best wishes for your future.

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PS - Personally, I believe questioneer rightly observed what you intended to say is that the quoted price (which you paid) included all applicable taxes; it won't result in money to you for his wrongdoing, but you may derive from it some satisfaction in knowing a small measure of justice has been done.

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Answer 2

If the plasterer refuses to finish the job that has been paid for in full then you are legally entitled to a refund. You are going to have to work out what proportion of the job is unfinished and then calculate that proportion of the total cost.

Before going to the small claims court you should send a letter headed "notice of intended prosecution" to the plasterer giving him a period of time in which to either complete the work or settle out of court. You should keep a copy of this and get a witness to sign it stating that it is a true copy of the original. When working in property management for many years I would normally fill out a claim form from the county court and mark it draft, stating in the notice of intended prosecution that this is what will be filed in court.

The claim form is actually easy to fill in and you can recover the costs of filing it at court. A Citizens Advice Bureau will be able to give you any help you need with the paperwork. Too many rogue traders (and tenants) work on the assumption that you will not take the trouble to do this, but don't let him get away with it. If you do have to go to court make sure that you enclose photos of the uncompleted work.

Answer 3

Hi, there are many things you can do. Firstly i would strongly suggest that you do not carry such acts as advertise in the local paper claiming the company to be rip offs, as this can revert back to yourself as being defamatory.

It must be established what are the overall chances of success if this was to be taken to the small claims court. The maximum amount that can be sued for in a smal claims court is £750. So if the overall amount is higher than this it would need to be taken to the sherriff court as they deal with larger claims.

The cost for loging a claim in a small claims court are in the region of £50. However this fee would stand if the claim is not defended. When the claim is defended the costs will be higher. There are special rules on the amount of expenses which can be awarded. When the claim is for under £200 no expenses can be awarded. For claim of £200-£750 in most cases only limited expenses can be awarded to the successful party, but the maximum is £75.

As i have said before you weigh up the probability of winning the claim. If it is a single person who you are going to sue for £200 etc it may not be worth it as at the end of the day it may took a lenghty time to retrieve your money. If on the other hand it is a company you ar sueing you will have a better chance of winning.

If you require any more advice please contact me as i am a lawyer.

Good luck

Answer 4

Try taking him to the small claims court. If you have no proof he was their, and you have no invoice. Get a copy of your bank statement showing the exact amount you withdrew to pay him, if that is what you done. People aren't in the habit of going to the small claims court for nothing, so I'm sure you would be believed that he was their to do a job. Take photo's of your walls etc.

Don't worry about the VAT, as that lies with him.

You could also report him to Trading Standards, Inland Revenue etc. If he doesn't finish the job tell him you will report him to all the above places and I'm sure he will finish. As he is not going to want the Inland Revenue, digging into his books etc.

If all else fails, NAME AND SHAME HIM, IN HIS LOCAL NEWSPAPER.

All the best with this.

Answer 5

Basically, you've been done.
My best advise would be to have some fun with all of his contact details, I'm sure you can think of something suitable.

In future what I would recommend is that you put up a written specification of what work you want done and when you want it done by, always put on the specification that 'Time is of the essence'. Never, ever pay anything up front, if they try the old line of "its for materials I have to buy" ask for the details of there supplier and buy them yourself that way if your preventing some con-artist spending your hard earned in the nearest pub.
Always make sure that they provide you with a business card with a home address thats verifiable and a landline number, not a mobile.
The second they try any of the old "cash no VAT guvna" show them the door.

Answer 6

You have a verbal contract with the plasterer - one of the implied terms of which was that he would complete the job to the required standard. The best thing you can do - if he won't voluntarily finish the word - but if you know his name and address (you'll need an address to serve the claim form on) is to file a claim with your local county court (small claims court) - you can do this yourself without the help of a solicitor - and the hearing is in a relatively informal session - you can get the forms online - in filling them in you need to explain that you had a verbal agreement with the guy - and how he breached it - by not finishing the work and or not finishing it to the required standard. Good luck and hope this helps!

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/aboutus/structure/county.htm

Answer 7

You haven't a leg to stand on! You have no invoice so you cant even proove he did the work and you paid cash hence no proof on your bank statement that you paid him any money. What made you think you could trust this guy anyway. Put it down to experience... oh and always get a contract from the people doing the work and an invoice before any money is exchanged

Answer 8

Firstly send him a registered letter (keep a photo-copy) setting out in detail what work was required, when he started, when he finished, what payment was agreed, how much you paid, what work is outstanding, what attempts you have made to get him back to finish. Ask him in the letter for a date within the next two weeks for him to finish the work and explain you are taking him to court for breach of contract if the work isn't completed (a spoken contract is as binding as a written one). If he is a member of the federation of builders contact them, if you are not sure then ask them if he is a member. If he isn't or they can't help then go to your local small claims court and lodge your complaint there, you are only responsible for your costs if he wins the case. If you want any further help go to the citizens advice bureau who will only be too glad to advise you. Hope this helps.

Answer 9

unfortunately without an invoice or written contract it is hard to prove. However a verbal contract is binding. if he is not willing to finish the work the only thing you can do is see a solicitor. This is expensive and probably not worth it.

I suggest you chalk it up to experience and in future get an agreement in writing. It is always advisable to agree a schedule with the contractor to pay in three smaller instalments. One for materials, one when half the job is done and one at the end.

Answer 10

Legally you are on slightly shaky ground with no record of either a contract or financial transaction. If you had a witness to the verbal contract that would help but if not you are probably in the situation of any court proceeing relying on a "swearing match" with your word against his and judges do not like to make orders altering the status quo based on these situations (not saying they won't, just predisposed to avoid acting without sufficient weight of evidence on one side or the other).
I would be inclined myself to go back to the guy, appeal to his good nature and then threaten to turn him in to the VAT authorities if he doesn't complete the work done. They would be more than happy for a tip off and a willing witness especially if he's already on their radar. You mention you're not paying VAT, I would characterise it as you paid an agreed price, the obligation was on the trader to apply VAT and collect it on behalf of the taxman and he failed in his duty to do so. He chose to evade VAT not you. right :-)