Builder doing a bad job and now threatening me?

Question

A employed a builder to carry out some work on my house ready to sell. He quoted me £1000 labour + additional for materials when required saying the job would take 2 weeks. After 3 weeks he had done a third of the work and I paid him half labour and all materials to date. He then vanished for 3-4 days and reappeared saying he had been away (failed to tell me).....then 6 weeks later he finally finished. I went to look at the work (I dont live in the house) which was shocking, he fitted 4 new doors and none fit correctly, he boxed in CH pipes in living room which look awful, he decorated 2 rooms which he only did the walls and nothng else (not ceiling, woodwork) and the garden which looks no diff. I explaned that I wasnt happy and he is now not accepting it. It will cost me £500-£1000 to rectify his errors but he refuses to sort it and he is now demanding the rest of his money without finishing the job. We had no written agreement for the work. What do I do? he still has door key

£1000 was for:
Tiling floors & cieling in bathroom (smallest bathroom in the world)
Painting bathroom walls & woodwork
Fitting new radiator in bathroom (wasnt done due to prob with pipes)
Mending shower
Putting new doors on 3 beds & bathroom
Painting bedroom (10ftx8ft)
Fitting new blind on bedroom & kitchen wndows
Painting kitchen
Tidying garden, painting wall in garden & workshop door. Fixing a gate & taking down a fence (6ft length)
Boxing CH pies in living room to blend in and re-fix skirting

He took 3 wks to do bathroom
Only painted walls in bedroom and can still see other color thru (didnt do ceiling/wood)
All 4 new doors have gaps and look ridiculous
Didnt paint any wood in kitchen
Garden still over run with weeds (huge weeds)
Boxed in pipes look awful, an eyesore and stand out. First thing u notice when walk in

All 4 doors need to be re-done (4 doors need to be bought to replace), bedroom needs paintng again & kitchen. Boxing n pipes taken off and re-done

I have arranged to have locks changed this afternoon and phoned Trading Standards who have advised me.

What a nightmare

Answer 1

change the locks for a start!

Answer 2

hi, well now you know never to pay before anyone starts a job, if you waited till the end you could have held some money back. Now the bad news, is No. he will say that he matched it as close as HE could. if he claims he is coloured blind, he can not be touched in any court of law. You should have asked for a sample of the finish, now if he did that, even shown you that, then you will have a case. He did complete the job, and you paid him, that meant you were satisfied. If you go down the process of going to court it will cost you a lot of money, and there is no guarantee you will get your money back. i am sorry. now you have two options, you can try and see if the builder has any decency, and tell him you are very unhappy, and ask what he suggests he can do to fix it. But judging by the way he has acted he seems a cowboy anyway. I suggest you get in touch with a couple of other companies and ask there advice of putting it right, you could always then put it right yourself to save some money. i agree it is disgusting, but remember everyone that goes to court their solicitor is telling them they have a case, yet someone always losses. I do feel you have been tricked, but be gratefull it was only £500, sometimes it is knowing when to wash your hands of a situation. it is not worth the stress of it. Good luck, and i hope i have helped.

Answer 3

If you have a "Better Business Bureau" in your area call them for advice. Since he still has a key and has not returned it, you should call the local locksmith to inquire how much it will cost you to re-key your lock. This may be expensive, but less than him having a key and no telling what he can do damage wise by still having free entry into your house. So it will be cheaper to change the locks key than to have someone out there with another key!

Answer 4

I believe the first thing to do would be to get a locksmith and change the locks. There is generally a governing body that most builders belong to. Here in Australia its the MBA or master builders association. Contacting them may give you some reference as to where you can go from here. Did he give you receipts for the money you paid him. Also if you had some before and after photo's that would help.

Answer 5

Change the locks on the door and bill him for having to change them. This cowboy needs to be run out of town. With this invoice, write him a stern letter (if you have his trading address!) pointing out exactly where he has failed to hit deadlines or failed to work to acceptable standards. Despite yopu not having a written agreement, it is reasonable to accept a fair days work for a fair days pay. If the garden looks the same then this joker hasn't touched it. My advice is get cracking on this one and in no way give in to the joker. If he refuses to give your keys back, call the police at once.

Answer 6

Hi,
I feel that you may of been a bit foolish in engaging such a rogue, it is criminal, and he could ne prosecuted via the Trading Standards bods - in the yellow pages.
You would, after a further lenght of time be awarded full costs of putting the jobs right, and he would be barred from trading,
Scoundrel.
I would have stopped the work, and told him to go away without any payment.
I think you must be stronger in dealing with these rip-off merchants.

All the best with it,
Bob

Answer 7

Well, there isn't a whole lot you CAN do but start with changing the locks! THAT will solve at least 1 of your problems. The reality is if it's not in writing, it didn't happen. Sorry, but you can, and I would, take him to court...in the US it's "Small Claims" court and plead your case, see if you can get a judge to believe you and order the "guy" to give you back your money. It's a long shot, but I'd HAVE to try it. "He said, she said" cases cases come day to the most credible story. Take lots of pictures to show the "shoddy" work. If you can get SOMEONE ELSE to make repairs and take THAT with you to court, also to show the amount necessary to correct his work. GET A DETAILED CONTRACT BEFORE THE WORK IS STARTED!!! That's all I have to offer you on this. Most important is that you learn from the experience and never, ever let someone take advantage of you like that! Good luck! Be smarter than that!

Answer 8

builder bad job threatening

Answer 9

best thing you can do is put it behind you, learn from your mistake and get in a real builder. Im in the building trade and I guarantee you went for the cheapest quote, didnt you? Is it really worth all the sleepless nights worrying about it? If he does threaten you, contact the police, not some old duffer in a citizens advice bureau!

Answer 10

Sorry to hear about your troubles.Shame you had not a contract in writing.Still it's his word against yours.Do not part with any more money and make sure you call the trading standards office.Also change the locks and notify him you getting trading standards and the taxman involved.Best of luck

Answer 11

Change locks
Report him to Trading Standards Office at your local council offices.
Don't pay until rectified (if you choose that option)

He sounds like a dodgy builder - no real trade - just a fly by night.