Shoddy work by insurance -nominated contractors

[abstibus]

Two years ago, I had to have my roof repaired following severe storms and used the Liverpool Victoria insurance-nominated contractors. Their remit was to repair the storm damage to guttering, fascia, slates, etc.
As the house has 3 floors with a bay, I was unable (and unqualified!) to assess whether the repairs were satisfactory.
Since then, my walls under the 'repaired' area have suffered from severe penetraing damp, with consequent damage to decoration inside, to the extent that I have had to keep a dehumidifier running 24 hours a day,
I got a local engineer to examine the roof, and he is now carrying out the repairs that should have been done originally. He has taken photographs of roof as he found it and is prepared to give me a report on what was wrong., as well as photographs of his own repairs. I am paying for these repairs myself, as I cannot tolerate the hassle with insurance companies, whose main aim seems so be to procrastinate and avoid any liability.
My question is - when I have paid for these repairs, can I then take any action for recovery of costs against the company that did the original work?
Many thanks for any advice.

[R1Geezer]

No this is to do with the insurer, they must do a proper job and have not. You go after the insurer and they will go after the builder.

[joko]

i would suggest you tell them asap - as they may claim they dont believe you or that the photos are not proof that its the same building or even when the photos were taken...or say that you should have gone to them first to correct it..

[boxtops]

Agree with Eddie, send them your photos and estimates now, ring the insurance company tomorrow to report the situation, as they may want to come and take a look before your new builder does any more work. This is their responsibility.

[danyosan2021]

I take it that your claim was handled by Homeserve on behalf of your insurers who then appointed one of their home repair network contractors to carry out the repairs? All workmanship carried out by a HRN contractor is covered by a 12 month gaurentee. If you had an issue within this period, they would have happily returned and re-assesed. Is it the case that two full years passed before you began to experience an ingress of damp/water penetration into your property? You need to remember that your insurance policy is not a maintenance contract, and that you are responsible to take good care of your roof. Roof damage is only covered if it is a result of a one off event, i.e, high winds blowing off roof tiles etc. Now given that I am a chartered Building Surveyor specializing in insurance reinstatement, my opinion is this, you wont be getting water in from a gap in your fascia board, nor your gutter - that leaves the slates - cracked/old slates or broken tiles will allow water to enter into your property. Its all to easy to witch hunt the contractor - when infact 8 seasons have passed. Have you carried out annual maintenance on your roof within this time? You now have a contractor who is mearly rubbing his hands and simply agreeing with you because he wants paid and will tell you want you want to hear, blaming the damage on sub standard workmanship, on a roof repair, after a full 2 years, is just plain stupid.

[danyosan2021]

and ps, conterary to these other comments, from silly people advising you to sue/ or defraud your insurers for thousands..lol - let me tell you - they are wrong, and your insurers will not entertain you on this one - the claims handlers will just laugh at you once they put the phone down. My advice, look after your property, dont listen to people who know nothing about this industry - and, have a nice day....haha