Building Work

[Mrs_Pegasus]

We are having building work done. The work required and the amount was a verbal agreement. We have paid an interim payment but I am happy that we have paid less than the amount of work completed to date.

I am not happy with progress although the workmanship is good. There have been numerous errors and they are already 6 weeks over the time they said it would take.

I am confident the work will be to the standard I expected but could I deduct any money for the time they have taken and the errors they have made?

I realise there is nothing in writing but surely that cuts both ways?

[cassa333]

You could try but a visit from the heavies isn't always a plesent event :)

Personaly I would make my feelings known but at the end of the day if you have the work done you have to pay. If you don't they could take you to court. Are you prepared for all that may entail? If there was no clause about how long it would take then is he just slow or mathodical ? If he is so far behind then it is costing him money and won't want to give a discount.

I could go on but there is every reason to pay and not many not to pay.

In fact he could I think, in theory pull out now when the job is half done and still expect to be paid for ALL the work he has done to date so you wouldn't get away with what you have paid so far.

[buildersmate]

Regarding the errors, you then go on to say that the work will be completed to the standard you expected, so 'no' on that front.
Regarding the time overrun, you should write the builder a note stating that the project is 6 weeks over, that time is of the essence, giving a reasonable time to complete.
That is the best approach to get resolution.

[Mrs_Pegasus]

Thank you for your replies.

The errors I refer to have all been corrected but held the job up and it was obvious they were not communicating with one another or actually reading the plans which would have avoided the errors.

I am in no way scared of this person, so a visit from the heavies doesnt bother me in the slightest for reasons that dont matter here! LOL

If anything I wanted to know if I had a legal right to withold money and use this as a leverage to get him to move this project along and get completed, I would be more than happy to pay him in full then.

Just very tired at the amount of time it has taken.

[scoobydooby]

Just a thought, but if the work/cost was only verbally agreed, could your builder try charging you additional costs for extra labour?? You'd refuse to pay obviously, but if he were to pursue it, you could end up with a court battle.

I agree with Buildersmate about writing him a letter but I think you should state that the additional labour was due to an error on his part and you do not expect to be charged additional costs.

[Mrs_Pegasus]

Like I said, its not a case of paying him less for the same job but having something that I can use to make it in his best interest to get the job finished as soon as possible.

[cassa333]

If you witheld money, even if the work were shoddy he could still sue you for the full amount. So no, I don't think legaly you can?

[bednobs]

it's not really in your interests to withold money in order to speed the job up. if he/she has already paid for materials etc, they are probably operating at a loss till the job is complete. where would you be if the builder pulled out because they were going bankrupt (not unlikely in these times)

[Mrs_Pegasus]

Thank you for your answers.

It would appear the builder is on a win win win and I can only lose.

Tis strange that if I was not to do my job properly I could risk not being paid, if I had a bad meal or service in a restuarant I can choose to pay what I think the meal was worth but if you are a builder you can only win regardless of the service you provide and if you dont get paid you can send the "heavies" around or sue. Super!! LOL

[buildersmate]

No. Mrs. P - your summary is not the situation.
Given that you don't have anything written down, that you are satisfied with the (end) quality of the work but it is very slow in getting there, I suggest you tell your builder that you are not making any more payments to him until the whole job is finished. You are doing this because he promised you it would be finished in x weeks and it is y weeks more than that already.
If he doesn't finish it in z (2?) weeks more, you are stopping the contracting because he is in breach of it and you will get another builder to complete the job.
[You need to be satisfied that you are behind the payment v. 'work completed' curve for this to have a good chance of success - in other words, he has an incentive to come back]

[Mrs_Pegasus]

Thank you Buildersmate!

This is probably what I was hoping to hear/see here.

I am confident that I owe more money than the amount of work completed, TBH we are nearly there.

I have just spoken to the builder and have given him 14 days to complete the work and clear the site. He seemed OK with the situation.

Thank you for your help.