Scaffold Still Up

[SusanLisa]

10 weeks ago we appointed a building company to erect scaffolding outside our house to do some work. It was up 2 weeks before they did the 5 day job.

Its now been up 10 weeks from start to finish and im fed up.

I have emailed, phoned, text & written to the company to take the scaffold down and im getting nowhere with them. I keep getting fobbed off with excuse after excuse and im at the end of my tether with it.

They also had to use next doors garden to 'prop' it up and i feel cheeky now as im sure they think we are now taking the pee with it!

Can anyone suggest what I can do about it? Is there someone I can contact who can help me? Maybe something like cistizens advice maybe?

[Banali]

I assume you have paid them in full for the job that they did for you so withholding payment is not an option.

3 ideas

Tell them you will sell it for scrap if they have not removed it by a given date (say another 10 days).

Tell them you will inform Health and Safety as you have been advised that it is unsafe if they have not removed it by a given date (say another 5 days). This should put the wind up them!

Tell them you will arrange to have it removed by an other building firm and scrap and sue them for teh cost of removal if they have not removed it by a given date.

[Banali]

Oh and explain the situation to your neighbour so he knowws it's not you taking the P

[SusanLisa]

Thanks Banali, i have paid in full straight after the job was done. A co worker also suggested that i tell them another company will take it down. Ta for the advice x

[buildersmate]

Scaffolding is a specialist trade. No scaffolder is a builder and no builder is a scaffolder; it will be a subcontract company, for sure.
The big cost in scaffolding is putting up and taking it down again; having it sitting there often costs the builder nothing.
So may well be a cashflow thing - as soon as your building company asks for it to be removed, he's going to have to fork out some more money.
Find out who the subcontract scaffolder is and start putting pressure on them.

[SusanLisa]

Ive already asked the builder who the scaffolding company is and i cant find anything out about them ( he may of made the name up! ) and now the builder is completly ignoring me.

I am writing him a letter full of dates & facts telling him it is a formal complaint and he has to do something or i will.

Thanks buildersmate

[motomad]

susanlisa,if the scaffolding has paint on the tubes you should be able to contact any scaffolding company in the area as each company uses a different colour to identify their own tube.Hopefully they can tell you who it belongs to.

[paraffin]

If any of this scaffolding is on public property, i.e. pavement / road, you are perfectly entitled to complain to your local highways authority re obstruction of the highway. In which case you can enlist their help to get the building company to arrange its prompt removal.

If your agreement is with the builder, it is up to them to act on your behalf. If you were given some kind of contract, study it to find out what they have committed to.

[sandmaster]

As previous ABers have said the company will have to pay to have the scaffolding taken down. Meanwhile it has free storage on your property. This often happens with skips which are often not taken away until they are required elsewhere. As said before, write giving 10 days notice, after that offer it to another scaffolding company on condition they take it away promptly.

[albert001]

One of the most simplest things ever made was the scaffold. Thinking about its consequences however has recently opened up a world of possibilities for scientists that might lead to new ways of thinking about culture, the human mind, and their development.
http://www.rmscaff.com/about-us/