Disputes With Builders and Tradespeople
Building disputes usually concern quality, delay or cost, and the outcome depends heavily on what was agreed in writing and what evidence exists.
Establish the position
Identify what was actually agreed: the specification, the price, the timescale and any variations.
Where there is no written contract, the agreement still exists — formed by quotations, correspondence and conduct — and those documents become the evidence.
Where a consumer engaged a trader, statutory rights usually require work to be carried out with reasonable care and skill, within a reasonable time, and for a reasonable price where none was agreed.
Document everything
Photograph the work with dates, including anything about to be covered up.
Keep all correspondence, quotations, invoices and records of payments.
Note conversations in writing afterwards and send a confirming message, which converts a verbal exchange into evidence.
Where quality is disputed, an independent report from a surveyor or a qualified tradesperson is frequently decisive and is worth the cost for anything substantial.
Allow the opportunity to remedy
In most systems the trader must be given a reasonable opportunity to put defective work right before you engage someone else.
Engaging another contractor first can prejudice your ability to recover the cost.
Set out the defects in writing, with photographs, and give a reasonable deadline to attend.
Payment
Withholding payment where the contract does not permit it can itself be a breach.
Where part of the work is defective, paying the undisputed portion and clearly identifying the disputed amount in writing is the safer position.
Never pay the final instalment before the work is complete and inspected. Retaining a meaningful final payment is what gets the last details finished.
Escalation
A formal letter setting out the claim, the amount and a deadline resolves a substantial proportion of disputes.
Trade association dispute schemes exist where the trader is a member, and are usually free.
Alternative dispute resolution and mediation are faster and cheaper than court.
Small claims procedures handle straightforward sums without needing a lawyer.
Preventing it next time
Written contract with a specification, a price, a payment schedule tied to stages, and a documented process for variations.
Verify insurance and any scheme membership independently before engaging.
Stage payments against completed work rather than dates, and never a large deposit.
This article is general information and not legal advice.
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