Legal help please

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Thepaintedman

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Apologies for not posting before but i'd really like some opinions on this situation I've got.
I work as a plasterer and a few months ago a chap phoned me up looking for some work. As we had quite a bit of work on I said that I could give him some work on one of our jobs.
I went and worked the first day with him at this job and thought that he wasn't the quickest or best plasterer but if he took his time he could carry on at the job and 'plod' through it for the rest of the week.
The short story is that he made a right mess both on the carpets and windows in the house and his work was not upto standard in quite a few areas. We have since been charged by the builder for cleaning up his mess and not received any payment as his work was deemed not upto standard.
Now we've told this guy that we have been charged and received no payment for his work but we have paid him the remainder from his invoice minus what we've been charged as a goodwill gesture.
Now he has written to us saying that he is going to issue a county court claim against us for the remainder that we've not paid him. I'd just like to try and establish what I should do. Should I just pay him and get the hassle over or stand my ground and go to court. The problem is that the builder will probably not want the hassle of going to court with us so it'll just be our word against his.

Any help will be much appreciated.
 
It's only about £240 left to pay as we paid him £180 already and his invoice was £450 odd. It just begrudges me to pay it as his work was woefull and he'll feel that he's won!
 
its just opinions on here mate, maybe try ringing the c.a.b to know where you stand. Legal and moral are miles apart and you dont want to lose and have to pay court costs as well. How ever I agree that the guys out of order but legally speaking you should ask the citizens advice bureau.
 
Bruce Willis said:
its just opinions on here mate, maybe try ringing the c.a.b to know where you stand. Legal and moral are miles apart and you dont want to lose and have to pay court costs as well. How ever I agree that the guys out of order but legally speaking you should ask the citizens advice bureau.
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yeah do last thing u need to to come off ££££££ out of pocket
 
Ask him to go round with you to see the job, and let this guy tell you if it is up to standard when you both look at the job together. If he thinks the job is up to standard let him know yours and the builders concerns, and ask him if he,s willing to rectifie his mistakes and you will pay him the remainder of his payment. he may be that embarressed that you wont see him again but I would try and get him round to look at the job with you mate.
 
Cheers for all the advice, the work was bad enough that the builder got a decorator on it straight away to stop the customer seeing it so I can't get him to rectify it.
What sort of chance do I have of being successful if it goes to court, has anyone ever had to do this?
 
can't you tell him you'll give him the money along with a bill for the decorators time seeing as he had to put it right. lets be honest, is he really going to take you to court for a coupe of hundred quid. especially considering that hes in the wrong
 
firstly it will cost him £225 to register the claim with the county court then there will be legal fees on top - claimable from you if he wins mind. but it sounds like a threat to me.

You should get some form of contract agreement set up if you dont trudt someone. but if the work has been proven to be sub standard then I would think a court ruling would go in your favour anyway.

I have had this situation before where you bring in subbies to cover the extra work and they expect paying up every week on the dot with no questions asked,but when you have a problem with their work you never can get hold of them. one such job cost me 2k in snagging and painting. I never take retention from subbies because everyone complains about it but sometimes it is a good idea because otherwise people will just take the p1ss
 
rockhardsolidplastering said:
even if he does he ll loose
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rockhardsolidplastering said:
always 2 sides to a storey but if the original poster didnt get paid and got charged for damage vhe could proove his work was shi te
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Agreed

see him in court, tell him you cant wait.
 
Get a statement from the builder regarding the issues. Try and get some pictures as well. Inform him in writing why you are with holding the remainder of the money. I doubt any judge would rule in his favour. The damage had to be sorted out, so maybe invoice him for paying to sort carpets out, and sort his work out. Deduct what you owe him from it and see what his response is. Just make sure everything is written down, and use emails as much as you can
 
We've included all the builders invoices for cleaning and the decorator etc in our letter to him but he's just adamant that it's nothing to do with him.
The only thing I worry is that without a representative from the builder there in court our 'words' may not be enough to swing it in our favour?
I'm not in anyway trying to rip anyone off, we paid him some money as a goodwill gesture as he is a local guy even though we were paid nothing. The standard of work was the worst I've seen in years and he had the balls to claim he was top notch as he had an nvq2 in plastering! Does that mean that you don't bother scrimming all the joints on a plasterboarded bay window so all the joints crack when it dries out a few days later?
 
nvq 2 in plastering means nothing.
get a statement from the builder outlining his action against you and why he taken such action that should be enough to sink the guy.
dont be worrying to much about it pal its not life and death. if you were wrangling over 25k and the firm were trying to send themselves under then you would be worried.

this aint worth losing sleep over, you acted fairly
 
Trust me I know an nvq means squat in plastering, I genuinely feel sorry for the guy as he is deluding himself and could easily improve his skills if he just took a step back and asked for help.

I'm from the bucks area mate.
 
do you really think hes going to take you to court or is it just a bit of mouth,bet he aint got a clue what the f@@k hes on about, if hes that bothered he will send you solicitors letters first ,as i say f@@k him wait till it really happens
 
It was a few years ago that I did mine, but isn't an nvq just knowledge of how to plaster, I think you don't even have to pick up a trowel. The c and g is the actual practical stuff.
 
Legally you have to give him a resonable time (within 7 days) to put it right even if his work is s**t.
Also he can make a 'small claim' for £25 for upto about £350.
if you haven't given him a chance to put it right he will most likely win.
now that may seem unfair but imagine how easy it would be for builders to knock you for the slightest bit of snagging or just claiming work wasn't up to standard.
i've been through this,i was told there was loads of snagging on a job so asked for a snag sheet to be sent to me so i could act on it if i believed it to be my responsability (i had raised points at the begining of the job,that i thought would be issues and was told not to worry and to just do my best) he refused to send me it saying i should go see it on site.
i said without seeing it i would not know what my time commitment would be so would not go until i recieved it.
He refused.
i won,he appealled,i won again but never got a penny!
 
I still say the bill for cleaning the carpets should come from what he's owed. Maybe ignore the standard of work and concentrate on the ruined carpets
 
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