URGENT - Building work being undertaken without consent

[SIMMO SAYS]

My dad n mum are in their eighties. They and I havent let them to getting ripped off by cowboys. Your post about your dad and his house that appears to be falling down questions w t f you have been doing?

 

[symyjym]

It does sound complicated because by letting them carry out the work, technically it has been agreed to.

If there has been no talk about money until this point, if your dad really does come across vulnerable, you could say he told you he thought that it was a free service for the elderly, and he thought the builder was from the council, so this is all a shock to him as he has no money. If he had the money all the work on the house it would have been done years ago.

Let your dad play the dumb card and sort of make a joke about it so it doesn't get heated with the builder and 4 of his lads there.

You would still ask for an invoice with a full cost breakdown, but tell them you will have to check the work carried out before any payment is paid. All invoices have a 14 day payment grace.

If they have done a good job but have horrifically over priced it, you can offer them what you have been quoted elsewhere as a settlement. If they are not happy about that tell them to take you to the small claims court. If they have done a cowboy job refuse to pay anything and take them to the trading standards.

Hopefully they would have done a good job and it will just be a compromise about the cost.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Thanks for all the responses everyone, I really appreciate the words of support, wisdom, advice and knowledge. The house is in the Hangleton area, I'm going to be contacting reputable builders tomorrow to get quotes and have the work assessed, if anyone on here wants a piece of the action please PM me and I'll be very happy to get your advice. I phoned trading standards today and they've raised a case to the police, and flagged the address in case of any need for a call out.

I've spoken with Dodgy O'Dodgyguy about the work already done, why it was done so quickly, the lack of paperwork, the lack of an agreement over price and means to pay and advised him about the case with trading standards. He says he's going to be at the house tomorrow whilst the guttering work is "completed", so I will need to be there as well from 8am.

How much time does guttering work usually take, can anyone give me a rough idea? This is the third day he and his "4 lads" have worked on just the guttering, allegedly.

So its you and your old man and him plus his 4 'lads' ...take care!

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

So its you and your old man and him plus his 4 'lads' ...take care!

4 grumpy lads who are no doubt 'relying on the cash for their wages'.

 

[Doc Lynam]

I would also suggest before you pay anyone anything; request a detailed breakdown and i mean detailed breakdown of the quote/ receipt you have charged for. Make sure he dates it and prints and signs his name. He will probably starting making all sorts of noises about this has never happened before etc. Just hold your ground and demand it before payment; this could be useful further down the line! Also its good to put a marker down with these people if you think they are taking advantage. Paperwork is their kryptonite!

 

[tiberious]

Hello good folks of NSC, the wealth of knowledge on here is amazing and I'm sure someone can offer advice and wisdom. At the moment, we (myself and my family) collectively don't have any.

My dad's house is falling into disrepair and for the last 20 years it's gone largely untouched. A front window was broken and had been bordered up for a couple of years, the guttering was falling apart, the roof is barely holding on. The windows are largely cracked or just so old they're for show only, the brickwork is crumbling and the internal structure of the place is failing badly as well. It's a lot of work, and while I'd like to be able to start getting the work on the move, I'm not able to, I have long since moved out. It's been a concern for a few years but it's now come to a head.

A builder knocked on my dad's door and started doing work, the window has been replaced and the guttering has been done. This builder has charged £1,900 for the window and associated brickwork and £2,500 for the guttering. We're scrambling around for the cash, which he is requesting to be paid on monday. He made this request today, presumably under any circumstances we're entitled to have more of a negotiation? He told my dad the work was urgent and he "had" to do it, there was no chance to negotiate, and we didn't have the chance to get other quotes either.

That's the immediate situation, but longer term this builder has quoted £30,000 to fix the whole place. Obviously, that's not money we have lying around so he's suggested a scheme whereby he/his company takes ownership of the house, my dad carries on living there and they spend the money on the house. Is this a scheme people know about, is it a legit scheme? Would you recommend it?

Any assistance you can provide is appreciated, we're not very familiar with these things and I don't know where we go next.

ninja... not read all of this but suggest trading standard to start..
also if dad is old sussex police op
signature do not pay..

 

[BN9 BHA]

How much time does guttering work usually take, can anyone give me a rough idea? This is the third day he and his "4 lads" have worked on just the guttering, allegedly.

Depends on how big the roof is, how many angles, how accessible the roof is and how many rainwater pipes needed.
£2,500 sounds very expensive for guttering, unless they have also supplied and fitted facias and soffits, and also used scaffolding.

 

[beorhthelm]

my tuppence, thing that i note is the demand for cash on Monday. you cant make someone pay, or tell them how they pay. others have said you ask for an invoice, id say you also pay by cheque. if no other reason that its on your terms. then you maybe in a position to negotiate a cash amount (giving benefit of doubt work has occured to acceptable standard). violence or intimidation aside, whats the worse they can do, take you to court? i highly doubt they'd be interested in that route.

 

[happypig]

How much time does guttering work usually take, can anyone give me a rough idea? This is the third day he and his "4 lads" have worked on just the guttering, allegedly.

15 man days to change guttering !!! I had two blokes do guttering, facias & sofits at the back in a day (3 bed house).

 

[Wrong-Direction]

Hello good folks of NSC, the wealth of knowledge on here is amazing and I'm sure someone can offer advice and wisdom. At the moment, we (myself and my family) collectively don't have any.

My dad's house is falling into disrepair and for the last 20 years it's gone largely untouched. A front window was broken and had been bordered up for a couple of years, the guttering was falling apart, the roof is barely holding on. The windows are largely cracked or just so old they're for show only, the brickwork is crumbling and the internal structure of the place is failing badly as well. It's a lot of work, and while I'd like to be able to start getting the work on the move, I'm not able to, I have long since moved out. It's been a concern for a few years but it's now come to a head.

A builder knocked on my dad's door and started doing work, the window has been replaced and the guttering has been done. This builder has charged £1,900 for the window and associated brickwork and £2,500 for the guttering. We're scrambling around for the cash, which he is requesting to be paid on monday. He made this request today, presumably under any circumstances we're entitled to have more of a negotiation? He told my dad the work was urgent and he "had" to do it, there was no chance to negotiate, and we didn't have the chance to get other quotes either.

That's the immediate situation, but longer term this builder has quoted £30,000 to fix the whole place. Obviously, that's not money we have lying around so he's suggested a scheme whereby he/his company takes ownership of the house, my dad carries on living there and they spend the money on the house. Is this a scheme people know about, is it a legit scheme? Would you recommend it?

Any assistance you can provide is appreciated, we're not very familiar with these things and I don't know where we go next.

£2500 for guttering!? You've been mugged off if your dad doesn't live in a castle

 

[dazzer6666]

£2500 for guttering!? You've been mugged off if your dad doesn't live in a castle

I've just been quoted 2,000 approx for all soffits, facia and guttering to be replaced (4 bed detached house) from a legit firm with long guarantees, various certificates etc so sounds way OTT. Been told the work will take 2 blokes around 2 - 2.5 days start to finish.

 

[Triggaaar]

He says he's going to be at the house tomorrow whilst the guttering work is "completed", so I will need to be there as well from 8am.

How much time does guttering work usually take, can anyone give me a rough idea? This is the third day he and his "4 lads" have worked on just the guttering, allegedly.

Has your dad confirmed how many days they have been there?

Is this the last bit of work to be completed? You need to make sure they don't start anything else until you satisfy yourself that the work is of good standard and good value.

And you need to make sure they are not paid a penny for now, until you check the work etc.

 

[Crispy Ambulance]

Good luck today fella.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

I've just been quoted 2,000 approx for all soffits, facia and guttering to be replaced (4 bed detached house) from a legit firm with long guarantees, various certificates etc so sounds way OTT. Been told the work will take 2 blokes around 2 - 2.5 days start to finish.

You've been mugged off too! £1000 a day! [MENTION=11499]simmo[/MENTION]SAYS we're not charging enough!

 

[Triggaaar]

You've been mugged off too! £1000 a day! @simmoSAYS we're not charging enough!

I assume that included materials.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Hello good folks of NSC, the wealth of knowledge on here is amazing and I'm sure someone can offer advice and wisdom. At the moment, we (myself and my family) collectively don't have any.

My dad's house is falling into disrepair and for the last 20 years it's gone largely untouched. A front window was broken and had been bordered up for a couple of years, the guttering was falling apart, the roof is barely holding on. The windows are largely cracked or just so old they're for show only, the brickwork is crumbling and the internal structure of the place is failing badly as well. It's a lot of work, and while I'd like to be able to start getting the work on the move, I'm not able to, I have long since moved out. It's been a concern for a few years but it's now come to a head.

A builder knocked on my dad's door and started doing work, the window has been replaced and the guttering has been done. This builder has charged £1,900 for the window and associated brickwork and £2,500 for the guttering. We're scrambling around for the cash, which he is requesting to be paid on monday. He made this request today, presumably under any circumstances we're entitled to have more of a negotiation? He told my dad the work was urgent and he "had" to do it, there was no chance to negotiate, and we didn't have the chance to get other quotes either.

That's the immediate situation, but longer term this builder has quoted £30,000 to fix the whole place. Obviously, that's not money we have lying around so he's suggested a scheme whereby he/his company takes ownership of the house, my dad carries on living there and they spend the money on the house. Is this a scheme people know about, is it a legit scheme? Would you recommend it?

Any assistance you can provide is appreciated, we're not very familiar with these things and I don't know where we go next.

My mate's elderly parents got charged ever increasing sums for a 'missing tile on the roof'. The scamming bastids used to drive them to the building society to get cheques made out. In the end the building society put a block on their account to save them from themselves. But not until they were £20,000 in the hole. On no account pay any monies over other than for work already done, or - sake! - sign the house over to them. And inform the police earlydoors. Might be worth considering getting power of attorney over your dad's affairs also.

 

[blue'n'white]

Call "Rogue Traders" on "Watchdog" - sounds like the sort of thing they'd be very interested in
Good luck in whatever way you take this bloke down - sounds like a right scumbag

 

[Crispy Ambulance]

How did it go?

 

[Ninja Elephant]

A few further developments today. He did show up this morning, but one of his vans had "broken down" so was unable to complete the job, the final length of guttering needs to be fitted at the back of the house. He has said he will come back tomorrow to fix it, but I've already told him he's to wait for my confirmation before then. I have left a few messages with a number of companies and sent a few emails about getting someone around today to view the quality of the work and give independent quotes, so I'm waiting to hear back.

The original cheque payment given to him has bounced, at this point I'm not sure why and I can't check that until my dad returns from work so now the guy is getting arsey about the money, as he hasn't been paid a penny for this job just yet. He kindly offered to drive me, my dad and my nan (who was fronting this payment) to the bank to rectify it - I laughed that off and told him to forget about any notion of him accompanying us anywhere.

A woman from Trading Standards has visited the house, she believes the company to be legit but his practices are clearly not. She is following up the case with an equivalent branch where this company is based.

 

[Don Tmatter]

Name & shame the company