Let down by her builder

Posted: Fri, 18 Mar 2022 20:41

Edna, an elderly lady living on the outskirts of Loughborough, had been concerned about the condition of the front and back doors to her home. Just before Christmas she had contacted a local building maintenance company and a representative (Mr R) from the company called round to give Edna a price for the work. To replace both doors would cost £1100. Edna wanted the job done so accepted the quote and paid a deposit of £850 in cash. Mr R said he would be in touch early in the New Year with a date for starting the work.

Mr R did not contact Edna forcing her to ring the number he had given her on numerous occasions. He always gave her a new start date for the work but then had an excuse as to why the work couldn't begin on that date. He refused to return Edna's deposit and after four months of this Edna was becoming very upset and called in to one of the drop-in sessions at our Loughborough office for help.

On hearing Edna's story, our Adviser suggested she write to Mr R giving him a start date convenient to her and saying that if the work was not done then she wanted her deposit returned immediately. Also, to let him know that she would pursue the matter through the courts if necessary. She was advised to keep a copy of the letter and send the original by recorded delivery.

Two weeks later Edna returned having had no reply or contact from Mr R. She was advised that her only option was the small claims court. Our Adviser took Edna through the small claims procedure and then assisted her with an online application. Costs were explained and included in the claim. With Edna's agreement details of her experience and Mr R's details were passed to Trading Standards through Citizens Advice Consumer Gathering Information Service.

A month later Edna returned to our Loughborough office as she had had confirmation that her case was being processed and that Mr R had been served notice, but was unsure what would happen next. Our Adviser rang the helpline for her and was told all the information would be sent to her.

Another month passed and Edna contacted us to say that Mr R had failed to respond to the court notice and so they had ordered against him. However, Mr R had still failed to pay up so the next step was to apply for a bailiff warrant in order to recover the outstanding money owed to Edna. Our Adviser assisted Edna to complete the relevant form and advised her to include in her claim the cost of applying for the warrant.

Six months after Edna first came into our Loughborough office for help, she rang to say she had been able to recover the full amount of £1010. Edna was delighted as she could now arrange to have her doors replaced by a reputable firm in time for the next Christmas!

Tags: Building