Advice please

[minnie29uk]

My new kitchen was meant to be started Mon 11th Dec
The boss rang on Fri 8th to say they would be starting Wed 13th.I said I was very concerned how close to Christmas that was.He said no problem,it will be finished.

But over the weekend,I thought a bit more.So went into the show room on the Mon 11th. to explain my schedule...needed plastering doing before weekend so I could paint ,Laminate going down on Wed 20th.Have to finish 12 on Thursday as Ive kids party and all day Friday empty to complete.

I said I did not need it doing before Christmas and not to start if it was not going to be finished.He said "guaranteed it would be finished.

Well,on Thur 14th the fitters said no way would this be finished for the 22nd Dec.So I rang showroom and said I was not happy at all and he could jolly well pay for the painter to paint in new year as I would not be painting new years eve.

Yesterday the plasterer did half the kitchen and went to leave.But I said you should be doing the other half of the ceiling and other wall.He said he could come back in new year.But was booked.So rang the owner and asked what was happening.He came and said the surface wasnt too bad..I said I was not looking for "too bad" but perfection at £7,500
I called him a shameful liar and he should never of started the work.He said he had not lied.I asked again if it would be finished on Fri 22nd.He said it would be in working order.So I said so,you lied to me,working order is not finished.

He stormed out,slamming my front door.So I went after him shouting I was appalled with his service and manner.
The plasterer came this morning and the lads are still here now fitting ( I know its not their fault and hope they are on overtime!)

Obviously need to see how far it is done on Friday ... who would ask for recompense in this situation?
Should I?

Thanks,
Lynn

 

[pokemon_master]

May I just say I applaud you Lynn for doing that. He was providing a service and it is only fair that he provides what he says he is providing. Anything less is a rip-off.

Do you have any handymen or women in your family? If your lucky they maybe able to do the work for you before christmas. I know it's a huge task for them but I hope they are in a good mood. That way, you could probably get a reduction in price for the service and maybe even a small refund. (They should at least do that, if not I'd definetly persue legal action).

I hope you get things sorted.

 

[lexie32]

Sorry i don't know what to suggest, i just know the stress of builders ect and i know it's the last thing you need at the moment, if you need to i'm listening!!!

Alex

p.s i would ask for compensation from the showroom company for your inconvenience

 

[Spook]

Lynn, have you paid upfront in full? If not would you be able to deduct the cost of outstanding work and get someone else in to do it.

Good for you remonstrating with the manager, but you don't need this stress just before Christmas.

Jan

 

[carolfoy]

Yes, you should be compensated but whether you will be is another matter, unfortunately this seems to be the norm as far as tradesmen are concerned. (take it from someone with a hole in their bedroom ceiling who keeps trying to get someone to fix the darn thing!)

 

[natalielongstaff]

what a stressful situation i hope you do get some recompense

 

[higgy66]

If you haven't paid in full then don't. You can negotiate a reduction for the contract not been adhered to.

When the work is ocompleted - and only when you are satisfied - then start to negotiate. Believe me - they will be desperate for the money so will agree to a discount to get your cash. If I were you i'd keep a diary of all the things mentioned above and all the "hassle" you've had. Lets face it - if you were asking for extra's and messing them about YOU would be faced with additional costs!

You gave him a get out clause saying you didn't want them to start if it couldn't be finished. He should have been honest and started in the New Year. Remember - YOU are paying for a first class service (at that price!) so hold out and get your perfect kitchen.

Good luck.

 

[Boo Boo Too]

Ah the joy of kitchen fitters and builders...

We have now been in our second house for 3 years. This house was brought brand new, so no problems here. Before that we owned our last hourse for 5.5 years. During that time we had a new kitchen fitted a new bathroom and new downstairs WC completely re-fitted, quite a lot of other building/cosmetic work down and quite a bit of redecorating. Neither my husband nor I are "handy people", so have always paid others to do it...

The kitchen was the first piece of work we had done and I learnt a LOT. They just about started on time, but they did run late (about a week or so), they were messy and their work was not brilliant. The fitter had an apprentice with him and I think that counted for some of the poor workmanship and the hole they managed to drill right through from the kichen into the hallway (which they waited for us to point out and demand that they fix ). There was nothing MAJOR wrong with the kitchen, just little details that could have been better (for a very small £10k kitchen). That was from Magnet - I wouldn't get them to do a kitchen again: I would go for a smaller, more personal operation.

For the bathroom and WC we went to a local, smaller showroom. They employed a local, very experience fitter. He was very much in demand (an independent fitter) and he started late and the job did drag on quite a bit, BUT his work was excellent - you couldn't fault the quality of his work. So much so, that I used him later for other cosmetic changes to the house (laying wooden flooring, replacing coving and skirting etc). He fitted this is amongst other jobs, so it dragged on a bit. But the work was faultless, he was very innovative, his prices were fair, he made sure the house was spotlessly clean at the end of each day, he was always honest when things would be delayed - so I could live with the tardiness.

We also had the house decorated just before we sold it. We used a local decorator who was excellent. Unfortunately she was away on holiday during some of our job and her assistant didn't put in as many hours as he should have. When she got back, she apologised profusely, made sure things were finished off and, indeed her work was excellent.

So, in my experience, lateness seems to be a MAJOR factor in building work. Very unhelpful advice at this stage (but may help others) be VERY, VERY wary about booking ANYTHING that is time critical - chances are it will NOT be fulfilled. No matter WHAT they tell you, add on another couple of weeks to be sure.

The other piece of advice is to get personal recommendations from friends and when you use someone good, keep their details for other work - it is sad to say, but VERY GOOD people are like gold dust.

Re the current situation - Good Luck! I really hope you get it sorted out before Christmas - I don't envy you: there is enough going on this time of year without all that . Re compensation, if I was you I would go to the citizen's advice bureau first: find out what you actual rights are. Once you knwo your rights, then you have a much better argument with the people who sold you the kitchen. I would guess that you paid in full upfront.

Let's us know how it goes

Boo

 

[Boo Boo Too]

You gave him a get out clause saying you didn't want them to start if it couldn't be finished. He should have been honest and started in the New Year. Remember - YOU are paying for a first class service (at that price!) so hold out and get your perfect kitchen.

I bet that the company is on a January accounting year - so they would want to get the job done (or "effectively done") by the end of December... . That would have been why he was so keen to start the job before Christmas...

Boo

 

[minnie29uk]

If you haven't paid in full then don't. You can negotiate a reduction for the contract not been adhered to.

When the work is ocompleted - and only when you are satisfied - then start to negotiate. Believe me - they will be desperate for the money so will agree to a discount to get your cash. If I were you i'd keep a diary of all the things mentioned above and all the "hassle" you've had. Lets face it - if you were asking for extra's and messing them about YOU would be faced with additional costs!

You gave him a get out clause saying you didn't want them to start if it couldn't be finished. He should have been honest and started in the New Year. Remember - YOU are paying for a first class service (at that price!) so hold out and get your perfect kitchen.

Good luck.

Thanks,I have now done this and they left Friday at 2 PM.I did a wash load and kitchen was full of steam.They had not fitted the vent to release air outside.I rang and told hime.He said they were meant to do it,and have gone home now.So I said I had 3 loads of washing to do after 10 days without washing machine!!I said it would be one more thing Id have to complain about.He said ok and put it down!!
Yes,I do owe him approx £1,000 , so will be looking to negotiate at end,

Lynn