Approved Contractors

[wornout]

Hello everyone, my first time on here, what a facinating forum.

Hope someone can help me.

Contractor A is an approved contractor for Large Company. A does work to the roof of our building with Large Company product. Large Company inspects the work and issues 10 year warranty.

15 months later, roof leaks. Large Company says it is not their product but the boards their product was put on, they have come loose, screws have gone through their product and caused it to fail.

Contractor A has gone abroad.

We have tried to have a recorded letter delivered to him, quoting the Sales of Goods and Services Act, but as he is not there it couldn't be delivered and nobody else answered the door.

Large Company are saying it is not their product that has failed, which may be perfectly true, therefore they are washing their hands of it.

As he is their approved contractor and they inspected the work during the whole job, including the installation of the boards (I think, need to check that out) that the roof product was adhered to, and they have issued a 10 year warranty..............can we chase them to get the roof redone?

This is causing my neighbours a real worry as none of them can afford what it is going to cost to put it right............with another of Large Company's approved contractors!!!!!!!

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[crossdaz]

Contractor A is an approved contractor for Large Company. A does work to the roof of our building with Large Company product. Large Company inspects the work and issues 10 year warranty.

If the large company have issued a warranty then they would need to ensure that the work was carried out to their specification. Whether they bother to check this is up to them.
But as you say they did indeed check the work during progress then it only weakens their case further.

I'm not 100% on the legalities here, but with 20 years experience in construction, it's common wisdom that this would be the case.

 

[DirCosec]

I think you need to find out if these Contractors are part of a Trade Association and find out from the Trade Association what their opinion on the matter is.

 

[wornout]

Unfortunately the Approved Contractor is not a member of a trade association.

Thanks for your replies.

 

[wornout]

OK, have checked with my neighbour who has confirmed that Large Company man inspected the work done by Approved Contractor at all stages and he most definately checked the boards, the ones that are now lifting. I assume that if they checked the boards then they are responsible if it goes wrong.

Trouble is, it may come down to who takes our word for it if we go to court.

Why, oh why, do people have to be so dishonest.

Any advice would be most welcome.

Thank you xx

 

[Robert Blake]

Does this need a complete re-roofing or could a patching be put in place on the leaks.

Additionally, can the recent bad weather be attributed to the fault.

Around 8 years ago I suffered damage to the gable and fascia on part of my roof due to gale force winds. My insurance company covered the repair in full.

Just a thought.

Robert Blake

 

[crossdaz]

Trouble is, it may come down to who takes our word for it if we go to court.

If you can claim on your house insurance then it isn't your problem. If you do have to go to court, and it's within the limits, then in the small claims court you don't have to prove anything. You only have to give an account of your case and the defendant has to do the same. They would have to convince the court that they never inspected the work and issued a warranty or that the damage is attributable to some other cause?
In most instances I'd expect them to offer some kind of settlement, although, in the current climate, they may not have any money anyway?

Either way, you need to make them certain that you intend to pursue it!

 

[wornout]

Thank you for your replies, sorry I haven't got back sooner.

Unfortunately we have had another of Large Company's approved contractos have a look at it and his report states that the whole roof needs to be redone...........this will cost about £18000.

Unfortunately is started leaking before all the recent snow so we can't blame it on that which is a great shame because the building insurance won't cover us for bad workmanship.

The trouble with going to court over it is that Approved Contractor is no longer in the country so even if we win, who knows whether we will ever recover the money.

I am hoping that when we get to the stage of going to a solicitor that he will agree with me, the Large Company approved the work, even inspecting the boards that are now lifting, so they may be responsible.

I am beginning to despair!!!