Legal advice needed for self-employed roofer

[ajnt]

Hi
I have been a roofer for 12 years and had my own business for nearly six years and have never had any problems with customers. So I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later..

I did a flat roof, using Firestone EPDM Rubbercover, for a woman. She wanted the job doing as cheap as possible, I offered her insulation, fascias, putting a bigger fall on the roof, but she refused everything due to wanting to keep the cost down, and wanted just the basic, which was to stop the roof from leaking. I wrote out a quote telling her exactly what she was getting, and she accepted the quote.

I did the job, no problems, and waited a few weeks for the payment. I heard nothing from her, so went around to ask for a payment. She started complaining that the roof isn't right because it has standing water on it and she won't pay. I explained to her that we have had a lot rain (this was December) so standing water is expected, and it will not damage or weaken the rubber, it is built to last. She said she wants it sorting, so I told her that I will put some guttering and fascias around which will partially solve it, but as she had refused a bigger fall in the first place, I couldn't do anything without ripping the roof of. She accepted this and I did what promised, and send her another bill with the extra work on. She refused to pay for the extras and I explained that she refused everything extra in the first place so can't expect to get stuff for free now. She said she will drop the money of to my house later that day. Nothing arrived. I waited for weeks, and then decided to go back to her again, asking for payment. She started again complaining about the standing water and saying she won't pay until I will built the roof up to have a fall and put insulation in because she is getting condensation in the shed below. I told her, I will do anything she wants, but I won't do it for free, because she had refused all of the extras at the beginning. She refused to pay what she owes, and anything extra, and slammed the door on me. After that we send some letters back and forth, again highlighting she accepted a quote and now she is demanding extras for a job that wasn't wrong in the first place.

At the beginning of February I referred the debt to a debt collector and have heard nothing back until today. She had got a solicitor involved, who send me a letter basically repeating what she had already been saying. I rang the solicitor and explained my side of things and he told me "I don't know the exact details, this is what she told us." So fine, it is up to her to waste her money on solicitor's fees. In the letter, she states that the roof is leaking (which it isn't, it's condensation) and she is willing to give me one more chance to correct the job and she will pay, or she will get somebody else to do it, and make me pay their fees.

I have lost nearly £800 on the job, which I can't afford. That is a lot of money to me, and I can't find moneys like that to pay the suppliers so it has been a complete nightmare.

What are my rights in this case, or is it that the customer is always right? What is my next step? Do I keep the debt collector still on the case? Go to a solicitor myself? I can't really afford that. Can I take it to a small claims court at this stage?

 

[Mosschops]

I'm no expert, but I would go to the small claims court. Solicitors will cost a lot.
Document as much as you can - everything from meetings to conversations to phone calls.
Inform her, and her solicitor, that this is going to be your course of action.

 

[123Simples]

Your first mistake was not getting a down payment
Your second was pandering to her needs to have a cheaper job done

Did she sign any paperwork?

The customer is not always right, but it sounds like you made a bit of a pigs ear of it by not getting a deposit, or some sort of down payment. This would have at least gave you some ground to work on I suspect. Since you passed the debt onto a debt collector, then she is bound to have sought legal advice, and she sounds like a right nightmare!

Your best bet is to wait and see what other people advise on here, and then see what your options are

 

[ajnt]

Thanks for the advice so far. I know I am too trusting with people, and never ask for downpayment. Maybe it is time to learn. I will update you on the process.

 

[Michael Gerard]

I wrote out a quote telling her exactly what she was getting, and she accepted the quote.

This is the contract (it does not matter whether she signed the quote or not; in addition, you can also rely on your conduct - ie you commenced the work - as proof of a binding contract).

Assuming that you do not have T&C's that accompany your quotations to customers, then you are probably under an obligation to carry out your work using reasonable skill and care (or alternatively, fit for purpose), but providing the ponding was not down to your workmanship or the materials you recommended and used, then your customer has no complaint in law.

You will need to use the evidence of the contract to show that the additional items are excluded and hence are chargeable.

Do not instruct a solicitor - the monies involved is way too small.

Send a Letter of Claim to the customer (you can send this to her solicitors as they are already instructed on the case), which should set out the back ground to your claim including contract formation and the request for additional work. You should also clearly set out what your claim is for and the quantum, and include for statutory interest (currently at 8.5%). Give the customer 14 days to respond and if no joy, issue proceedings via Moneyonline.

The sooner you do this, the quicker it will be concluded. She has no intention of paying.

Regarding future work and an upfront payment, that is a difficult one to call, as it will put off quite a few customers - genuine ones as well.

Good luck.

 

[simon field]

Excellent advice Charlie

Good luck OP.

 

[ajnt]

Thank you for that, Charlie! If I had any doubt about my workmanship, I wouldn't passionately fight this, but I know there is nothing wrong with the roof. I also always take photos of all of my jobs, for a portfolio, so I have pictures of the roof when completed and they show clearly how to roof is sealed in one piece of rubbersheet and secured tightly in place. Out of all the letters I have written her, I have always mentioned the quote, that she accepted, and that I offered more things which she refused. Not once has she contested any of this. So she can't really turn around at this stage and say that she didn't know or wasn't offered insulation or anything.

The debt collector received a copy of the solitor's letter, and called me yesterday. He believes she is trying to use scare tactics to make me back down. The solicitor had no facts about the job. He advised not to go to a solicitor, and he will act on my behalf writing a letter to her solicitor to ask for all of the facts. He also said if it goes to court, he will represent me in some form. So it is starting to look a bit more positive.

I will keep you posted on this. Thanks again for the advise so far.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Hello If you take her to court she wont want to pay the high solicitors fees defending the case . If you do go down that route get the correct advice on following the procedures leading up to the issue of the summons . Furthermore are you aware of any assets ect vehicle registrations are important this comes in useful should you win and end up instructing bailiffs