Bathroom dispute

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Tue 11 Oct 2016 15:10
Bathroom dispute - Deborah Gilbody

In 2015 I hired a company to refit my bathroom whilst I was on holiday. On return we found the job incomplete. We paid 75% of the total bill but the remainder was to be paid on completion, 'when you are satisfied'. We still have several issues despite the company returning several times and, 12 months on other problems have presented themselves. The company have started Small Claims proceedings and the hering is set for the end of November. Originally I didn't issue a counterclaim as I just wanted a quiet life but, having now seen their 'witness statement' and the bare-faced lies presented therein and having spent many hours phoning CAB, Consumer Advice, the courts et al, I've finally got angry.

I brought in 2 separate companies to quote for the work needed to rectify the problems caused by the original fitters who charged me for their services (fair enough, in my mind) but in the witness statement it is stated that I brought in 'their own paid workforce, which is not 'independent'.' How then do I get an 'independent' report without paying the company for their time?

Also, if I want to submit a counterclim, I have to ask permission from the judge (at a cost) and, if the judge agrees there is a further charge to present this at the hearing. There is also a £100 fee for showing a video in court (I can think of no other way of showing that a wall is crooked or that a shower rail is loose) Can I add these costs to my counterclaim?

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Tue 11 Oct 2016 15:27
Bathroom dispute - RobJP

I would simply turn up in court, with the various invoices from the other tradespeople that you have had to use, and photographs of the 'problem' areas left by the original company. No video needed, a photo of a spirit level against a out-of-true wall is perfectly adequate, and a photo and description stating 'loose shower rail'.

You don't submit a counterclaim unless you actually have something to claim off them monetarially - as you've held back a sum of money on the basis of poor / incomplete workmanship then I assume that sum has been used to pay for work/reports carried out.

So quite simply you turn up in court, show the shoddy job that they did (the sheer amount of times they've had to come back supports your case, as if they'd done the work properly they wouldn't have to have done so, along with the photographs and the reports from the other companies), explain that you'd eventually had enough, and ask the court to dismiss the case.

If, on the other hand, you've got quotes from other companies to do the job properly, and those come to more than the sum held back, then yes, you'd need to submit your own claim / counterclaim.

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Tue 11 Oct 2016 20:27
Bathroom dispute - Deborah Gilbody

RobJP

Thanks, you've helped put this into perspective.

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