Beware of cowboy builders riding into town say legal experts
19 June 2007
A LANCASHIRE legal expert is warning home owners to be aware of unscrupulous builders in the area after an increase in people seeking legal advice about disputes with builders.
Over 100,000 complaints each year are received by the Office of Fair Trading and an average of 200 phone calls a day regarding poor construction work.
Najma Ahmed, a consumer law specialist at Preston-based law firm, MWR Solicitors, advises people that there are a number of steps they should first take to avoid being left in a heap of rubble by a cowboy builder. She said:
“It helps to be as clear from the outset precisely what work needs to be carried out and set out a clear specification. People must check out builders’ credentials to ensure they are genuine and if possible get recommendations from friends or family.
“After obtaining quotes and negotiating terms with a builder it is important, it must be put in writing. It will be more difficult to negotiate different areas when work has been started on your property, a reasonable builder should have no objection to this.
MWR believes there are many builders within the UK that are not members of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) or legitimate tradesman. Government figures estimate that £4.6billion of building work is carried out by rogue builders operating on the ‘black economy’.
Najma continues: “It is advisable to approach a solicitor for legal advice to ensure that the contract is drawn up correctly should things go wrong.
“The Joint Contracts Tribunal (JCT) is an independent body that has produced a standard contract for use between the customer and the builder. This is an easy to understand legal document that easy to understand and is a very useful tool.
“If a problem emerges with a builder and it can’t be resolved between the two parties, legal action can be taken through the county courts by the customer if the amount is under £5,000. For greater sums a solicitor should be consulted.”
