Complaint About Poor Building Work: A Case Study

Home building work is a costly business but, if you want to avoid upset and complaint, maintaining high standards is much more important than cutting corners, as this case study shows.

Costly Improvements And Cowboy Building Work

According to Consumer Direct, substandard home improvements are one of the top gripes for UK residents. With many of us spending nearly £1,200 a year on our properties, it’s no wonder we get annoyed when our home improvements don’t go according to plan.

Unfortunately there are a great many cowboy tradesmen out there eager to have a share of the sizeable investment in home improvements. One Birmingham resident employed a ‘loft specialist’ to complete an attic conversion on their three-bedroom semi-detached house.

Botched Building Work

By the time the builder had finished, the owner was left with a botched bedroom conversion that woefully failed to meet required safety standards. A subsequent inspection found the conversion to be illegal, with the builder having had cut through major structural components of the roof, and failed to install the minimum required safety precautions. They also failed to fit sufficient insulation to the property.

The resident was forced to pay another builder £4,500 just to repair the serious structural damage caused to their home. Faced with a disastrous situation, and severely out of pocket, they complained to Birmingham City Council and as result a building consultancy team was sent out to inspect their property.

The cowboy builder was promptly taken to court and pleaded guilty to three charges of contravening Building Regulations under the Building Act 1984. They left the court facing a fine of £1,865 and a local reputation in tatters.

The case highlights the dangers the public face if they employ builders who fail to comply with planning and building regulations.

Done By The Book

Home improvements can be an expensive business but attempting to keep costs down by employing less reputable builders who cut corners is a hugely risky solution. By doing so not only are you putting your family at risk by paving the way for unsafe building work but, as this case shows, you might well end up forking out a lot more money to rectify the damage caused.

If you make a complaint afterwards about a cowboy builder then you can report them to Trading Standards or the police, but there’s no guarantee you’ll get any of your money back or the damage rectified. As rogue traders often avoid standard practices like contracts and prefer to receive payment in cash, by agreeing to their services you are effectively giving up your consumer rights, and your right to complain.

Building is something that needs to be done by the book otherwise it can result in disaster. Without building regulations approval, you risk numerous potential problems and, when it comes to selling the property, instead of adding value to the house, the loft conversion might put people off who are rightly disconcerted by the absence of paperwork.

Following Building Regulations

When employing the services of a specialist loft conversion company – or any other building tradesperson - they should make the building regulations application for you. However, it is your responsibility to ensure the correct approval is granted. A reputable building company will be experienced in dealing with the procedures and will happily guide you through them. Any prospective builder that offers a quick and cheap job that avoids all that complicated and unnecessary ‘red tape’ should set alarm bells ringing in your head.

The so called red tape of obtaining building regulations approval is actually quick and straight-forward process. By obtaining official permission, you secure the safeguard of the council’s control officer who will protect you against cowboy workmanship. They will make sure the building plans are within the law and will make visits to the site to check that the work is up to standard.

If any home owner who has had recent building work completed the safety of which has given them cause for concern then they should contact their local council building department.