I’m a tradesman. How do I resolve a dispute over work with a client? I can’t afford a lawyer.
I booked two nights at a B&B but left after the first night. They have charged me for a second night anyway. Are they legally entitled to do this?
A builder has been working on my house but it is incomplete and faulty. He won’t return my calls or emails and he won’t finish the job. I haven’t paid him yet. What do I do?
I’m a builder and my last contract was cancelled after I had already started work on it. What can I do?
I’m a tradesman. How do I resolve a dispute over work with a client? I can’t afford a lawyer.
Make sure that you speak to your client and try and reach an agreement you can both be happy with. If you have tried resolving the dispute yourself and that hasn’t worked then the Disputes Tribunal can be a cheap and quick way to sort the problem out. This will only be an option if the amount owing is under $15,000 (or $20,000 if both parties agree). If you need more information, contact your nearest Citizens Advice Bureau.
I booked two nights at a B&B but left after the first night. They have charged me for a second night anyway. Are they legally entitled to do this?
Most hotels have a cancellation policy and you should be aware of this before you make a booking with them. For instance you may need to cancel a booking no less than 24 hours in advance so that the hotel doesn’t lose earnings on that room. If the policy states that a charge will be made if you don’t give enough notice, and you don’t give that period of notice, then the hotel can charge you for the nights you booked, regardless of how long you stayed. When you make a booking you’re entering into a contract. You expect the accommodation provider to stick to their side of the bargain and provide the accommodation they promised and they expect you to stick to your side and pay for the time you booked. If you give them the notice set out in the cancellation policy so that they have the chance to get someone else in the accommodation, then it’s not reasonable for them to be paid twice for the same room/bed.
A builder has been working on my house but it is incomplete and faulty. He won’t return my calls or emails and he won’t finish the job. I haven’t paid him yet. What do I do?
Under the Consumer Guarantees Act a service provider must use reasonable care and skill when doing a job and finish it within a reasonable time-frame. A way to check the quality of the work is to ask other builders what they think about it. If repairs are needed to put the builder’s work right, you need to give the builder a fair chance to do so (unless the fault cannot be fixed or is major). If he doesn’t put it right in a reasonable time, you can claim for the cost of someone else carrying out repairs. Claiming the cost of repairs might be tricky if the builder is hard to get hold of. If the contract is worth under $15,000 (or $20,000 if both parties agree), you can choose to take the matter to the Disputes Tribunal. If you decide to take the case to the Disputes Tribunal, you can contact Citizens Advice Bureau for help.
I’m a builder and my last contract was cancelled after I had already started work on it. What can I do?
When a contract for services is cancelled, the service stops. The consumer doesn’t have to pay any more and the service provider doesn’t have to do any more work. If you have already started work, and the service you provided was of an acceptable level, then you must be paid for the work that you did and for any materials that you bought or used. If the customer refuses to pay for that then you might be able to go to the Disputes Tribunal, as long as the value of the claim is under $15,000 (or $20,000 if both parties agree). For more help with solving such a dispute, contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau.