Help needed !!!

[ellabella]

Hey guys ... i have joined this on behalf of my hubby who has been a tiler for 25 years. He is self employed but has a few companies that use him for all their tiling work. We need some advice... he has recently tiled a bathroom with old Aquitaine polished 60x30 tiles. The customer has complained about his tiling to the plumber who gave him the job ... the main complaint being that there were a couple of tiles that had chipped ... they haven't contacted us personally and have told the plumber that they don't want to deal with my husband and wont give him the chance to look at the tiles they are complaining about nor rectify the problem if there is one . They have taken a hammer to the tiles they didn't like . trying to knock them out and in the process have damaged the board the tiles were on . They are now demanding that we pay for the whole bathroom to be retiled at our expense but he is not allowed to do the job himself . They want to get another tiler in and for us to pay the cost of replacing all materials and pay the tiler . He hasnt been paid for the original job and might i add the poor plumber had to put 3 baths in as each time he fitted one they decided they didnt like that bath and wanted it changed . Can anyone tell me where we stand legally in this ? My poor hubby has never had a complaint before and its worrying him !!! HELP !!

 

[Gazzer]

Hello ellabella, welcome aboard TF.

 

[kilty55]

hi ellabella,if they have made a complaint about work then proceeded to remove it themselves and damage the job then i cant see how your husband can be expected to fix it at his cost asfter all your saying he was willing to rectify it,

if the plumber is the main contractor i would ask him to send a recorded delivery letter to the client voicing his opinions....you can go the small claims route if they have not paid but i would send the recorded letter 1st

good luck

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

i think a tiler should be allowed under contract law to rectify any snaggs the main contractor has for him !! or it may be a breach of the contract !! but check this with a solicitor /CAB !! ......


PLEASE BE MY GUEST AND CHECK OUT MY WEB -SITE BELOW JUST CLICK ON IT

 

[ellabella]

Its not the plumber who gave him the job that doesnt want him to to rectify any snagging they may have ... its the customer . To be honest had the plumber told us to start off with that he had had to put 3 baths in we wouldnt have touched the job with a bargepole ! They arent interested in even letting him look at the job ... just harrassing the poor plumber about it with no contact with Peter ( my hubby ) at all. We have never had this in 25 years of him tiling and are just frustrated that they arent giving him a chance to even discuss what they think is wrong with the job !

 

[nybor62]

welcome

as you say your hubby as offered to snag the work ,and has not been given the chance,

get the plumber involved he should negotiate on your behalf , if they wont talk with you , which imo is very rude

no way you should pay for a full refit imo

 

[ellabella]

The poor plumber is getting nothing but grief from the people as they refuse to discuss anything with Peter ( the hubby ) . He has his own issues with them . It doesnt need a refit ... well it wouldnt have done had the customer not tried to knock the tiles he didnt like off with a hammer! At no time have they even spoken to Peter about any of their concerns , everything has come third party thru the plumber .

 

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

mybe you need to look at something like this Tiler Terms and Conditions Template - Sample & Download - for UK use for future clients , then you will know where you stand,there are plenty of bad customers out there, peter is very luck to have only ever found one ,........ good luck

 

[Time's Ran Out]

If your husband hasn't been paid, write a registered mail letter to the customer stating your terms of business (I assume payment was on completion) and demand payment within 7 days or you will be left with no other option than to take legal action. As you have not been directly informed of any reason for non payment go to the small claims court and issue a summons.
Sometimes the amount is not worth the hassle, but these people try it on all the time and we don't really have any recourse apart from principles and court.
Good luck.
Amazing even after 25 years we still get complacent and give to much respect to some customers.

 

[Andy Allen]

imo they dont have a leg to stand on, they have to let you see the problem, and give you the chance to put it right, and taking a hammer to it and then expecting you to pay is nothing short of a joke....

who was going to pay your husband for the tiling, the plumber or the customer..?

 

[ellabella]

Hey Andy everything was done thru the plumber . Peter hasnt received any payment for the job ...and might i add wouldnt have expected to have been paid until the job was completely finished .

 

[John Benton]

This sounds to me that they didn't like the tiles once it was completed and were looking for a way out. If they were that bothered about the quality of the work/chipped tiles they would have taken photos and not just gone ahead with breaking the tiles up.

A similar thing happened to a tiler I know. He'd tiled a conservatory and once completed presented the customer with his invoice. They said they didn't like the tiles now they were down (they had chosen them). They said they were going to get another tiler to break them up, remove and re-tile. He said 'I'll save him the bother' and proceeded to his van, coming back with a hammer and said he would do it himself. Funnily enough they paid him there and then.

These people are chancers and expect people to work for nothing. As all the above, either try to communicate through plumber or lastly threaten them with court.

 

[bugs183]

Hi Ella.
Shameful behavior from your hubbys customers. These type of people really get my goat, and it appears that there are more and more around.
As the guys say they should have given hbby a chance to rectify any snagging, so they now don't have a leg to stand on. It's also not the plumbers fault so they should leave him alone.
Shame thought the plumber didn't tell you that these people were like they are. I always vet any new customers and speak to them as much as possible and speak to other trades that have dealt with them.
I hope you resolve the problem, but they have already put the odds in your favour by smashing the tiles up.