Cowboy builders are the bane of the construction industry. There are, on average, at least 100,000 complaints every year about them. They ruin things for perfectly reputable builders, and for all the talk about them, they’re in the minority – it just happens to be a minority that gets a lot of publicity.
Cowboy builders are simply rogue traders, of course, often with little or no knowledge of building, so you end up with a botched job – that’s if it’s finished at all.
Protecting Yourself From Cowboy Builders
The best thing is to learn to spot the cowboy builders early, so you can turn them away – it saves a lot of trouble later. The first tip-off is if they asked to be paid in cash, or cash-in-hand all with a promise on no VAT to be paid. No legitimate business will work off the books like that.
If they say a contract isn’t necessary, watch out – it’s vital in a business transaction like this, and without it, your legal position is nowhere near as strong. Most rogue builders don’t carry insurance, either, which again could work to your detriment if an accident occurred.
Are they willing to provide a written estimate and costings for the job, as well as a time frame for each stage of the work? A proper tradesman would, quite gladly. Where they do offer a quote, it could be unusually low, and they might offer to begin work immediately.
Do they have references? Do they have premises and a landline number, or simply a van and a mobile?
All of the above should raise red flags. You can protect yourself by having everything in writing and ask for a guarantee. Check references, talk to the people who’ve had the work done, and look at the work if possible. Ask your family and your friends for recommendations. Get several estimates and remember, cheapest isn’t always a savings.
It’s a help, too, if the builders and members of some trade group – although check that as well, since cowboy building firms have been known to fake membership. Finally, never pay in cash, and certainly never upfront – you should only pay for work that’s been completed.
What To Do If You’re A Victim Of A Cowboy Builder
Sometimes, though, the cowboys do win, and the building work is a shambles. What should have been wonderful construction work is a mess, and the builders have moved on. What can you do?
What they’ve done constitutes fraud, so you should complain to the police, giving them as much information on the builder as possible. Also complain to Trading Standards, which takes a very harsh view of rogue traders.
If you can track down the cowboy builder and he refuses to refund your money, take him to court. In the event of a small job, small claims court will likely suffice, and won’t cost you much. In the event of a big job, though, you will be looking at some hefty legal bills.Either way, it’s a lot of problems, and you still need to employ a proper builder to do the work correctly. The best solution, always, is to take the time and find someone who’ll do it right the first time.
we got alocal builder who we knew to give us a quote we agreed the price.
gave him money up front to start with he told us we had to pay up front for windows and garage door total 2100 pounds.garage door was not even ordered and windows cost 860 pounds not bad but he charge us 1560 pounds
he was never on site. the time when he did come it was about 10am and he sat in his van till about 10.45am .he would then leave about 2pm with not much work been done now he wants us to pay for more materials up front and then he said he do the work .he has left us in a big mess. funnything after he started this job and got our money he went on holiday to spain. have been told by other builders he has done this before got the money and walked off the job.wish i could name him .
unhappy blairgowrie - 30 December 2011 @ 1:31 PM
I need help on cowboy builder how to end his contract
Kush - 7 September 2011 @ 3:09 PM
I am in a situation where I have a written contract with what turns out to be a cowboy builder. I understand in Scotland that if you take a builder to court the court has no power to enforce payment even if it is a favourable outcome for the victim. "If the defender doesn't pay the money due, the court cannot help you enforce the order. You can employ a sheriff officer to do this, but you will have to pay them."What is the point of having a small claims court that cannot enforce the law? Of course a cowboy builder will know this!
rachel - 22 August 2011 @ 10:43 AM
We used a builder ( brother of a friend) who provided us with a quote for front and back flagging, dormer refit, garden wall, front ext and front dormer quoted £16500. we started him on our drive and gave £1500 to him, then he started on the next bit of our back dormerof work £2000 given over to him,, then started on the third job, so more money handed over ( then he went on holiday) and we had to chase him to continue with the work, then we were to go on holiday so he said he would start our front drive and have it finished when we came back, stupidly handed over more money so he could get skip etc,, but whilst we were away only shown up for 3 half days so we came back to a half finished driveway. Flags etc were delivererd but again we had to chase him to pull up the fencing and make way for the footings for the wall.In 6wks only shown up 4 days and now we have told him we dont want him to finish the job, we want our bill and the rest of our money repaid. Even went to his house and he begged us to let him finish the job. We said lets bring things to where we should be, receipts, timescales given, and the money put back in our bank and we would discuss it.Never seenhim since. Called at his house last night, no one in. Called the Council and they dont have any agency to protect people as anyone can build as long as the finished job is signed off a safe.I asked who signs that off,,, any agency can do it.No protection for us so now having sleepless nights over what steps we can now take. We can follow his van and speak to everyone he quotes to,, or we can let his neighbours know he is a crook etc,, but i dont know of anyway to get our money back !.. Feeling very low and stupid for putting faith into friendship. Any one have ideas....
Nanney - 25 July 2011 @ 10:14 AM
hiim writing to ask about whats my rights regarding external insulationive just had very badly installed by a contractor called sers ltd . it was a european grant(so we were told ) that my whole street qualified for regardless of being a tennant or a owner . they finished the job 3 months ago we now have damp patches in the ceilins in the front and there are a lot of faults with the finishing ie loose soil pipe ,the matting is showing through render , bare rockwool that open to elements,steel top plates tha stick out4" ferther than facias with no seal so water can run rite beind the rockwool and is currently causing the damp and i could write more .we have complained to sers but just keep getting fobbed off and they send a labourer up to botch a fix and tell us they would be back to sort everything out . as this was a grant job we didnt pay for this work and thats our problem we dont know what our rights are in this situation. but we feel there must be some sort of complaints board for this european grant work or some kind of inspecter or servyer to look at the mess they have made on ower home. we fear we are now going to be looking at a heavty bill for redoing the work properlly . we would appriceate any help you can offer us
julie - 12 July 2011 @ 8:51 PM
I had a builder who let out the family pet dog who went missing and was killed. Meanwhile in 3 days he knocked a huge hole in my dining room wall for a doorway. Left all the rubble on the carpet and trailled it through the house. No protection was put down. He was to finnish on that 3rd day but my house was a bomb site. The central heating could not cope with the cold house and packed in and I had to pay another builder to finnish the work. He took me to court for the extra money. I informed the court I was working in Ireland and could case be postponed but the judge would not and as I did not attend he won the case!!
Mazza - 20 June 2011 @ 2:26 PM
What is the realistic chance that even if you win the court case that you will ever get a single penny from the cowboy builder?! Like above, Grampian police insist that if even the tiniest bit of work is done, then it's a civil matter. Our cowboy builder took off our fence gate so he could get materials through to the back garden to redo the patio and that was enough for Grampian police to say he didn't commit fraud. Of course that was all the builder did, even though we had to give him £1,550 for materials that never showed up.
raphjd - 4 May 2011 @ 2:14 PM
Hi i've just watched an episode of Cowboy Builders where a builder had 17 complaints against him to Trading Standards. Can you tell me what good Trading Standards are if after this number of complaints nothing has been done? Surely each complaint must be looked at and after 1 or 2 are proven then he must be prosecuted and put out of business and ordered to pay compensation to the victims of his work and stopped from hurting anyone else.
apsinger - 27 March 2011 @ 1:35 PM
Hi I was ripped off by a builder to the tune of £105000. I have been in touch with Merseyside Police who are adamant that as he did some work, most of which I paid for anyway it is without doubt a civil matter, contrary to your comments on your website. This "person" is in loads of debt and has probably used my money to pay someone else, ie mortgage second mortgage and 2 unsecured loans. HELP! How do I get the Police to prosecute for fraud?
