When Home Improvements Go Wrong

Home improvements - a big decision - and expensive. Because you don't pay out for home improvements on a whim, or very often, when you do treat yourself you expect them to actually improve your home rather than leave you with more to sort out. So what can you do when home improvements start to cause you a headache?

When You Order Home Improvements - But There's a Delay.

Home improvements, like all deliveries, are supposed to actually turn up when the seller says they will. It's not like a parcel that you can collect from the post office - you will have to arrange time off of work, and for someone to be there while the contractor is fitting the kitchen, bedroom or bathroom you ordered (if you paid for installation.) If you have arranged for a private contractor to install the home improvements for you, and they don't arrive, you run the risk of inconveniencing them as well as yourself.

In some cases, you might have specified a date for delivery. For example you may have asked for the delivery before relatives are due to come to stay. If you've agreed a date, that date becomes a term of the contract of sale and so a delay is a breach of contract by the seller. It's up to you whether you accept that breach and carry on with the contract (with another specified date) or cancel the contract altogether. If you do decide you can't accept the delay, you're entitled to cancel the contract at no cost so don't be bullied into paying cancellation fees.

If you didn't set a date for the delivery in the contract, and just left it for the seller to let you know when the home improvements were in the store, it's harder to take action over unreasonable delays. What you can do, though, is to 'make time of the essence' which legally introduces the delivery date as a term of the contract, and enables you to threaten to cancel the deal with no penalty if they can't supply the goods within the agreed time. The usual 'reasonable period of time' is about 14 days. You will need to write to the seller and tell them you are making time of the essence and setting the date for delivery. Send the letter recorded delivery for evidence if there are any disputes later - and email a copy, too.

The Home Improvements Arrive - But There's Something Missing!

If your lovely expensive kitchen arrives minus the dishwasher, or the bathroom is supplied tapless, you have grounds to complain. You can choose not to accept the goods, but that would involve not having anything fitted and leaving the house in a mess (and whichever room you're improving, unusable.) It's easier if you've paid for the seller to arrange installation as you can theoretically accept the rest of the kitchen on condition that the missing parts are supplied. Set a date for this and tell the supplier that if they don't supply the missing part by a certain date you will have no option but to purchase it elsewhere and claim the cost of the appliance and the installation back from them.

It's harder if you've hired someone else to install the home improvements, but the principle is the same. You should never be out of pocket due to their error, so if there's bits missing and the rest can be installed and used without them, get as much of the available kitchen/ bathroom/bedroom fitted as possible. The Supply of Goods and Services Act covers this sort of contract, as well as the Sale of Goods Act - and you can claim compensation if the goods aren't as described (with items missing), or not fit for their usual purpose(parts missing such as a wardrobe door, a bathroom tap etc)

You have to try to keep extra costs to a minimum and be reasonable. If it's a bedroom and part of the wardrobe is missing so that it can't be put together, you might have to send the contractor away, and claim any money back that you've had to pay for his call out from the seller. If there's no way anything can be salvaged, you're within your rights to reject the whole thing and ask the seller to collect it from you at no charge.

Remember that you have rights under consumer law, and that on the whole you're entitled to get exactly what you paid for, within a reasonable time. Don't let sellers fob you off, and be prepared to stand your ground to get what you want. Happy home improvements!