General Contractor Guide for Legal Guide
Proof & Support Do it Yourself Tips for Legal Guide
If you have paid in full for completed work and then a problem arises (within a reasonable time - reasonable time will vary according to the type of job). Let's say for instance you have had a new central heating system installed and three weeks later you have no hot water. You call the heating engineer / plumber and ask him to return to fix it and he refuses. You have only had a verbal quote - so you have no proof he carried the work out.
What can you do?
If you paid him by cheque - the cheque should be your proof, it can easily be traced through yours and his/her bank accounts.
If you paid by cash - this is not quite so easy. He most probably has not paid this amount into any account to avoid tax etc. so even though you can prove you drew the money out of your account, you cannot prove where it went. In the first instance it would be wise to call a CORGI registered gas installer to check the system and fix the fault. This will at least check that nothing else is wrong with it in the interim and get your hot water back on. Keep the bill so that you may claim the cost back from the original installer.
If the original installer is registered with any trade associations or CORGI then go to them and ask for their advice - this may just give him/her the push they need.
If you still have no luck then you should write to the original installer, stating that you can prove that he carried out the works via various witnesses i.e. neighbours, friends, family that may have seen his van parked outside your premises during the work hours (or indeed any other way you may be able to prove this - many plumbers leave sticky labels on their works as a form of advertising).
Tell him that you have no hesitation in going to the small claims court (which is cheap, quick and easy to use) to recover the cost and get the work done. This will of course involve him attending and possibly having to prove that he was working elsewhere at the time or state what fair reason he has for not coming back to put the works right. During this process it will quite likely raise the question of why he insisted on cash payments and his tax liability on the sum paid.
This also may encourage him to come back and sort the problem out or pay your costs for getting the work corrected.
However, this can all be avoided if you insist on quotes in writing, payment by cheque or, if they insist on cash, get a receipt, making sure it states quite clearly what the payment is for and how much.