So, I disputed a credit card transaction for some work on the house. I didn’t hear anything for a long time so wrote it off. Then a few days ago I see the transactions have been cancelled.

Now the company are (unsurprisingly) chasing for money. Does this just put me back into the position of not having paid and in an argument as to whether They’ve done a reasonable job or if they haven’t I’ve given them enough chance to rectify (albeit their view of rectification not necessarily aligning to mine)

Can They chase me for bad debt late payment etc.

Armchair lawyers

Soflicitors.

Did you tell company you were dissatisfied and give them an opportunity to rectify to an agreed standard?
If not, I think you’ve been
unreasonable.

On the limited information you have given, yes they can chase you.

Does this just put me back into the position of not having paid

Basically. Best bet would be to talk to them and arrive at an agreement – as above, if they get pissed off with you they could farm the debt out to debt chasers, but would probably prefer not to as they wouldn’t see all the money recovered.

I can see two broad scenarios.

1) They’ve done a substandard job for whatever reason, you’ve asked them to make good, they’ve failed to do so and so you’ve had no choice but to reclaim the payment.

2) They’ve done a substandard job for whatever reason, you’ve gone “I’m not paying them then” and silently pulled back the payment.

Which is the closer fit here?

Bit of a grey mix of 1 and 2. They did the work. Said they’d fix some bits I’d disputed were different to the quote (but not all)

They then just used the card I’d paid the deposit with to take the remaining amount, no warning. This caused my credit limit to breach. Work not yet done.

I asked for money back pointing out work still to do. No reply so I disputed transaction.

Due to furlough of chap they wasn’t around. I wanted to finish house refurb and figured they would do bare minimum and not everything so paid someone else to fix their mess. Found that there was more stuff that didn’t align with quote.

Part of it was work required LA notification. They tell me not needed. Referred me to a benchmark commissioning certificate that I was unaware of, which having now looked at it turns out they didn’t bother to fill in. Doesn’t look like installer was qualified to do the work either, although not certain of this as fact.

They did send another chap who didn’t have time to do anything I’d raised other than put a 13amp fuse in a spur for The 3 amp Boiler they’d installed which had blown a few days after install. So seems like every one they employ has a general disregard for regulations.

So I’m probably in the bracket of overreacting and not giving them enough chance to rectify even though they’ve taken a lot of short cuts and haven’t agreed to fix them all. How much inconvenience is reasonable to have in giving reasonable opportunity to fix stuff.

then just used the card I’d paid the deposit with to take the remaining amount, no warning

If it really was no warning then I think that’s naughty and conceptually little different to taking cash out of your wallet.

Does this just put me back into the position of not having paid

I’d say so, yes.

Pay them for the work they’ve done, don’t pay them for the work they haven’t?

Your update provides some useful context.
Don’t think you’ve over-reacted.
Some points:
1) is there a record of the items you disputed with your contractor?
2) is there a record of their responses to your points above?
3) did you authorise them to charge to your card?
4) do they have the required certification to carry out the work you wanted them to undertake?
5) did your agreement with them allow for the substitution of labour?

I wouldn’t place much faith in your contractor but…try to deal with them nicely; CV19 has complicated most things and, possibly, them.

I was thinking that but the amount would have to be based on my judgement as quote isn’t itemised, is that what you meant.

It’s also not that clear cut. On one hand they have installed new rads, boiler and water system. On the other hand it’s sub standard.

They have installed an unvented cylinder. Just haven’t done the regulations bits.

They did install new radiators and boiler but despite the quote being for copper pipe they used plastic upstairs.

Wires run and strapped to heating pipes under the floors too.

I guess I could say in light of issues I’m happy to pay this much but not the full amount.

So,

Presumably you’ve found a replacement company? Ask their opinion as to what they think the work to date is worth? That would be an impartial way of doing it.

If original quote wasn’t itemised, ask them to provide that.
Any work done which isn’t compliant with the regs is, at least, questionable and you should not pay.
Any non-compliance with your specified requirements – for example, ignoring your requirement for copper and using plastic instead – should be rectified at their cost unless there is valid, technical and demonstrable reason for them to ignore your instructions.
One of my sons is a mechanical specialist and experienced project manager so…if you can DM me with details of what you instructed, the price you agreed to and what your contractor has done I’ll ask him to review and comment.
Over to you.

sounds like a bit of finding out about how much you’ve actually been given is worth, taking into account the poor standard of workmanship, lack of adherence to regs or your spec, and so on.

Then I’d look to itemise that all in a letter to them, send registered post, and advising them that you are prepared to pay to only once x, y and z is done or this amount and you’ll sort the rest. But get it into a letter so it doesn’t look like you’re being unreasonable or refusing to pay.

As it’s on CC I’d also maybe copy that to them; you’re protected by them so want them to see why you’ve asked for the repayment and what you are doing to sort it, but they might support your position with the builder as well.

If they invoice £12k and then you had to pay someone £4K to fix it – straightforward maths – you pay them £8k. If any of the 4K was not in the original scope/spec then ask your new guy what it cost for that extra bit and adjust accordingly.

Ultimately they could still try and claim the difference, but if you put in writing what you are doing, the opportunities you gave them to fix it and evidence the cost you incurred to fix it – you should have a pretty robust case – and they’ll find it very difficult to sell the debt on so only option would be to go to court who, if everything you have said is true, are unlikely to take a significantly different approach from the above.

They have installed an unvented cylinder. Just haven’t done the regulations bits.

If you suspect that they aren’t qualified to do work like this, you need to get it inspected and signed off by a qualified person ASAP. A poorly installed unvented cylinder is dangerous.

Likewise the electrical bodging – running wires strapped to heating pipes is pisspoor, and needs to be remedied/signed off and the spark who did it reported to his professional body, if he has one, which seems dubious.

Once you’ve paid for all this, subtract it from the original bill and send them the remainder. The only recourse they have is to sue you, and if you can document the shoddy work they’ve done, and the cost of fixing it, I doubt they would get very far. But you can’t just pay them nowt, regardless of what a bunch of cowboys they are.