Half built lorry - HELP

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Steeleydan

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We ordered a 3 horse coachbuilt un fitted living back in May. Told the man who owns the company we need it by 31st August at the absolute latest and we got him to sign a written statment confirming this. We own the chassis and have a receipt to prove that from an independent place. We paid a deposit then gave another 2 payments and the box is not really half way built, we went to visit the box Monday to discover not really much further on, (my mum did express concern) then he asked for more money to get it finished my mum asked how much more he said 4K and that should finish it. Then I said you are not having the final balance till its in the spray shop. Ive written myself a list of all the remaining parts needed to complete, been on internet and priced them and that comes to almost 6K. At present it has no roof or luton on it only Aluminium sheets on the horse area doesnt even seem anywhere near half way to me, we are supposed to take the money Thursday, hes already had 9K! And its not s though I can see a pile of materials lying about waiting to be used, if I question him its just one story after another and the story changes each time I ask. He said if we hold back on the money he wont finish it, dont know if I now dare give him the money seem to have lost confidence in him and his lies. Please help, Ive rung trading standards, they didnt really help much, just said cant do anything till 31 August. But by then I fear we will of had to hand over the full amount and still have a half finished lorry. Also there are 2 other lorries there that are not finished and have been like that for 6 months!
 
I don't really know a lot about this but did you get a quote for the work or a final figure? In writing I mean.
It certainly seems that this guy is trying it on
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Maybe someone else would know for definite but what is the possibility of you claiming the chassis back, with the work already done that you have paid for, and getting another company to finish it
 
Is it a company that is known for doing this? It might be worth googling their name and see what you find out.

Really sorry to hear this has happened to you.
 
Under the current contract between yourself and the box builder he is under a contractual obligation to finish the work by the time stipulated surely!!??? I only did a bit of a law degree before swapping to english but I believe agreeing to pay this contractor an extra 4k would be entering into a separate contract. Do not hand over any extra money yet! I'm pretty sure you can render his duty to complete the box enforceable. Any lawyers on here?????
 
Yes Ellies mum, we got a quote, when we went to see him in the first place I wrote a very detailed specification of exactly what we wanted then a few days later he rang back to tell us how much to build it 20k not including chassis. I want to get it from there but I cant honestly see another coachbuilder wanting to finish some one elses work. We are also struggling to get receipts for our money. Ive tried googleing but nothing comes up. Ive been on companies house web site to see if they are bankrupt, but not. Also re taking it else where to get it finished dont know in the half built state it would be safe to drive. we are absolultey gutted about it sleepless night s etc. We were initially very exited at the prospect of a new lorry now its ruined it all, if we ever get it I want to sell it already.
 
If you paid the builder money as an advance then there is little that can be done under Criminal Law however there may be some action you can take in Civil Law. If however you parted with money on the understanding that the money was given with a particular purpose in mind, i.e. purchasing parts for the lorry & he has not used the money for that particular purpose (& you may need something in writiong to prove this) then there will be an offence under the Theft Act.

Under Section 5 og Theft Act it deals with 'Retain & Deal'. This means that if money was given 9over to someone for a specific purpose & the money has been used for anything other than that purpose then there may well be an offence under that section of the act. Either way until the 'date of completion' passes there is little that can ber done. When the date has passed I would go & speak to the Police, & make sure it's someone who knows about the intricacies of the Theft Act. Additionally speak to a solicitor regarding any Civil Proceedings. Good Luck
 
Poor you. Did you not agree to pay at a certain time ie on completion ?
I was in exactly this situation last year, when I finally (3 months later than agreed complete with leaky roof and sub-standard fittings) got the lorry I hated it and eventually sold it.
These horsebox builders seem to be a law unto themselves, one lie after another. The company is not in Merseyside is it ?
 
Thaks Toby Zaphod, you have been most helpfull. But i didnt think the Police would be interested in it cos its a civil case. But as he has had 9k so far and there is no way there is 9k worth of materials built on that lorry. I know we cant do anything till 31 Aug but i will be making an appointment with a solicitor that deals with consumer law fot 1st Sept. I wondered if it comes under the heading "Obtaining money thro fraud and deception" And no Charmer its not in Mersyside. But poor you, how did you get your lorry in the end? Did you keep having to hand over more and more money to get it finished?
 
Didn't pay him a penny until it was completed, 3 months late and not to the agreed standard I was too tired of fighting so just paid up. I owned the chassis so its not like i could have walked away (although I did contemplate it)
I hope there will be some way of regulating these box builders, they just seem to do what they like, when they like knowing they have you over a barrel. I did a fair bit of crying over mine,was gutted !
I've never encountered such a downright liar before. I was fobbed off everytime I complained, sorry I can't be of more help.
Really hope yours gets finished on time and you are happy with it.
x
 
Sorry to hear of your problems with your box builder, were you quoted for an agreed design? it could be that steel and alloy have gone up in price lately by 30%. I have only built campervans in the past but know how much parts have gone up reasonly and fuel rises add to your cost running around picking up gear. You could always ask for your chassis cab back and get another builder.
 
Give H&H a ring. There was an article recently about a couple of box builders that went bust owing people money and retaining their lorries.

One of the 'proper' coachbuilding companies made comment about what to do if you were caught up with a similar cowboy type company, who to go to, and what legal things could be done to ensure they completed the job or gave you your money back plus the box.
 
Steeleydan,
I am sorry to hear about your predicament. This happened to some-one around here last year. After handing over a lot of money, she eventually cut her losses and got the lorry low-loaded to a reputable local builder. It ended up costing her almost double. The reason she didn't use the local builder was that he was only small and she thought she would be safer using some-one more 'well known'.
I would still contact a local coachbuilder and ask if they would take your lorry on.
Please warn other people about this company so other people can make an informed decision about whether or not to hand over any money.
 
Ive rung loads of horse box companies and no one wants to finish some one elses work, as we are nearing a recession in this country I would of thought horse box builders would be glad of the bussiness. Obviously not. Dont know how safe it would be to drive it out half built, they have completly stripped the cab out so no seats etc, and the back of the cab is cut out. Just had big familiy argument about it, my mum, dad and sister want to give him ALL the remaining money and give him the benifit of the doubt! Cos up to now he says the slower we are handing over more payments the slower work will be. As i have tried to tell my parents he has already had 9k and not much has been done, so doesnt look like he will do much more, whats more there are 4 other half started lorries in the factory that are not showing any signs of progression, so it doesnt do alot for confidence. Anyway we are going tommorow to confront him, but he might not even be there he does have tendancy to disapear and cant be found or reached on the phone!
 
Do not pay him another penny. He is clearly spending the money on other things.

Get the work to date independently valued.

See a solicitor as soon as possible and claim against the person doing the work for the balance.

Transport the lorry on a low loader and get the work completed by a reputable bodybuilder.

Which part of the country are you in? How did you find this person?
 
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