Bad Builder or Botched Job? How to Demand a Fix or Refund (UK)

Botched plastering, a leaking extension roof, a kitchen fitted at an angle, or a job the builder simply walked off and never finished — poor workmanship is one of the most common (and most expensive) disputes UK consumers face. It is also one where the law is squarely on your side. Whether you paid a big deposit up front or the full price on completion, you have clear statutory rights to have the job put right or your money back. Here is how those rights work, and how to write a letter that gets a trader to act.

Your Legal Right to a Job Done Properly

Any service you buy from a trader — building work, plastering, roofing, plumbing, a loft conversion — is governed by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Under section 49, a trader must carry out the service with "reasonable care and skill." This is the core hook for almost every workmanship complaint: if the finish is sub-standard, if fittings do not work, if the job does not meet the standard a competent tradesperson in that trade would achieve, the trader has breached the contract — regardless of what was said verbally on site.

The Quote or Promise Counts Too

Under section 50, anything the trader said or wrote that you relied on when agreeing to the work — a quote, a description of materials, a promise about how long it would take or what the finished job would look like — becomes a binding term of the contract. If a builder promised a slate roof and fitted a cheaper substitute, or quoted for a full rewire and left half the sockets untouched, that is a breach you can point to directly.

What You Pay If No Price or Time Was Fixed

Sometimes there is no clear contract in writing. The Act still protects you. Under section 51, if no price was agreed up front, you only have to pay a "reasonable price" for what was actually delivered — not whatever figure the trader invents afterwards. Under section 52, if no timeframe was agreed, the work must be completed within a "reasonable time." A builder who has been on and off site for six months on what should have been a two-week job is very likely in breach of section 52.

Your Two Remedies: Redo It, or Reduce the Price

Where workmanship falls short, the Act gives you a clear order of remedies:

• Repeat performance (section 55): Your first and usual remedy is to require the trader to redo the work at no extra cost to you, within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience. This is the starting point where putting the job right is realistically possible.
• Price reduction (section 56): Where repeat performance is impossible — or the trader has not done it within a reasonable time, or cannot do it without significant inconvenience to you — you can instead claim a price reduction. This reduction can be for up to 100% of the price in a serious enough case. It is important to be precise here: this is a right you can assert to reduce what you owe or reclaim what you have already paid, proportionate to how badly the work fell short — it is not an automatic guarantee of a full refund in every case, and the right figure depends on the facts.

Before You Write: Gather Your Evidence

• Photograph everything — the defects, the unfinished areas, and, if you can, the state of things before the trader started.
• Keep the quote, invoices, and any messages where the trader described the work or made promises about materials, timing, or standard.
• Get an independent view if the fault is disputed — a second tradesperson or surveyor's opinion on the standard of work can be decisive if the matter escalates.
• Note the dates — when the work started, when it stalled or was "finished," and when you first raised the problem.

What Your Letter Should Say

A clear, factual letter is often what moves a trader who has been avoiding your calls. It should:

• Identify the contract — what was agreed, the quote or price, and the dates the work was carried out.
• Set out the defects or failures specifically, referencing your photos and evidence.
• Cite section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and state that the work has not been carried out with reasonable care and skill (and section 50 if a specific promise or quote was broken).
• State your remedy — that you require repeat performance under section 55 within a reasonable, named timeframe, or, if that is not possible or has already failed, a price reduction under section 56.
• Set a clear deadline for a response — commonly 14 days.
• State what happens next if they do not respond — a formal letter before action and, if needed, a small claims court case.

If They Ignore You

If the trader is a member of a trade association or scheme (such as a TrustMark-registered business), that scheme may offer an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service — a useful, often free, route to try before court. Bear in mind that ADR is generally voluntary for the trader unless their contract or scheme membership requires them to take part, so it is worth trying but should not be treated as a guaranteed fix on its own. If the trader will not engage, the next step is a formal letter before action, followed if necessary by a claim in the small claims court.

You have longer than you might think to act: a claim for breach of contract must generally be brought within six years of the breach in England and Wales, or five years in Scotland. That said, evidence is always stronger while it is fresh, so do not sit on a problem unnecessarily.