Hi I'm Bianca

[BiancaC]

Hi everyone,
DH and I have just bought our first home and I'm reading everything I can on renovations. I'll try not to ask too many stupid questions;-) look forward to meeting you all.

BC

[wheelinround]

Hi Bianca welcome to the shop/shed

Bianca my new GD'rs name can't wait till she starts asking questions

[BiancaC]

Thank you for your welcome.
I've got a question but not sure anyone here could help.
We got a couple of quotes for the kitchen and we've settled on one. The quote is signed but deposit not paid yet. We've been given the heads up that the company has a BSA warning issued, I've checked and it has. We don't want to go ahead now, where do we stand?

BC

[munruben]

Hi Bianca and welcome to the forum. Can''t help you much with your problem but maybe a phone call to fair trading might be able to point you in the right direction. Just bear in mind, if you go ahead with this company that the contractor has to satisfy you and you don't have to pay full payment until you are completely happy with the work. Some warnings to builders and contractors are of a trivial nature and serves as a wake up call to the contractor and he makes sure it doesn't happen again and is very diligent with any new work he undertakes. Good luck with your new home. By the way, there are no stupid questions, so don't be hesitant in asking.

[Claw Hama]

Hi Bianca and welcome, you should check with the dpt of fair trading (BSA) or the master builders association or the equivilant in your state for an offical answer.

[BiancaC]

Thank you. I'll will ring BSA on Monday. We've done some googling and found a public warning too so it's pretty serious. At least we found out now)) before money changed hands. Cheers
BC

[artme]

G'dy Bianca and welcome to the fountain of knowledge.

You are doing the correct thing by checking up on this company. I've been down that road so it certainly pays to take care of yourself. Don't let them pressure you. If they insist on a deposit let them Know that you are checking on them.

Plenty of help here and in the renovate forums, so ask away.

[Christos]

Welcome to the forum.

[Johncs]

Thank you for your welcome.
I've got a question but not sure anyone here could help.
We got a couple of quotes for the kitchen and we've settled on one. The quote is signed but deposit not paid yet. We've been given the heads up that the company has a BSA warning issued, I've checked and it has. We don't want to go ahead now, where do we stand?

BC

Possibly, batting on a sticky wicket.

I suggest you apologise nicely along the lines, "Circumstances have changed, and we are unable to proceed just now. Thank you very much for your time."

I can't decide just now whether your should offer a compensatory payment. If you did, make a nominal offer and note that, if they accept the payment, they have accepted the outcome." A cheque is good, it's hard to ignore the immediate payment. An offer to deposit the sum off $x.yy in complete settlement of the agreement within 24 hours of their advising you of their account details is probably too.

If push comes to shove, while they probably can't enforce you to proceed, but they might be able to sue for their losses.

Imagine this:
If you had a property to sell and you thought it worth maybe $350,000, and someone offered you $310,000 cash, no conditions, settlement ASAP, how hard would you think about it? It's been on the market six months, the bank wants its money, you've had one ludicrous offer, ....


Talking to a lawyer is good. IANAL.

[Ad de Crom]

Hi Bianca, I can only say a far away welcome.
Ad from Holland

[Fuzzie]

It would depend on the conditions set out on any document you signed. If it's the sort of thing that becomes a contract once signed that's one thing. If it is just a preliminary quote subject to a final contract and payment of deposit then I would think you would not be obliged to give any reason for not proceeding. From my experience most kitchen mobs state pretty emphatically nothings agreed until we have some of your money.

BTW welcome to the world of renovating. 99% of first time renovators will become hardened cynics before they're finished, you seem to have hit the first snag quite early.

[BiancaC]

We've been stewing over this all weekend but I'm feeling calmer now, possibly because of the hard labour in the garden this afternoon or the second rum & coke, not sure which;-)
I signed when they were out here on Friday afternoon, but was going in tomorrow to confirm colour swatches etc, get the timeframe and pay the deposit.
We are hopeful the BSA will have some advice, Without being too specific it appears they are not licenced at all and matters where the police are involved (according to the warning).
What I signed was very basic, what they propose to do and the price, salesmans name, date etc.
No terms and conditions, so I wonder if it's a preliminary quote as Fuzzie suggested?
Thank you again, It's a funny thing the web, you can lay it out there and get honest opinions and advice from people you've never met, but who took the time.
Cheers
BC

[Dengue]

See a lawyer, Bianca. It will save you lots in the long run

regards,
Jill

[ian]

Bianca
save your money
In the morning ring your local Fair Trading dept
You almost certainly have access to a statutory cooling off period — often seven days
If you do, all you might need to do is wrtite a letter (I'd pay that little bit extra for Registered post) saying
"Dear Sir/Madam
I've decided not to procede with the work
Thank you
Bianca"

[artme]

Bianca, I'd imagine if he doesn't have a licence he may not have a leg to stand on. If he has misrepresented himself to you ( saying he was licensed or leading you to believe he was licensed ) then the law will definitely be on your side.