GuideHQ

How do I complain about poor workmanship?

Give them the chance to fix it, in writing, with evidence — and the escalation route when they will not.

Difficulty
beginner
Time
45 min
Read
2 min
Safety
caution

Short answer

Put it in writing with dated photographs and give them a reasonable opportunity to put it right. That sequence is what every later stage will ask whether you followed.

Work must be carried out with reasonable care and skill. The practical difficulty is almost never the principle — it is evidence and sequence, and both are within your control from the start.

Safety

If the work is unsafe — electrical, gas or structural — do not use it and report it. Gas work by an unregistered person should be reported to the gas safety authority, and unsafe electrical work to building control. Safety comes before the money dispute.

Step by step

  1. Photograph everything, dated.Before, during and after where you can. The defect, in context and close up. Photographs settle disputes that words do not.
  2. Stop paying anything further.If there is a balance outstanding, do not pay it while the work is defective. Say so in writing rather than simply not paying — the distinction matters.
  3. Raise it in writing, promptly.Email, with the photographs, describing the defect specifically and what you expect. Prompt matters: delay weakens a claim and gives room to argue the damage happened later.
  4. Give them a reasonable opportunity to put it right.The tradesperson generally has the right to return and fix it. Refusing that and hiring someone else immediately weakens your position considerably.
  5. Set a clear, reasonable deadline."Please confirm within seven days when you will return." Vague requests produce vague responses.
  6. Get an independent assessment for anything substantial.A written report from another qualified trade, describing what is wrong and what putting it right would cost. This is the evidence that carries weight at every later stage.
  7. Escalate through the right route.Their trade association if they belong to one, or the scheme that certified the work. Many operate dispute resolution and some offer a warranty on member work.
  8. Then the formal routes.A letter before action setting out the claim, then the small claims route. Both expect to see that you gave the trader a chance to remedy first.

Tips

  • Do not have the work redone before getting an assessment. Once it is fixed, the evidence of what was wrong has gone.
  • Check whether the work needed building regulations approval or certification. Missing paperwork is a separate and significant failing.
  • Keep everything in one dated file — quote, contract, messages, photographs, invoices. Disputes are decided on the record.

Questions people ask

Do I have to let them come back and fix it?

Generally yes, a reasonable opportunity to remedy. Refusing and hiring someone else immediately makes recovering the cost considerably harder.

What if the tradesperson stops responding?

Send a written deadline, then escalate to their trade body if they have one, then a letter before action and the small claims route. Keep the dated record throughout.

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