We’ve all heard the horror stories: you decide to make some home improvements, perhaps an extension or dream kitchen, and then before you know it the builder has run off with your money, leaving you with a half-finished home and a tricky legal situation.
As bad as this sounds, it’s not uncommon and according to Consumer Direct, the number of complaints against rogue traders in the UK has increased 16 per cent in the last year. A change in planning law in 2008 means it’s also now easier to revamp your home without permission from local authorities, leaving many vulnerable to the cowboys.
Will your home insurance protect you against rogue traders?
Home insurance in general will offer some protection against any damage caused to your property and protect your belongings if you fall victim to burglary, but it won’t cover you for any losses associated with, for example, a dodgy builder unless you have legal cover.
Legal cover
One of the biggest mistakes a homeowner can make when insuring their home is to bypass the legal cover option. It’s an additional charge but it helps to pay for any legal costs should you have to take action against rogue traders.
It also acts as a defence to help pay any costs associated with going to court if, for whatever reason, someone decides to take legal action against you because of an incident concerning your property.
Steve Foursham, technical services manager at the British Insurance Brokers Association (BIBA) says: “Legal expenses cover is usually an add-on to home insurance just like it is with motor insurance but it’s absolutely necessary. It will cover you for any action against a third party. It doesn’t even have to be a tradesman, it might be a neighbour that you’re locked in a dispute with.”
Insurance providers usually start by advising homeowners to write to whoever it is they feel they have been ripped off by. Then, if they refuse to pay up or acknowledge the letter, there would be a case to start legal proceedings, usually on a no-win, no-fee basis.
Confused.com’s head of home insurance, Gareth Kloet, says: “As well as helping you out with rogue traders, most providers have a helpline where their customers have access to legal advice for various problems.
“If you did not have this legal cover in place you could rack up significant costs when trying to bring the rogue traders to justice. For just a few pounds a month you could save yourself thousands of pounds, and a lot of stress, if you were to run into trouble in the future.”
If you don’t have legal cover there are still other things you can do to make sure you’re in a strong position should someone try and rip you off.
Know your tradesmen
BIBA suggests that a decent background check is the best protection against rogue traders. We’ve also put together some help in our article ‘Top Tips for dealing with tradespeople’.
Again, the main message is to do your homework before handing over your cash.
Steve Foursham of BIBA added: “Get a couple of quotes from reputable sources. The sorts of tradesmen who drop a note through the door with just a mobile number on tend to be the least reputable.
“Recommendations from friends and family go a long way and check the standard of work on other properties that the builders may have worked on before you let them work on your home.”
Draw up your own contract
If a background check and legal cover are still not enough to make you feel confident about getting traders in, home insurance provider More Than suggests drawing up your own contract as an extra fall back.
Most insurers will now help you draw up a small-scale building contract, which will state costs, timescales and any penalties for not delivering the work.
Head of More Than legal services, Simon Logan, says: “Building work involves significant expenditure and it also concerns something of great importance – the home. It makes sense to set out the terms and conditions in advance to protect both the builder and the homeowner.”
