Builder insurance

[lucien2015]

How do I find out if  the contractor for house renovation has proper insurance?

[DaveLister]

Ask them. If they have it they will show it to you.

[Lori]

Yes, if they have it, their insurance company will issue them a certificate and it should have the dates of the validity of their contract with the insurance company.

You can ask for a copy of the certificate.  Many reputable service providers will offer it without you even asking.  You can also call the insurance company named on the certificate to confirm the policy is current and valid.

 

 

[Lehaut]

16 hours ago, Lori said:

You can also call the insurance company named on the certificate to confirm the policy is current and valid.

Which is essential!

[lucien2015]

He refused to give me his certificate.   I guess he does not have it.  Is there any website that I can verify his  construction  company insurance  information?

[Lori]

If he refused to give you a copy of the certificate, that would indicate to me that he is not insured.  What other reason could there be ?

I know you can look up a SIRET number online, but I don't think it will include the contractor's insurance details.  Those can change for any number of reasons.

Has this builder already begun working for you ?

 

[DaveLister]

Since 2015 all estimates are required to have attached a copy of the insurance certificate so he's already breaking the law. I'd look elsewhere if I was you.

[lucien2015]

19 hours ago, Lori said:

If he refused to give you a copy of the certificate, that would indicate to me that he is not insured.  What other reason could there be ?

I know you can look up a SIRET number online, but I don't think it will include the contractor's insurance details.  Those can change for any number of reasons.

Has this builder already begun working for you ?

 

He completed the job while I was in my home country but he messed up several things. There is a water leak from the towel drier.  I paid 300 euro to fix it. He played for an hour with my heater in front of me and eventually broke it. The part is impossible to get.  I am in the process of replacing the heater. He lost a front panel on the furniture right below the sink. It is missing. I don't know how to get it.  Can i ask the manufacturer to send it to me?

He bought the cheaper tile even though I gave him plenty of money for it. 

We did not have a  formal contract. We  only signed  Devis before he started the job.   I did not know what i was doing.

I don't know what to do now. He is not a plumber. I am afraid  I can have a water leak under the tile at some point.

[ssomon]

If you have insurance on your house you may be covered for this sort of eventuality. This is called "Protection Juridique". Look at you policy or speak to your insurance company or broker about this.

For example, my PJ covers: Advice and counselling on problems connected with the house and our everyday activities, such as buying things, and eventual cover of legal costs incurred in getting remedies if no amicable agreement can be reached..

It would certainly cover a problem such as yours, the Devis you have, signed by the builder and yourself, is the contract, and should be sufficient evidence of the work he should have done.

If he has no insurance he will have big problems if your insurance company takes legal action against him.

You might mention to him that you intend handing over the problem to your insurance company, and that he will be hearing from them. 😉

Edited October 1 by ssomon
add more info'

[lucien2015]

47 minutes ago, ssomon said:

If you have insurance on your house you may be covered for this sort of eventuality. This is called "Protection Juridique". Look at you policy or speak to your insurance company or broker about this.

For example, my PJ covers: Advice and counselling on problems connected with the house and our everyday activities, such as buying things, and eventual cover of legal costs incurred in getting remedies if no amicable agreement can be reached..

It would certainly cover a problem such as yours, the Devis you have, signed by the builder and yourself, is the contract, and should be sufficient evidence of the work he should have done.

If he has no insurance he will have big problems if your insurance company takes legal action against him.

You might mention to him that you intend handing over the problem to your insurance company, and that he will be hearing from them. 😉

Thank you so much! Very helpful!

[lucien2015]

10 minutes ago, lucien2015 said:

Thank you so much! Very helpful!

Do we need to sign any document  with the contractor when the renovation of the bathroom is completed?

[ssomon]

3 hours ago, lucien2015 said:

Do we need to sign any document  with the contractor when the renovation of the bathroom is completed?

I don't think so. I don't recall ever signing such a document, and I have had many devis over the years.

[Lori]

I have been asked to sign off on the final paperwork of interior renovation work.  Mostly because there were changes made to the original devis.  I don't recall being asked to sign anything if there were no changes to the original devis.

If you have not paid the contractor, you may want to consider holding payment until the problems have been resolved.  If you do this, you should probably bring in a Huissier to document everything that's taking place.

If you do have protection juridique with your home insurance company, that should be your first call.  Try to have as much documentation/photos at the ready.

 

 

[Polarengineer]

At the end of the contract, you should have to sign a form whereby the builder can confirm with the tax authorities that he has charged 10% VAT instead of 20% vat.

[lucien2015]

2 hours ago, Polarengineer said:

At the end of the contract, you should have to sign a form whereby the builder can confirm with the tax authorities that he has charged 10% VAT instead of 20% vat.

I am from the USA.  I had no idea. There was no VAT in the Devis.  No VAT number that belongs to his company  either. No insurance information....Does it mean he is working " under the table" ? 

[ssomon]

What do you think?

Does the devis have his name and address? Do you actually still have it?

[lucien2015]

4 hours ago, ssomon said:

What do you think?

Does the devis have his name and address? Do you actually still have it?

Yes, devis has his name and address.  I do have the devis. What do I think? Should I report him? Where? He should not fool people around, particularly  the foreigners. He took  50% upfront  for the job without any work plus the materials! He bought  the wrong and cheaper tile on the top of everything. 

[ssomon]

I don't think reporting him will help your individual case.

Depending on the amount of money involved, you should consider taking legal action against him. This can be quite costly in France

If you do have Protection Juridique cover included in your home insurance, this is quite straightforward, as your insurance company will do whatever is necessary. (You haven't said whether or not you have this cover, which is of primary importance)

If not, you should take legal advice, as you don't seem to have much idea of what to do.

Edited October 1 by ssomon
correct an error

[Lori]

Agree with ssomon.

If you have not paid him the remaining 50% of the work on the devis, consider not paying him. 

Call your insurance company (the one that covers your French property) to determine if you have Protection Juridique.  If you don't and you still have a good bit of work to be done on your property, consider adding it to your coverage, but be sure to ask if adding it now will have any impact on work that had already begun - as it may only cover future projects.

If you don't have Protection Juridique, consider speaking with or hiring a local Huissier to document the problems.  The Huissier will send out formal notification to the builder with documentation of the problems and what the builder is expected to do to correct them.

If this builder is still working in your house, you may want to seriously consider whether he is competent enough to complete the remaining work in a professional manner.  I would also have serious concerns about the fact that - it sounds like - he is not insured.  If he or one of his workers gets hurt on your property and the builder does not hold the proper insurance, things could go very wrong.

Good luck.

 

[Lori]

P.S.  When we had to hire a Huissier, in 2022, the cost for her to come to our home and review the problem(s), take photos, put together a dossier and send the formal letter/documentation to the businesses (there were two), the cost to us was 350€   We live in a fairly rural part of France, so I suspect the price we paid could be a good bit less than it might be in larger cities.  Either way, prices will vary.  Just giving you an idea of what we paid.

There could also be costs if the case continues and the Huissier needs to spend more time on the case.

[ssomon]

I think that if someone incompetent works for you, either as an employee or as a tradesman, and does a bad job, there is probably no point in trying to make him do it again, as he is probably incapable of doing it any better, as he doesn't see things as you do.

In the OP's case, the builder may actually believe he did a good job, and doesn't see any difference, in his eyes, between the "right" tiles and the cheaper ones.

[lucien2015]

1 hour ago, Lori said:

Agree with ssomon.

If you have not paid him the remaining 50% of the work on the devis, consider not paying him. 

Call your insurance company (the one that covers your French property) to determine if you have Protection Juridique.  If you don't and you still have a good bit of work to be done on your property, consider adding it to your coverage, but be sure to ask if adding it now will have any impact on work that had already begun - as it may only cover future projects.

If you don't have Protection Juridique, consider speaking with or hiring a local Huissier to document the problems.  The Huissier will send out formal notification to the builder with documentation of the problems and what the builder is expected to do to correct them.

If this builder is still working in your house, you may want to seriously consider whether he is competent enough to complete the remaining work in a professional manner.  I would also have serious concerns about the fact that - it sounds like - he is not insured.  If he or one of his workers gets hurt on your property and the builder does not hold the proper insurance, things could go very wrong.

Good luck.

 

Thank you  so much! Your advice is greatly appreciated. 

[lucien2015]

10 hours ago, ssomon said:

I don't think reporting him will help your individual case.

Depending on the amount of money involved, you should consider taking legal action against him. This can be quite costly in France

If you do have Protection Juridique cover included in your home insurance, this is quite straightforward, as your insurance company will do whatever is necessary. (You haven't said whether or not you have this cover, which is of primary importance)

If not, you should take legal advice, as you don't seem to have much idea of what to do.

Thank you!