HomesBIS’ Guidelines for Dispute Resolution

HomesBIS introduces people who have work to be undertaken on their properties (called Homeowners or Customers) to companies or professionals.

When you post a job on HomesBIS, you are under no obligation to accept a quote from any particular company or professional. By using our service, you acknowledge:

• your acceptance and understanding that HomesBIS is not liable for the actions of the company or professional you choose and that you accept our "Terms and Conditions"

• If you are a homeowner and find yourself in the unfortunate position of being in dispute with a company or professional, then these guidelines are intended to provide you with an overview of some of the issues that you should consider and the action that you may be able to take.

• It is important to note that HomesBIS are not solicitors, and this guidance cannot replace legal advice. It is intended to provide homeowners with an overview of what steps may be open to them to remedy the dispute.

• Homeowners should always seek the appropriate legal advice in circumstances where they are unclear about what specific action they should take in any given circumstance.

• This guidance is aimed particularly at smaller value matters. In circumstances where the work is undertaken with which you are unhappy to a bigger value, we would strongly advise that you seek independent legal advice.

 

HomesBIS’s Roles

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HomesBIS introduces people who have work to be undertaken on their properties (these are generally Homeowners) to companies or professionals who will then enter into a contract with one another regarding work that is to be done to a property. Therefore:

•  HomesBIS does not recommend individual companies or professionals. You may be introduced to up to 10 companies or professionals who have shown an interest in doing your job and who claim to have the skills to do specific types of work.

• When you post a job on HomesBIS, you are under no obligation to accept a quote from any particular company or professional. By using our service, you acknowledge your acceptance and understanding that HomesBIS is not liable for the company's actions or professional you choose (other than in the circumstances set out above) and that you accept the terms of our user agreement.

• You can inform your choice of company or professional using HomesBIS’s reviews. These give you feedback on a company or professional from other homeowners who have used the HomesBIS service to hire companies or professionals.

• We regularly review negative ratings and reviews, removing companies or professionals who fall below our standards in order to minimize the risk that consumers may hire companies or professionals who have performed work that other homeowners have legitimately been unhappy with.

• Once a company or professional quote on your job through HomesBIS, we send you a company profile link for the company or professional to help you to decide. You should see the company’s project quality, reviews, trade license if available, etc...

• You are advised to study the company’s profile to minimize the risk during and after the hiring process, not least so that both parties to the subsequent agreement can fully understand the extent of the work to be performed and the price to be charged.

 

1. Is your complaint about materials or a company or professional’s work?

If your complaint is about the materials used, you will need to direct that complaint to the person who supplied it. That will often be the company or professional in circumstances where you have bought the materials. For example, tap and have asked a plumber to install it - then if the problem is with the tap itself, you will need to direct your complaint to the place where you purchased the tap and not the company or professional.

If your complaint is about materials supplied by the company or professional, then you will direct your complaint to the company or professional in the same way as you will if your complaint is about the work that the company or professional has done for you.

 

2. What does reasonable skill and care and reasonable time mean?

Reasonable skill and care are a term used to measure a company or professional’s work. He or she will effectively be measured against the quality of work that could be reasonably expected of other company or professional performing the same job - in other words, did the work of the company or professional you used to fall below the level of quality of workmanship that you could reasonably expect from somebody doing that job. Reasonable time will be referable to the specific facts of your case. For example, if you hired a painter and decorator to undertake redecoration in your home for a specific event such as an anniversary or party and the company or professional was aware of this when accepting the job. A reasonable time in respect of that example would be completing the work before the event.

 

3. What if a company or professional offers a guarantee?

In those circumstances, the company or professional must still complete the work using reasonable skill and care and using satisfactory quality materials.

The work and materials must correspond with any details provided in their quote or estimate. A company or professional cannot usually refuse to fix issues resulting from poor workmanship or replace materials or parts of substandard quality simply because it is outside of their guarantee period. They can if the materials and workmanship were of appropriate standard and the issues resulting from natural “wear and tear.”

 

4. When complaining to a company or professional, should I put my complaint in writing?

When there is a problem, the company or professional will be willing to meet with you to understand what you are unhappy about. It is a sensible step for both parties if following those verbal discussions, you set out your concerns in writing - by email is fine. You should keep copies of all correspondence – including if your emails are returned as not received. In this instance, you should follow-up with a written letter, again keeping copies.

 

5. As outlined in question 1 above, I understand that I have to give a company or professional a chance to fix the problem or complete the work. How long do I have to give them?

To an extent, this will depend on the reason why you wanted the work done and whether it is time-sensitive. For example, fitting a new window is time-sensitive insomuch as your home will be open to the elements whilst a new window is being fitted. Similarly, if you are having work undertaken in advance of an event, the date of which is known to the company or professional, then a reasonable time will be preferable to that date. As a rule of thumb, we would expect a company or professional in relation to straightforward matters to have rectified a problem or completed the work within about a week or ten days of your complaint – and indeed, we encourage our companies to fix issues as soon as possible. What constitutes a reasonable time would potentially be significantly longer in length in respect of more complicated jobs (such as the building home or an extension).

You should tell the company or professional that if they fail to fix the problem or complete the work that you will engage someone else to do so and claim the cost from the company or professional if that is what you intend to do.

If you have been threatened or have concerns about giving the company or professional access to fix the problem, please refer to questions 8 and 9 below.

 

6. What happens if it’s an emergency?

If the poor workmanship has resulted in a gas leak or bare electric wires, or a water leak, you will need immediate assistance. If that is not forthcoming from the company or professional you hired, then you would need to take immediate steps to make your home safe, if necessary, by engaging other companies or professionals to do the work.

 

7. In those circumstances, can I claim back the cost of getting someone else to complete the work?

No rule gives consumers the right to claim the cost of having work remedied by other professionals. In circumstances where a company or professional either refuses to complete or make good the work, you should seek to claim the reasonable cost of getting another company or professional to complete the work. Having first told the company or professional you are in dispute with that will be your intention. You should also bear in mind that the obligation to allow the company or professional to complete or fix the work will continue even if you have had to bring in a third-party company or professional to affect an emergency fix to the problem. Tell the company or professional that you will ask someone else to do the work and reclaim the cost from the company or professional if they do not complete or make good the work before you engage someone else. An alternative route open to you if the company or professional appears reluctant to complete the work or remedy the problem is to agree with him or her at a discounted price to reflect the completed work or carried out correctly. You should clearly document what has been agreed between the parties in terms of price reduction in those circumstances. Again, you can do this by email, asking the company or professional to reply with a confirmation. If your emails are returned as not received, you should follow up with a written letter, again keeping copies.

 

8. What about if I have just lost confidence in the company or professional and his or her ability to do the work?

Likely, in those circumstances, you will still be required to allow the company or professional to make good. In general terms, it is better to give the company or professional a fair opportunity to complete the work or fix the problem.

 

9. What if I have been threatened or more by a company or professional?

In these circumstances, it would not be unreasonable for you to seek another person to complete the work, and you should report this to the police.

 

10. Before I contact the company or professional what, should I do?

Ensure you accurately recall what was agreed between you and the company or professional. Review any written records. Examples may include contracts, quotations, and correspondence you’ve had, including emails with the company or professional. Remember, a contract can be as simple as an email! Take photographs of any issues you have, preferably with an electronic date and time stamp. Make a note of the matters you want to discuss so that you have a list to work from during your conversation. Try to stay calm and be courteous with the company or professional. Most companies or professionals will be anxious to put right something that has gone wrong or to explain otherwise why that was not possible. Give the company or professional the evidence; for example: use the photographs to support your concerns. Based on our experience, clear, factual, and unemotional communication will greatly increase the likelihood of any issues being resolved quickly and amicably.

 

11. How many opportunities do I have to give a company or professional to put the job right, complete the job, or correct any errors?

You are not required to give a company or professional multiple opportunities to complete the work or make right what they have done wrong. You do, though, have to act reasonably. You should agree on a date with the company or professional by which the work will be completed or rectified and confirm that to them in writing - again, an email will be fine. If the company or professional fails to keep the appointment and does not provide a reasonable explanation for that, it would be a sufficient opportunity in most circumstances. However, there may be circumstances where a job is not completed for matters beyond the company or professional’s control, and you should behave reasonably when those circumstances arise. However, what is important to bear in mind is that a company or professional should consider carrying out remedial work or completing your work as a priority.

 

12. When should I leave my review on the company or professional?

If you haven’t done so, you must do this now, leaving a factually accurate rating and review on HomesBIS for the job this company or professional has done for you.

 

13. What should I do if having allowed the company or professional to make good, the problem still persists, or the work remains uncompleted?

You will have allowed the company or professional to rectify the situation by agreeing to a time and date to complete or fix their work. They will have either failed to complete the work, or the work they have done will not be of a standard reasonably expected.

In this case, you can leave for him a negative review, explain your problem, and the opportunities that you gave him.

 

14. Can I threaten a company or professional with a bad review on HomesBIS’s platform if they do not do as I ask?

Absolutely not. Whilst we understand that in some circumstance’s emotions can run high when the work that has been done for you has proved to be disappointing, you must keep any review and rating on our platform entirely factual and accurate. You are perfectly entitled to give a poor rating if the work that has been undertaken for you is properly deserving of such a rating.

 

15. What if the company is unwilling to take responsibility and repair the damage or problem, and I made my efforts to settle and not achieve a resolution? What should I do next?

At this point, you will have photographs, dates, and times of all conversations and meetings with the company or professional, together with the confirmation emails. Organize these documents in time order and contact the competent authorities to adjudicate disputes in your country. Then/ or you can leave a negative review for that company.