A building job that goes wrong is stressful in a way few other purchases are: the problem is in your home, the money is usually significant, and the person you need to deal with may have stopped answering. Extensions that overrun and stop, roofs that leak after the final payment, driveways that sink, work signed off that later fails inspection. Whatever the specifics, the way forward is nearly always the same: put your position in writing, properly, and create a record the other side cannot ignore.
What we are, and what we are not. Oxthorpe Barwell is a document preparation and administrative support service. We are not a law firm and we do not give legal advice. We are not a claims management company either: we do not take a percentage of anything you recover. You pay a quoted fee for the documents we prepare, whatever the outcome, and you keep the whole of any refund, compensation or write-off you achieve. The Financial Ombudsman Service and the small claims process are free to use, and we will always tell you if we think you can manage without us.
The disputes we prepare correspondence for
- Defective or incomplete work where the builder disputes there is a problem, or accepts it and does not come back.
- Overcharging and variations: a final bill well beyond the quote, extras never agreed in writing, deposits taken for work that did not start.
- Abandoned jobs where the builder has walked away part way through and you need the shortfall recorded before another trade takes over.
- Trade body and scheme complaints where the builder is a member of an organisation with its own dispute service.
- Finance funded work, where a credit provider may be answerable alongside the builder.
What we prepare
- The first formal complaint: what was agreed, what was delivered, the defects or shortfall, and what you are asking for, with a reasonable deadline.
- A letter before action, written the way the courts expect, if the first letter is ignored or refused.
- The evidence file: quotes, invoices, messages, dated photographs, any surveyor's report, organised into a timeline that reads properly whether it goes to a trade body, a lender or a court.
- Trade body or finance provider complaints and, where a claim is the right next step, the paperwork for a small claim prepared for you to issue in your own name.
How the process runs
You tell us what happened and send what you have. We assess it and tell you honestly whether correspondence is likely to help and what evidence is missing. Each stage is quoted in writing before it starts; you review and sign every document, and it goes out in your name. If at any point the matter needs a surveyor or a solicitor, we tell you rather than press on.
What we do not do
We do not inspect or assess building work. We do not promise a refund, a repair or any particular result. We do not take a share of any sum recovered, and we do not give legal advice or represent you.
Frequently asked questions
What is a letter before action and do I need one?
It is a formal letter setting out what went wrong, what you want done about it and by when, and stating that you will consider court action if it is not resolved. The civil courts expect people to send one before issuing a claim, and a well prepared letter often produces a response where phone calls did not.
The builder has stopped answering. What can I do?
Silence is common and it is not the end of the road. A dated, formal letter creates a record and a deadline. If the builder is a member of a trade body or a scheme with a dispute service, we can prepare the complaint to that body too. If the work was paid for on credit, the finance route may also be open.
Can you tell me whether the work is defective?
No. We are not surveyors or engineers. Where the dispute turns on whether the work meets the required standard, an independent report from a chartered surveyor is usually the evidence that matters, and we will tell you when we think you need one. What we do is turn the facts and the evidence into correspondence that sets your position out properly.
What does it cost?
Every matter is quoted individually and in writing before each stage starts, beginning with a fixed initial assessment fee. There is no percentage taken from any money you recover, and you can cancel within 14 days of signing.
Do I need a solicitor instead?
For many disputes with a builder, particularly those under the small claims limit, the letters and the claim form are things you can send in your own name, and that is what we prepare. If the sum or the complexity means you need legal representation, we will say so rather than take the work.
If a builder has left you with defective work, an unfinished job or a bill you never agreed, get in touch and we will look at what you have.